How to lower phosphate

[Yikesdoris]

The tank is approximately 4 months old, it is a 75 gallon tank with 80 pounds of rock and 40 pounds of live sand

headed over to the LFS to test water, as soon as i get back i will post them .

 

[O'l Salty]

Poly Filter is easy to use and very effective. I just drop a pad into my sock and it works great.

 

[Yikesdoris]

I would get your nitrates tested.

Phosphates aren't going to hurt a coral...or anything really. That's a misconception. Phosphates might help algae grow, but that's a whole other topic.

If phosphates aren't being used up (ie. coral growth, algae growth, et al) then there's a pretty good chance of there being another limiting nutrient at work.

Nitrogen is the most likely, and nitrates are easy to test for.

I suspect you'll get a number that's effectively zero when you test, but get it tested to be sure. Any LFS should be able to test it for you, but NO3 kits aren't expensive.

Anything else interesting about the tank or the way it was started, etc?

good morning these are the levels from yesterdays test

sal 1.023
nitrate 5
phos 0.25
alk 9
calcium at 400

 

[BantyRooster97]

Phosphate can kill corals, trust me, but lowering too fast can as well. Stop feeding, for like 2 days. Then test. It won't hurt your chromis, they are very hardy.

If your phosphate doesn't drop you have something leaching phosphate into your tank. Phosguard is good but don't over do it & drop the phosphate too fast. That will kill more than the high phosphate.

You can do it in moderation, but most importantly, you need to find out where it is coming from.

Did you add any old rock, dead or live? Reuse any old sand, dead or live?

 

[hwntunda]

What type of water are you using? Rodi?

 

[mcarroll]

I just tested high on the phosphate and not sure how to lower it, I tested 1.0

nitrate 5
phos 0.25

0.25 ppm seems like a big variation from the 1.0 reading. 0.25 is nothing to worry about. (Even 1.0 ppm is debatable at most...)

As long as that 5 ppm Nitrate doesn't turn to 0.00 ppm while those phosphates are getting used up, then I would do nothing other than wait. Letting the system burn up all the nitrates would be the problem, if there's going to be a problem.

I'd try re-testing Nitrate twice in one day (morning/night) to see how much that number might vary in a day.

If it dips < 5ppm I would dose back up to ≥5-10 ppm.