Benepets - How quickly does it consume PO4?

[Gribbles]

Concentrated phytoplankton from Reef Nutrition

That phyto isn't alive. My understanding via @Reef By Steele
Is that it needs to be alive. Perhaps he can add his thoughts here

 

[SauceyReef]

Concentrated phytoplankton from Reef Nutrition

I looked it up - seems like good stuff. I get a similar combo bottle from a LFS down in N.E. Ohio that they grow in store. Your tank is also really nice. I wonder if the combination of the skimmer, phyto/food, phosguard / lanthium and than benepets is just making a difficult reaction to control.

 

[SauceyReef]

That phyto isn't alive. My understanding via @Reef By Steele
Is that it needs to be alive. Perhaps he can add his thoughts here

Looking at the bottle it made it seemed like it was live, but I could definitely be wrong. If it is not alive this could be a big part of what is causing you issues. Live Phyto should help balance it out.

 

[Lavey29]

I looked it up - seems like good stuff. I get a similar combo bottle from a LFS down in N.E. Ohio that they grow in store. Your tank is also really nice. I wonder if the combination of the skimmer, phyto/food, phosguard / lanthium and than benepets is just making a difficult reaction to control.

I just think it's primarily my rocks. Lot of fake rock just binds phosphate and leaches back. You combine that with phosphate you introduce to the tank daily with food or supplement and the number rises. There are products from companies like Tropic Marin that work well to reduce phosphate but carbon dosing does harm to the chaeto in the fuge to. I like my fuge for filtration but also because running it opposite the tank keeps my PH stable over night.

 

[SauceyReef]

I just think it's primarily my rocks. Lot of fake rock just binds phosphate and leaches back. You combine that with phosphate you introduce to the tank daily with food or supplement and the number rises. There are products from companies like Tropic Marin that work well to reduce phosphate but carbon dosing does harm to the chaeto in the fuge to. I like my fuge for filtration but also because running it opposite the tank keeps my PH stable over night.

Could definitely be. I would still greatly reccomend figuring out for sure if it is dead or live Phyto. If you see the post link I added above a big summary to save you having to read through is live phyto started helping me balance my nutrients and bring PO4 down. Dead phyto did the opposite. This was just my experience in a smaller nano doing only water changes.

 

[Lavey29]

Could definitely be. I would still greatly reccomend figuring out for sure if it is dead or live Phyto. If you see the post link I added above a big summary to save you having to read through is live phyto started helping me balance my nutrients and bring PO4 down. Dead phyto did the opposite. This was just my experience in a smaller nano doing only water changes.

Agree, I only use live. The ocean has unlimited supply of phytoplankton which is why I dose it daily.

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

That phyto isn't alive. My understanding via @Reef By Steele
Is that it needs to be alive. Perhaps he can add his thoughts here

The reason live phyto consumes nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates is because it is alive and just like plants it need fertilizer. It take it from the water. Depending on how they concentrate it, centrifuge, evaporation (probably through adding heat) and other means will effectively damage or kill that cells. We now have a concentrate but our method does not damage the cells in any manner. If you put our Phyto Buffet or Phyto Buffet Extreme under a microscope you will find the motile cells of strains such as tetra, ISO and Pavlova are still moving.

You do not need to worry about Live phyto creating any kind of algae bloom if you are using it in the recommended dosages. But it will still reproduce until it is consumed by the organisms in the aquarium.

 

[Lavey29]

That phyto isn't alive. My understanding via @Reef By Steele
Is that it needs to be alive. Perhaps he can add his thoughts here

They have 2 versions one is alive one is not.

Phyto-Feast LIVE Refrigerated Marine Microalgae

Phyto-Feast Live has the same algae as Phyto-Feast but is handled with special care, being harvested and shipped fresh each week, maximizing short-term cell viability. A blend of the 5 marine microalgae most commonly used by universities and hatcheries for their superior nutritional value for...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[encrustingacro]

I’ve never heard of any reason to think carbon dosing is bad for a reef tank, except the possibility that it may spur pathogenic bacteria.

I think it is a net plus for most tanks because it generates foods (bacteria) for filter feeders.

Idk; I heard it from an employee at @BarrierReefAquariums from when I went to buy NO3PO4X to treat hair algae/bryopsis a few years ago, around when I started in this hobby. The logic was, it makes the bacteria dependent on an outside carbon source, so when I stop dosing it, the bacteria won't be able to handle my tank's nutrient load and cause a nutrient spike.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Idk; I heard it from an employee at @BarrierReefAquariums from when I went to buy NO3PO4X to treat hair algae/bryopsis a few years ago, around when I started in this hobby. The logic was, it makes the bacteria dependent on an outside carbon source, so when I stop dosing it, the bacteria won't be able to handle my tank's nutrient load and cause a nutrient spike.

Well, I would expect N and (not so much P) to slowly rise if you stop dosing it, but the effect is not a problem and people have stopped cold turkey with no apparent issue. It’s just like growing macroalgae in this respect. One can stop any time.