High Phosphates... 0.9

[hunterallen40]

It’s .85

The paper I read on this subject found corals (staghorn acros in particular) to grow faster in high phosphate than in low phosphate (high phosphate was 0.5 in this specific experiment). It also found, however, that high phosphate corals have more brittle skeletons.

I personally like to keep phosphate around 0.1-0.2, but would probably let it ride if I was in your shoes. Your corals look good to me, and I think that's the most important part .

 

[NickyReefs]

It’s .85

Was just gonna type that hahaha.

 

[NickyReefs]

The paper I read on this subject found corals (staghorn acros in particular) to grow faster in high phosphate than in low phosphate (high phosphate was 0.5 in this specific experiment). It also found, however, that high phosphate corals have more brittle skeletons.

I personally like to keep phosphate around 0.1-0.2, but would probably let it ride if I was in your shoes. Your corals look good to me, and I think that's the most important part .

Thank you for the compliment!!! I basically cut back on there pelet feeding just to see of the #s will slowly come down and see of sps growth increases. The tank looks good but that # just makes me crazy haha

 

[ctopherl]

It’s .85

lol oops... off by order of magnitude! thank you for the correction. In that case I would verrrrry slowly start to try and work back to ~.1. I would do this slowly since there are no immediate obvious issues, and going too fast could stress your corals. You might be fine just leaving it but I'd guess your corals may not be growing as fast as they could, which no one likes.

There are many ways to reduce phosphates but my go-to is just feed a little less and throw a small bag of GFO in the sump. Probably test daily at least for the first few days to monitor how fast it's going down - you can always remove the GFO temporarily or dump a bunch of pellets in if you find it's going down too fast.

"High levels can also stunt coral growth by restricting the uptake of calcium carbonate."

"If phosphates are high for long periods of time, the zooxanthellae can overpopulate and turn the coral brown." .... "The belief is that phosphate inhibits the calcification process."

 

[hunterallen40]

Thank you for the compliment!!! I basically cut back on there pelet feeding just to see of the #s will slowly come down and see of sps growth increases. The tank looks good but that # just makes me crazy haha

I completely feel you there. There are plenty of people that state that you cannot be successful with phosphates higher than 0.05 ppm, but I respectfully disagree with those people. There are many paths to success in this hobby, and I have done more damage reducing phosphates than letting them sit at levels we consider high.

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Phosphate contamination can negatively affect corals, modifying growth rates, skeletal density, reproduction, mortality, and zooxanthellae. We determi…

www.sciencedirect.com

This is the paper I was talking about, btw. I said staghorns, but I guess I misremembered. It's actually acropora muricata they used.

The conclusion is you will get faster growth at higher phosphate levels, but brittle skeletons. It's kinda contradictory to the usual statements we see in the hobby, but a good argument for keeping the levels under 0.5 nonetheless.

 

[leon.1980]

So this has been going on for a few months now. I'm checking it weekly and it's be between .7 and .9 for the most part. I have a mixed reef. I have 0 algea and problems with any corals.

For the past month now I've started introducing Sps corals into the tank. The SPS are doing great and holding there color. Some are starting to show growth tips and some just seem to just be doing nothing. I'm assuming they are just adjusting to there environment?

My question is... Should I try to lower my p04 levels slowly? I've read that high p04 can slow.l growth. I'm debating whether or not I should just leave it where it is or try to lower it?

All other parameters are very stable... all for reef on a doser and I also have N03 on a doser as well to maintain 10ppm. For some reason my tank just eats nitrates.

Thanks for all your help!

Why fix what’s not broke ? Don’t chase numbers. Let your tank tell you what it needs.

 

[xxMrGrimxx]

I’d recommend biopellets. I had this same issue. Now I’m down between.08-.10 on phosphate. It took a while to get there too

 

[bandando]

What fish are in the system? A tiny dose of lanthanum each day may be fine if you do not have tangs.

What is the problem of lanthanum with tangs?
Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What is the problem of lanthanum with tangs?
Thanks

Some people report serious problems with tangs and lanthanum, and others do not see such issues. It is not clear to me what is happening in those different cases.