How should I go about bringing down Po4

[Rawsreef]

Hi everyone,

I've been dealing with algae issues in my 220G mixed reef and noticed coral growth problems.

I've never tested for phosphates but suspecting they were high, I tested, and indeed they were. Using Red sea kit

PO4 is well over 1PPM
Nitrates are between 5-10 PPM


What is the best approach to lower PO4

Did 10% WC Friday, added 1 LB of GFO to my system today.

 

[Rawsreef]

Heres what some of my snails are looking like.

 

[Duffer]

Water change will not help much. Phosphates bond to rock and sand, when you do a wc it will only take out what’s in the water column..also the algae is feeding off of the phosphates so you are probably getting a false reading…

gfo or phos e from brightwell works better

 

[Spare time]

The gfo will work. 1lb seems like a lot but I'm not familiar with how much to put in that big of a tank. Just check the phosphate daily and if it's dropping too fast then lower the amount of gfo. GFO is extremely aggressive

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree the GFO will work, and it's my preferred media, but may be more expensive than its worth in this situation.

Lanthanum will be much less expensive.

If you have tangs, read up on the effects a few folks have had with lanthanum and tangs.

 

[Rawsreef]

Thanks for the responses.

I figured WC's wouldn't do much, but better than nothing. At least while I waited for the GFO to be delivered. As I have a few corals and a clam that arent looking too happy.

I agree the GFO will work, and it's my preferred media, but may be more expensive than its worth in this situation.

Lanthanum will be much less expensive.

If you have tangs, read up on the effects a few folks have had with lanthanum and tangs.

The cost with GFO was my worry too. I bought some of the cheaper stuff, 1 lb for 20 ish bucks. Then I read it will most likely deplete in a few days since my PO4 is so high.

I definitely don't want to spend more than I need to.


I will read up on lanthanum, thank you for the suggestion.




I also have red sea NOPOX sitting in my cabinet. Would adding this help? As long as I keep an eye on nitrates as well.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone,

I've been dealing with algae issues in my 220G mixed reef and noticed coral growth problems.

I've never tested for phosphates but suspecting they were high, I tested, and indeed they were. Using Red sea kit

PO4 is well over 1PPM
Nitrates are between 5-10 PPM


What is the best approach to lower PO4

Did 10% WC Friday, added 1 LB of GFO to my system today.

Slowly for starters.
Reduce feeding amount and add a pouch of chemiPure Blue or elite which will bring it down, keep it in check and remove any toxins if present.

 

[Rawsreef]

Not sure I am comfortable with lanthanum, I have 4 tangs in this tank.

 

[Rawsreef]

Slowly for starters.
Reduce feeding amount and add a pouch of chemiPure Blue or elite which will bring it down, keep it in check and remove any toxins if present.

I definitely feed on the heavy side, so this is one thing I will adjust.

I already have the GFO in, so if anything I will try chemipure elite next time. This is a 220G reef, I may need more than just 1 pouch?

I think elite contains GFO while blue doesn't

 

[Duffer]

Thanks for the responses.

I figured WC's wouldn't do much, but better than nothing. At least while I waited for the GFO to be delivered. As I have a few corals and a clam that arent looking too happy.



The cost with GFO was my worry too. I bought some of the cheaper stuff, 1 lb for 20 ish bucks. Then I read it will most likely deplete in a few days since my PO4 is so high.

I definitely don't want to spend more than I need to.


I will read up on lanthanum, thank you for the suggestion.




I also have red sea NOPOX sitting in my cabinet. Would adding this help? As long as I keep an eye on nitrates as well.

Nopox will only get your nitrates down believe it or not,

Not sure I am comfortable with lanthanum, I have 4 tangs in this tank.

I have four tangs also in my tank, i use lanthanum for yrs now and not once has it effecting them. I use Phos E from Brightwell, works wonders, but i also dose half the recommended amount...you have to go slow...

 

[vetteguy53081]

I definitely feed on the heavy side, so this is one thing I will adjust.

I already have the GFO in, so if anything I will try chemipure elite next time. This is a 220G reef, I may need more than just 1 pouch?

I think elite contains GFO while blue doesn't

yes- elite has GFO

 

[Ben Pedersen]

Nopox will only get your nitrates down believe it or not,

I have four tangs also in my tank, i use lanthanum for yrs now and not once has it effecting them. I use Phos E from Brightwell, works wonders, but i also dose half the recommended amount...you have to go slow...

What do you keep your P04 at? I believe lanthanum is toxic to micro organisms even in small amounts. It does remove P04 very well.. but with risk.

 

[Duffer]

What do you keep your P04 at? I believe lanthanum is toxic to micro organisms even in small amounts. It does remove P04 very well.. but with risk.

i have had no ill effects what so ever using lanthanum...corals and fish including CUC are fine...

My phosphates are around .03-.06

 

[BigTimeIssues]

My research, not experience, on lanthanum is that if you use the lanthanum for pools you can easily destroy your fish. Melev done this and has since used phosphate rx with no issues. So look into that..

My experience last time I was reefing and now with gfo is that it works.. well.. but is high priced. My current tank was getting up .75 ppm phosphate and was afraid of the effects if high phosphates and added half the recommended dosage of gfo to a reactor.. it immediately came down to .5 within 2 days.. but the gfo was spent and the phosphate was going back up daily by 5 ppb. Added another round of gfo and ran the flow slower and it dropped to .25 in 2 days.. and held it there for several days more. But then started to rise again.

I assume when I lower it the rocks leech it back out.. over all I'm holding now at .4 to .5. I don't want to use 500$ worth of gfo to get my phosphate down..

Gfo works. But its expensive and can work really fast. Also it can stress your corals.. I had some corals not showing good polyp extension the second go round of gfo. But now that its stabilized everyone seems to be happy again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I believe lanthanum is toxic to micro organisms even in small amounts.

What is the evidence of that?

 

[Ben Pedersen]

What is the evidence of that?

I remember reading it on a Lanthanum environmental impact sheet.

 

[Ben Pedersen]

i have had no ill effects what so ever using lanthanum...corals and fish including CUC are fine...

My phosphates are around .03-.06

Do you dose into a sock? or protein skimmer?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I remember reading it on a Lanthanum environmental impact sheet.

I've not seen any evidence of this being a concern for reefers, and may not apply to seawater at all.

 

[Ben Pedersen]

I've not seen any evidence of this being a concern for reefers, and may not apply to seawater at all.

It was a while ago, but if I remember correctly La and Ce are both used to sequester PO4 and both are considered dangerous water contaminants. La has a greater impact on freshwater organisms including micro organisms and Ce has a greater impact on marine organisms. Both are considered toxic. I read this on a chemical spec sheet provided by a manufacture.

If used, La should be used with extreme cation.. Tangs in the Acanthurus are very sensitive as well as many types of wrasse. Sadly I speak with experince.. I lost a Powder Blue, Powder Brown, Powder Blue Hybrid, 2 Achilles, white cheek and multiple wrasses. I also noticed decline in micro fauna. This was after dosing 2 x .5ml doses in 2 days in a 175 gallon system. The loss was my own fault do to a dosing concentration error. There was no clouding in my tank.

I'm sure if dosed correctly La can be used... However, personally, I don't think I will use it again..

And yes, " I may over-rely on my personal experience to accept or reject truth"