I've been increasing my dosage of neophos and i can't seem to get a PO4 reading at all. I'm at 2x the recommended dosage now but when I test, I still read 0. Is it possible neophos goes bad? I have it in my garage and it probably gets to a good 90 degrees in thehre during the summer months.
Can't get PO4 reading
- Thread starter SeeFu
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This is a rather typical when dosing PO4 when it have been zero readings for a while. PO4 is stored in sand and rocks as bounded in the crystal structure and/or as calcium phosphate. When you have read zero for a while - these "reserves" are empty. When you dose PO4 - much of it will be bounded in the sand and rocks again and you will not see any "free" PO4 in the water before the storages are filled up again. This can be seen as the "ketchup" effect - nothing happens, nothing happens, nothing happens and suddenly - all happens.
However as long as you dose - you will have a "flux" through the system and reading zero is not so dangerous as reading it without dosing. If you can (automatic dosing) spread you daily dosing and dose when your photosynthetic organism need PO4. It is mostly a hour or some after the light have been turned on.
Be very careful with your dosing and just stop or go down in dosing when you get a reading.
Sincerely Lasse
Sincerely Lasse
However as long as you dose - you will have a "flux" through the system and reading zero is not so dangerous as reading it without dosing. If you can (automatic dosing) spread you daily dosing and dose when your photosynthetic organism need PO4. It is mostly a hour or some after the light have been turned on.
Be very careful with your dosing and just stop or go down in dosing when you get a reading.
Sincerely Lasse
IMO - no
Sincerely Lasse
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Randy Holmes-Farley
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I'd ignore the "recommended dose" and aim to dose 0.03 ppm per day until you get a reading you like (assuming you have confidence in your kit).
It may sound like a lot, but foods are adding that much each day, maybe much more.
It may sound like a lot, but foods are adding that much each day, maybe much more.
bluprntguy
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Backreefing
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I’m in the same boat as Seefu been a long 2 months
i have been dosing for along time and cant get it up at all lol and im scard to dose to much but i hope soon i will see a reading im starting to think my hanna checker is screwy am going through alot of packets lol
SeeFu
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i actually was ready to buy a new hanna checker, but i had a local reef shop measure my phosphate. sure as hell the day where i was ready to replace my hanna checker, i get a reading from my local reef shop. i get home and immediately test w/ my old hanna check and sure as hell, i get the same reading the shop did. saved me $60. lol
Which one?
Can´t you check that - just take a sample directly after you have ad your phosphate (let it mix first) ?
Sincerely Lasse
Randy Holmes-Farley
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There's also no reason you cannot dose a lot more initially, like 0.1 o 0.2 ppm or more, if the initial 0.03 ppm or so dose completely disappears.
Backreefing
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I would caution against doseing high amounts of phosphate. Because imagine being an montipora or an acropora in that aquarium. The host ( Us ) drops in a stiff dose then in an hour or two it zero again. Repeat this for a extended period of time. These animals need stability. That is a nutrient roller coaster. But I’m still learning .
