phosphate questions…help and imput

[Amadod2]

so i checked my phosphates today with my hanna checker and it read 0.15, im trying to get in lower, and just did a water change a week ago, i run a 75g tank with carbon and rowaphos which hasnt been changed in two months.

my question is what is the idea phosphate level and what is the max phosphate level a reef tank can do without seeing coral loss in growth and colour.

also does rowaphos leek back into the system??

[LoJack]

Depending on the model of Hanna Checker you have, read the instruction manual. Some of them you are supposed to divide your digital output by 3 to get your actual reading. If this is the case with yours, your phosphates are truly only .05 which actually is pretty good.

I find that if your phosphates are too low, corals pale a bit, anything over .05 to .07 and you start to see algae show up.

[Amadod2]

i dont see anywhere on the instructions about dividing the number by three?? my hanna checker is a HI 713 Phosphate low range?? also currently i have no algee

[monocus]

rowaphos will keep it stable.use precision solutions phosphate solution to get it down

[Reef Pilot]

i dont see anywhere on the instructions about dividing the number by three?? my hanna checker is a HI 713 Phosphate low range?? also currently i have no algee
I have that Hanna checker, and the readout is the correct ppm for P04. Just make sure you follow all the directions incl pressing and holding the button after add C2, until the 3 min counter shows.

I don't like my P04 above 0.10 for SPS. Zero or near zero is best. I use GFO to keep my phosphates low. If you have high phosphates, >1.0, and difficulty getting it down with just GFO, then use Foz Down to bring it down (again follow directions exactly). Then maintain with GFO.

[Amadod2]

im just worried that if a use a quick fix product that my coral might get affected… is foz down easy to use?

[Reef Pilot]

im just worried that if a use a quick fix product that my coral might get affected… is foz down easy to use?
Yeah, real easy. The instructions tell you exactly how much to use per vol to reduce the P04 to the desired level. Worked great for me. I used it for about a month or so until my P04 stopped leaching from the rock and sand, and would stay down. After that, GFO would maintain it, and didn't have to use it again. But it definitely works, if all else fails. I had really high phosphates in one tank, which is why I resorted to that.

Having said that, you P04 is not really high at .15. But if you can't get it down any further with rowaphos, you might want to try the Foz Down (from Tim in Chilliwack). I have never used rowaphos myself, so can't say how effective it is compared to just straight GFO in a reactor. Maybe you need to change it more often, or stir it up between changes.

As for your corals, some SPS are fine with .15 ppm, but others are not, for sure. But I think they will all benefit from lower P04. My SPS, and tank looked best when it was zero or near zero.

[neoh]

I had a growing problem with algae attributed to high phosphates from old rock. I consistently blasted the rock with a turkey baster before performing a once a week 50% water change. I also shifted my flow around a little bit to help detritus get to the overflow easier and more efficiently, and started vacuuming the sump during water changes.

Using solutions from my understanding is just putting a band aid over an existing wound. Sure, it might stop the bleeding, but you need to start with heeling the wound first. Pilot mentioned he used it to lower, then GFO to maintain, which of course makes sense.

I used Rowaphos until switching to a high capacity GFO from BRS. When I ran out, I switched back to Rowaphos, which I noticed an almost immediate change in PO4 and algae outbreaks. But I also lost a couple fish, which I attributed to using too much, which then stripped nutrients from the tank causing their very unfortunate demise.

Proper flow for detritus removal and overall health of your corals, with gravel and sump vacuuming with each water change and blasting your rock with a baster to remove the hard to reach areas will help control and bring them down over time. I can't give you a good answer regarding an additive to remove them, as if their was a miracle cure out there - I'm pretty sure we would all know of it by now. Removing the source is always the best solution to any given problem. For the most part, anyways!

[asylumdown]

I used Rowaphos until switching to a high capacity GFO from BRS. When I ran out, I switched back to Rowaphos, which I noticed an almost immediate change in PO4 and algae outbreaks. But I also lost a couple fish, which I attributed to using too much, which then stripped nutrients from the tank causing their very unfortunate demise.



A little off topic, but I think you should look for other reasons your fish died. A sudden change in Phosphates from even a a few tens of ppm to 0 ppm would not have had any effect on a fish. I'm not sure any change in phosphate at any range would affect a fish, unless the phosphates were near toxic levels to begin with (which for a fish would be very, very, very high).

[asylumdown]

Yeah, real easy. The instructions tell you exactly how much to use per vol to reduce the P04 to the desired level. Worked great for me. I used it for about a month or so until my P04 stopped leaching from the rock and sand, and would stay down. After that, GFO would maintain it, and didn't have to use it again. But it definitely works, if all else fails. I had really high phosphates in one tank, which is why I resorted to that.

Having said that, you P04 is not really high at .15. But if you can't get it down any further with rowaphos, you might want to try the Foz Down (from Tim in Chilliwack). I have never used rowaphos myself, so can't say how effective it is compared to just straight GFO in a reactor. Maybe you need to change it more often, or stir it up between changes.

As for your corals, some SPS are fine with .15 ppm, but others are not, for sure. But I think they will all benefit from lower P04. My SPS, and tank looked best when it was zero or near zero.

+1 to all of this.

[neoh]

A little off topic, but I think you should look for other reasons your fish died. A sudden change in Phosphates from even a a few tens of ppm to 0 ppm would not have had any effect on a fish. I'm not sure any change in phosphate at any range would affect a fish, unless the phosphates were near toxic levels to begin with (which for a fish would be very, very, very high).

It wasn't because of phosphates, read the post again. ;)

[asylumdown]

It wasn't because of phosphates, read the post again. ;)

Oh sorry man, I must have misinterpreted, but the bolded sentence:


I used Rowaphos until switching to a high capacity GFO from BRS. When I ran out, I switched back to Rowaphos, which I noticed an almost immediate change in PO4 and algae outbreaks. But I also lost a couple fish, which I attributed to using too much, which then stripped nutrients from the tank causing their very unfortunate demise.


reads pretty clearly as though you are attributing the demise of the fish to a drop in nutrients. Do you mean you thought that the rowaphos itself killed the fish?