heavy phosphate
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Waterjockey
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How high are your phosphates?
Giving us an idea of your parameters would help.
What form of export(s) are you currently using?
LC is not "dipped", and I would caution it's use without a fair bit of reading on it's possible adverse effects.
JaimeAdams
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I have friends who use LC, but I would certainly read up on it and make sure you know what you are doing before using it.
There are other phosphate absorbing medias and filter pads that you could try. There are many so I won't list individuals.
There are other phosphate absorbing medias and filter pads that you could try. There are many so I won't list individuals.
BoneXriffic
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Po4 numbers will help... if they are super high because of leaking rocks you wont win that battle without rebuilding and curing rock...of its over feeding things can be done
Waterjockey
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Ok....husbandry practices are first. Blowing rocks off frequently with a turkey baster, powerheads, etc. Do you have a skimmer? Run it "wet" till you get it under control. Do you grow macro algae? Chaeto or similar if you have a sump? Do you run gfo (granular ferris oxide)? Gfo is a pretty safe way to knock down phosphates. There are filter pads that work in a similar fashion. An algae turf scrubber is also an option to help knock nitrates and phosphates down. What are your nitrates like?
How is your fish load? Can you cut back on feeding?
If nitrates are high as well, you can try carbon dosing (vodka or vinegar). It will help reduce phospates if your nitrates are high as well.
Lastly, if all other methods of export don't do the job well enough, LC will work. So some research. If you have tangs for example, doing it wrong can kill them. It is dripped or dosed very slowly into a filter sock in a high flow area in the sump. You would dilute say 10 ml of LC in Rodi water, then drip over several hours. Repeat as necessary. As with everything in marine tanks, going very slowly is key to success. I wouldn't strip that high a level out quickly, I would bring it down over the course of a few weeks....especially if you have corals. ....just my opinion, others may disagree. I have used LC when I had rock that was chronically leaching phosphates but imho all other methods of phosphate reduction are preferred.
How is your fish load? Can you cut back on feeding?
If nitrates are high as well, you can try carbon dosing (vodka or vinegar). It will help reduce phospates if your nitrates are high as well.
Lastly, if all other methods of export don't do the job well enough, LC will work. So some research. If you have tangs for example, doing it wrong can kill them. It is dripped or dosed very slowly into a filter sock in a high flow area in the sump. You would dilute say 10 ml of LC in Rodi water, then drip over several hours. Repeat as necessary. As with everything in marine tanks, going very slowly is key to success. I wouldn't strip that high a level out quickly, I would bring it down over the course of a few weeks....especially if you have corals. ....just my opinion, others may disagree. I have used LC when I had rock that was chronically leaching phosphates but imho all other methods of phosphate reduction are preferred.
my nitrate are 0 amonia also 0 i have only probelm is phosphate. i m thing about alage scruber is it help ful to reduce nutrien and phosphate to
i make my own diy scruber. latium cloride is the optiom but it is risky i dont have very big load fish on the tank.it is fish only tank. and no rock in main
display to. but i put live rocks in sump. i rebuild my tank and i run old swaltwater in it i.change the sump to .
tank volume 500 lirters runing with 100 liter sump with bubl magus c-5 skimmer and bio balls and live rocks
i m not started refugium yet but in feature i build start it
i make my own diy scruber. latium cloride is the optiom but it is risky i dont have very big load fish on the tank.it is fish only tank. and no rock in main
display to. but i put live rocks in sump. i rebuild my tank and i run old swaltwater in it i.change the sump to .
tank volume 500 lirters runing with 100 liter sump with bubl magus c-5 skimmer and bio balls and live rocks
i m not started refugium yet but in feature i build start it
BoneXriffic
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You sure rocks arent leaching po4?
I am anti gfo...but gfo and h202 together will rapidly strip po4.
I am anti gfo...but gfo and h202 together will rapidly strip po4.
Waterjockey
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If these are rocks from your old tank, and you had high phosphates in that tank, then I agree, they are probably leaching po4. It can leach for many months, and gfo is an expensive way to "cure" phosphate laden rock. Assuming you can't/don'T want to pull the rock out and "cook" it outside your system, LC may actually be your best option. Macro algaes and algae turf scrubbers require nitrates as well to grow. If you have no nitrates, you would likely need to dose nitrate to grow them (macro or turf). I used LC for the exact same problem you have.
Others may suggest a better way, but I diluted 10 ml of LC in 990ml of RODI, and dosed that over 24 hours via dosing pump into a fine micron filter sock that my overflow drained into. I did that every other day or so for several months. This was in a 150 or so litre system. You may need a higher dose in your larger system. As long as the filter sock is fine enough mesh to catch the precipitate, and you go slow, you should be ok for the most part. Watching your animals for any signs of distress are key. Tangs especially, can suffocate if the precipitates coat their gills.
Good luck.
Others may suggest a better way, but I diluted 10 ml of LC in 990ml of RODI, and dosed that over 24 hours via dosing pump into a fine micron filter sock that my overflow drained into. I did that every other day or so for several months. This was in a 150 or so litre system. You may need a higher dose in your larger system. As long as the filter sock is fine enough mesh to catch the precipitate, and you go slow, you should be ok for the most part. Watching your animals for any signs of distress are key. Tangs especially, can suffocate if the precipitates coat their gills.
Good luck.
Waterjockey
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When the LC hits the water it almost immediately forms a solid in the presence of phosphate. I would not recommend doing it without some sort of method to trap it like a filter bag or a strainer lined with fine filter cloth. At that slow a dose you might be ok, and that is a risk to your livestock you have to determine for yourself. I would get some filter bags first, and then dose. As said often here, nothing good happens fast. It's been that high for a while....a little longer wait while you get some delivered or pick some up at the lfs is likely less risky than rushing to dose without bags.
