Cant seem to lower Phosphates....

[SMSREEF]

I would get nitrate up so it’s detectable all the time. Bacteria use the nopox need both nitrate and phosphate to work.

Also be careful lowering phosphate and nitrate too low, that’s the recipe for unhappy corals and Dino’s.


Though what you wrote here give’s me the idea you may not like the outcome of reducing your nutrients further. Maybe your coral like phosphate and nitrate on the higher side.

I used to do weekly water changes but now I do monthly because my corals seem/look happier.

 

[Lasse]

Please - confirm your Hanna P reader please see this posts

Build Thread - Lasses Dream Build

Looking great Lasse! By far and away still my favorite tank on Reef2Reef! ;). Keep up the great work and be well, my friend! Thanks Sincerely Lasse

www.reef2reef.com

I use Hi-774 and its similar to your phosphorous checker. It gives **** happens value now and then. I do like this for the moment. I fill up both tubes. Mark one as zero. Put zero tube into the meter push to I see C1 - push to C2. Change to the one that I mark sample tube. When sample tube is in the meter - a SHORT push on the button - it start to read directly - if it reed 0.000 next step. If it read over - repeat the the cycle but clean the sample vial better! If it read INU or blinking 0.000 - repeat but clean the zero vial better. When the process show 0.000 in the sample - mix reagent in sample vial and shake for 2 minutes. When 2 minutes have gone - put in the zero sample in the meter, push to C1. push and when C2 shows - change the vial to sample vial. Push for a rather long time and the meter start to count down from 3 minutes. After 3 minutes - note the figure. Change to zero vial again - > C1 -> C2 and change tube again. Push again at C2 but very short. It start to analyse direct. note the figure. Repeat this at least 5 times - I use to take 10 or 12 of these cycles and take away one of the highest values and one of the lowest. Make an average of the rest.

Sincerely Lasses

 

[Duffer]

Phosphate RX (lanthanum chloride) is just masking your issue also. The only difference is it's way stronger then GFO or phosguard, and your adding it constantly.

hmmm...that is not the case with me, i added it twice in 3 mths and i have no issue with phosphates as we speak

 

[Zeal]

+1 on lanthanum being the easiest/fastest/cheapest way to do this. I've bought 100g for $50, and this makes up a lot of solution (like a liter). But Phosphate RX is good as well, it's just more expensive in the long run.

On the other hand a small phosban 150 reactor is something like $50, and rowa in it will do the job as well and it's harder to accidentally overdoes it.

I could try this. I have Phosphate E

 

[hometown9]

I had exactly the same problem as Zeal. Water params were all spot-on with exception of PO4. I'm SPS-dominant as well. I started with Phosguard in a bag. Never got <.25. Moved to a reactor, double dosed high-capacity GFO, and even added 2x algae scrubbers. Still can't get below .1. I will saw rowa in a reactor was my best option...got it down to .05 pretty consistently which is right where I want it. Problem is the stupid stuff is like dust and got everywhere!

 

[Uncle99]

I am not sure why you are doing anything to lower your phosphate levels, why is it that many people seek this trace 0.01-.1 thing, I have run mine at .2 forever and I have no algae, and great color and growth.
These tests (all of them) are not that accurate or consistent, but are relative.

You give no reasons why you work so hard for a lower number, and maybe you have some errors in tests that show .3 (that’s a tad high but I have seen great tanks push .5)

If you corals look great, just watch phosphate numbers to see what’s really happening.

three years ago, mine seemed high at .2, spent tons of money on GFO, to keep it at 0.05.

After hearing from a reefer on this site, I stopped GFO and over 6 months, it never got beyond .2, three years later .2 still. What he told me was each tank will run differently, produce different test results, test kits have fluxes, testing at different times, when you put that all together slight variances in numbers are meaningless.

While I still test monthly for piece of mind and to ensure they are reasonable, my corals tell me when they don’t like something

If corals are growing, coloured and overall happy, don’t chase that number.

 

[BYU]

dose neonitro to increase nitrates
get your nitrates and phosphates proportional
nopox lowers nitrates much more than phosphates but does work
i went through this last year
now i don’t dose nitrate anymore and tank is stable finally getting good colors and a little growth

 

[Zeal]

I dosed 3ML of Phosphate E.

if that doesn’t drop it a bit I’m not sure. I might have to invest in a reactor.

