So I’m still doing battle with my Hanna Colorimeter Phosphate LR checker. The first one I got from Eseasonsgear.com (don’t shop there; they are TERRIBLE) was broken out of the box but I managed to get a reading of .18ppm of phosphate. All my chemical tests say almost zero for phosphates as does the growth of my SPS and LPS coral. My Ponape birds nest is branching and growing despite my green brittle star crawling on it at night. The polyps I have are growing pretty slowly (zoas, daisy polyps, GSP, palys, etc.) but they are growing and splitting etc.
Chemical tests I have used:
API – Would not indicate any phosphates
Salifert – Would not indicate any phosphates
ELOS – Would not indicate any phosphates
Seachem – Gave a color that is just starting to show on their scale (<.01ppm)
As I am fairly confident that the checker I was sent had already been returned to this company for being broken, I went to a LFS and bought another. The readings the first checker had given me (all ranging between .09-.28ppm for my tank) don’t agree with the new checker, which also reads high (.08-.24ppm).
Since using the first colorimeter I replaced about 250ml of Rowaphos that was just a few days old with 250ml of PO4x4 and then again with 500ml. And yet my phosphate levels are either staying high or increasing, all according to the checkers. My carbon/GFO reactor is taking water from my sump and returning it to the sump. The carbon is full blast (Rox.8) and the GFO chamber is just fast enough to make the surface boil.
I did a 20%ish water change yesterday with freshly mixed RO/DI water which caused something in my tank to release a huge amount of offspring. Which in turn were promptly consumed by anything that could move. I stirred my sand last night which no doubt released a bunch of phosphates into the water column. The water is very bright and sparkles like diamonds under my metal halides. I haven’t tested today but I’m suspecting that the colorimeters will show very high levels again. My ozone generator is plugging away and only produces ozone when my tank's ORP reading is under the set point (currently 350).
Yesterday I ordered a Hanna ULR Phosphorus colorimeter and will do the conversions to PO4 based on those values. From what I’ve heard the phosphorus checker provides much more reliable readings than do the phosphate checkers. Also I ordered 1L of Rowaphos since it looks like I’ll be using that stuff up like it’s free… I also ordered 5 new 10” inserts in case my GFO cartridge isn’t letting the water flow properly (it’s a long shot).
Does anyone out there have any insight in to why/how my phosphates can read so high for a colorimeter but not for good quality chemical tests? And if they are so high then why are my corals and livestock not pushing up daisies?
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