Extremely high phosphate

[stinkydavis]

Hello everyone, my tank is 4 weeks old fish have been in for 2 weeks. I have 3 fish, 2 hermits and a crab. My phosphate levels are at 10! There is some diatom’s growing on the dry rock. I have live and dry rock in the tank. I have been running phogaurd in my canister for a little over a week. Lights are off but I is by a window. (No direct sunlight). Any suggestions?

 

[Graemesreef]

Whats your feeding schedule like? Are you running a skimmer yet?

 

[Garf]

Hello everyone, my tank is 4 weeks old fish have been in for 2 weeks. I have 3 fish, 2 hermits and a crab. My phosphate levels are at 10! There is some diatom’s growing on the dry rock. I have live and dry rock in the tank. I have been running phogaurd in my canister for a little over a week. Lights are off but I is by a window. (No direct sunlight). Any suggestions?

10 what? Ppb, ppm.

 

[stinkydavis]

I feed once a day in the morning. I have a fluval surface skimmer that is connected to my canister filter.

 

[stinkydavis]

10 what? Ppb, ppm.

Ppm

 

[PlumbTuckered]

Hello everyone, my tank is 4 weeks old fish have been in for 2 weeks. I have 3 fish, 2 hermits and a crab. My phosphate levels are at 10! There is some diatom’s growing on the dry rock. I have live and dry rock in the tank. I have been running phogaurd in my canister for a little over a week. Lights are off but I is by a window. (No direct sunlight). Any suggestions?

Ever hear of water changes? These are huge when it comes to exporting nutrients. You can't just set up a tank and expect it to look good. Beautiful tanks are the result of regular husbandry.

Phosguard alone will not reduce your phosphates when the level is 10.

 

[PlumbTuckered]

I feed once a day in the morning. I have a fluval surface skimmer that is connected to my canister filter.

Canister filters are phosphate factories. You MUST disassemble them weekly and clean thoroughly.

 

[am3gross]

How are you testing? What is your goal number to get to? "0" is not always the best number to strive for.

 

[stinkydavis]

Ever hear of water changes? These are huge when it comes to exporting nutrients. You can't just set up a tank and expect it to look good. Beautiful tanks are the result of regular husbandry.

Phosguard alone will not reduce your phosphates when the level is 10.

I do regular water changes. I did not know about breaking down the canister weekly and will do that tonight.

 

[stinkydavis]

How are you testing? What is your goal number to get to? "0" is not always the best number to strive for.

I am using api. I am just trying to get it down to a lower number than 10.

 

[lulubap]

Hello everyone, my tank is 4 weeks old fish have been in for 2 weeks. I have 3 fish, 2 hermits and a crab. My phosphate levels are at 10! There is some diatom’s growing on the dry rock. I have live and dry rock in the tank. I have been running phogaurd in my canister for a little over a week. Lights are off but I is by a window. (No direct sunlight). Any suggestions?

have you been replacing the phosguard every 4 days? phosguard should not be placed in your filter for more than 3-4 days or else it starts leeching out what it was absorbing (i.e phosphates!)

 

[Spare time]

Ever hear of water changes? These are huge when it comes to exporting nutrients. You can't just set up a tank and expect it to look good. Beautiful tanks are the result of regular husbandry.

Phosguard alone will not reduce your phosphates when the level is 10.

Water changes are not effective at lowering phosphate. Phosphate gets attached to the rock and sand and leaches out.

 

[Spare time]

have you been replacing the phosguard every 4 days? phosguard should not be placed in your filter for more than 3-4 days or else it starts leeching out what it was absorbing (i.e phosphates!)

No that is not true. It will not release the phosphate.

 

[Spare time]

Was any of the dry rock previously used in an aquarium? Do you know the phosphates of the tank the live rock came from?

 

[lulubap]

No that is not true. It will not release the phosphate.

can you explain the misconception and where it came from, then? sorry for the misinformation, just trying to learn

 

[Spare time]

can you explain the misconception and where it came from, then? sorry for the misinformation, just trying to learn

I don't know where it came from, but in general its not easy for phosphate removers to let go of the phosphate. @Randy Holmes-Farley might be able to explain it better. I could be wrong, but I have always understood them to not leach back phosphate when full

 

[lulubap]

I don't know where it came from, but in general its not easy for phosphate removers to let go of the phosphate. @Randy Holmes-Farley might be able to explain it better. I could be wrong, but I have always understood them to not leach back phosphate when full

i read seachem's statement regarding phosphate leeching, so you are most likely right. would still appreciate a more in depth explanation to understand why. thank you for the information, i have been taught before that phosguard leeches phosphate when full!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

my first though is that it is very doubtful. When you say you use API test I doubt it even more. I would suggest to get a different brand of test kit. Maybe also post a pic of your tank, a tank pic always explains a million words.

 

[dstockwell]

PhosGuard

Leave product in place for 4 days, then test phosphate or silicate concentrations with either MultiTest™ Phosphate or MultiTest™ Silicate. If the concentration of the component you are trying to decrease has not dropped to around 0.02 mg/L, then replace the PhosGuard™, otherwise leave in place until levels begin to climb again. As long as concentrations remain under control, the product is not exhausted. Over treating is not recommended. PhosGuard™ is not an exchange resin and does not release anything into the water. It does not leach phosphate or silicate back into the water and may be removed, dried, and returned to service until exhausted. Continuous use of small quantities is better than intermittent use of larger quantities.

 

[lulubap]

PhosGuard

Leave product in place for 4 days, then test phosphate or silicate concentrations with either MultiTest™ Phosphate or MultiTest™ Silicate. If the concentration of the component you are trying to decrease has not dropped to around 0.02 mg/L, then replace the PhosGuard™, otherwise leave in place until levels begin to climb again. As long as concentrations remain under control, the product is not exhausted. Over treating is not recommended. PhosGuard™ is not an exchange resin and does not release anything into the water. It does not leach phosphate or silicate back into the water and may be removed, dried, and returned to service until exhausted. Continuous use of small quantities is better than intermittent use of larger quantities.

So (ion?) exchange resins tend to leach material back into their environment, from what I understand. When this product is full, it will just cease to service? Reef chemistry is an entirely new field for me. Thank you.