 

[hometown9]

I am not sure why you are doing anything to lower your phosphate levels, why is it that many people seek this trace 0.01-.1 thing, I have run mine at .2 forever and I have no algae, and great color and growth.
These tests (all of them) are not that accurate or consistent, but are relative.

You give no reasons why you work so hard for a lower number, and maybe you have some errors in tests that show .3 (that’s a tad high but I have seen great tanks push .5)

If you corals look great, just watch phosphate numbers to see what’s really happening.

three years ago, mine seemed high at .2, spent tons of money on GFO, to keep it at 0.05.

After hearing from a reefer on this site, I stopped GFO and over 6 months, it never got beyond .2, three years later .2 still. What he told me was each tank will run differently, produce different test results, test kits have fluxes, testing at different times, when you put that all together slight variances in numbers are meaningless.

If corals are growing, coloured and overall happy, don’t chase that number.

All about color! They're growing fine, everything is happy so far as I can tell. However when PO4 creeps above .1 I start seeing browning in my SPS. It's amazing the colors that pop when PO4 < .1

 

[Lasse]

I dosed 3ML of Phosphate E.

if that doesn’t drop it a bit I’m not sure. I might have to invest in a reactor.

Once again - confirm your Hanna P readers result. Especially the 0.35 reading. i was in the same situation with a new meter and run GFO and whatever in order to get it down - It did not get lower than 0.1. I send in a Triton test - Hi-774 show 0.1 and Triton come back with 0.018. My corals was going downhill at that time - when I stop GFO (and all other tricks) and dose some PO4 - and today - corals are fine.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Zeal]

Once again - confirm your Hanna P readers result. Especially the 0.35 reading. i was in the same situation with a new meter and run GFO and whatever in order to get it down - It did not get lower than 0.1. I send in a Triton test - Hi-774 show 0.1 and Triton come back with 0.018. My corals was going downhill at that time - when I stop GFO (and all other tricks) and dose some PO4 - and today - corals are fine.

Sincerely Lasse

I tested twice first times was 0.41 then 0.35

 

[LC8Sumi]

I dosed 3ML of Phosphate E.

if that doesn’t drop it a bit I’m not sure. I might have to invest in a reactor.

It can take some time and doses to see a decline, because the rockwork acts as a phosphate battery. Either you are trying to raise or lower it, you are first altering the phosphates in the rock work, and only when that “charges” or “depletes” is when you really see constant results in the water column - where you test from. One has to be careful because of this in both cases, because what tends to happen is you dose and dose and nothing really happens, then one day Bammm.

 

[Cwentz758]

A BRS reactor with everything included (the pump to) is 50 bucks.
I also agree don’t chase numbers I was caught up in that recently and it hasn’t changed my tank for better or worse. I actually feel like my tank was looking better when I was at my parents who never tested anything and changed the water if I was begging them twice a month maybe once if I were lucky. However they never kept corals more than GSP and Xenia because I didn’t trust expensive ones would live with them.

here’s a pic at their place about a year and a half ago:

and here it is now

the tank was moved in November of 2019 to be where I was living more permanently and I’ve spent the money on light upgrades and pumps and testing. Yes I have more corals and I’m less concerned about losing fish. But I have no coralline algae anymore and I’ve been fighting brown sand...

So I’m done chasing low numbers for phosphate/nitrate (within reason) and just going to go with what my tank tells me.

 

[Zeal]

Just tested... Phosphates at 0.055 Nitrates at 0-1. I dosed 1ML of ME Nitrates.

I dosed Brightwell Phosphate E Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i am a phosguard guy ,does not leach when fully used ,tried and true ,old school ,using since 90's,not a big fan of gfo too sandy,releases when full ,jmo

if you mean does not ever release phosphate, that isn’t true of any phosphate binder. They all bind an amount determined by the concentration of phosphate in the water. If you put it into lower phosphate water, phosphate will come off.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Phosphate RX (lanthanum chloride) is just masking your issue also. The only difference is it's way stronger then GFO or phosguard, and your adding it constantly.

Masking? Seems to carry a strong value judgement.

If you described it as "effectively normalizing" or effectively treating" by accelerating a natural process, the judgement seems different, but the chemical effect is the same. lol