low- no phosphate

[Ballyhoo]

LFS tested my water and says they're no phosphate and that must be because my tank is under nourished and out competed by cyano, though i have a high number of new small fish that are not offering much biological impact or i need to feed them more. im having cyano issues they've taken
down some of my corals and few others not thriving . What recommendations are there for low phosphate? LFS recommended a small purple tang. I told lfs the Internet people will think that's horrible - a Tang in a 42 and his response is do opposite what most say to do on internet. anyway, I would love to be rid of phosphate and cyano so I can have a nice coral tank.

 

[SnazzyUrchin792]

Did they give you an exact number/ what brand of test kit are they using? Some kits (mainly API) are so inaccurate that they read a healthy level of phosphate as zero.

 

[Ballyhoo]

Did they give you an exact number/ what brand of test kit are they using? Some kits (mainly API) are so inaccurate that they read a healthy level of phosphate as zero.

He used Salifert. My API tests are showing the same. No phosphates. So what I have is this overgrowth of what looks like green algae, but when I pull on it or grab it, its mass turns to zero, IE it is not real algae. Strange. I think I will post in chemistry board but I suppose only being a 7 week old tank I should not be alarmed. However doing all the things I am told did not work: Many water changes; high, wet skim; filtration, high pump velocity; economical feeding. Right now I have my tank lights at 2% blue, 1% white.. I almost feel like covering the tank and I am feeding more liberally; opened up the skim cup valve so the waste water just goes back into the sump.

 

[Cell]

Your LFS sucks. If your nitrate is also low you can feed more or export less. If you just need to boost PO4 there are products for that like Brightwell Phosphate E. Not sure what the preferred product is though, I haven't had this issue.

 

[Ballyhoo]

He used Salifert.

Your LFS sucks. If your nitrate is also low you can feed more or export less. If you just need to boost PO4 there are products for that like Brightwell Phosphate E. Not sure what the preferred product is though, I haven't had this issue.

they do not suck. you do not even know them your statement derives from gross ignorance. I live in one of the largest metropolitan parts of the United States and they're the highest rated. In my region. It's just that we are talking about a science art and technique and everybody just tring to brainstorm and to figure things out in good faith.

 

[Miami Reef]

What test kit did they use for phosphate?

I got rid of all my cyano by dosing chemi clean. Cyano can thrive in high and low phosphate levels.

Cyano likes high organic environments with lower flow. In my opinion, a chemi clean treatment might be the only solution in some cases.

I think you are correct that a tang wouldn’t fit your tank. However, there are many other fish species you can add if you want to increase the bioload.

 

[VintageReefer]

Your LFS sucks. Please don’t take it personally. They keep trying to sell you stuff.

There is a thread I read today about someone with a baby purple tang in a tank like yours (double checked, 55g aio tank) and even though the purple tang is small, it has become violent and is attacking and injuring other fish. The op for that thread now needs to remove all the rock to buckets to try and catch the tang and bring it back to the LFS

Purple Tang beat up my psychedelic mandarin

So like the title says, my purple tang beat up my psychedelic mandarin. Purple Tang was the final addition to my display. Woke up this morning and noticed Mando was looking rough. Then moments later I caught my purple tang in the act nipping at him. I isolated my mandarin to try and save him...

www.reef2reef.com

Notice the comments / advice from the community. Nobody is saying to keep the tang or it will get better. They say it will get worse. They need a 6ft tank. Need to rehome etc. purple tang in a lower volume cube tank is recipe for disaster

Your algae is typical for a tank of yours age. It’s a phase all new tanks go through. LFS should be aware of this and the fact they don’t mention it and attempt to sell a tang for your size tank is the reason people say they don’t know what they are talking about.

When the tang kills your other fish, they will buy him back at half the price you paid, and then sell you replacement fish.

Also what’s wrong with low to no phosphates? Here’s my history. Low phosphates are partially the reason your hair algae breaks apart. A good thing. The algae is weak and not thriving. Give it time and things will balance out

 

[Cell]

they do not suck. you do not even know them your statement derives from gross ignorance.

LFS recommended a small purple tang. I told lfs the Internet people will think that's horrible - a Tang in a 42 and his response is do opposite what most say to do on internet.

No, my statement comes from the LFS information/interaction you relayed.

How do I fix low phosphate? "Put a purple tang in a 42 and ignore the internet advice" is not good advice for successful reefing or proper care for the animal.

 

[Ballyhoo]

I think people should try to be a little bit less emotional and sentimental about stocking smaller Tangs in medium size tanks if the long-term intent is to re-home them. I can tell you this LFS does not suck, but it is run by human beings that they're not perfect. No human being is perfect and is ever gonna run their store 100% perfect according to everyone else's standards.
that person I'm talking about who advised me has one of the most successful and reputable coral retail establishments in the county of San Diego. If I go to another LFS store in San Diego county, they will refer me back to the knowledge of this one person I'm talking about who sold me the tang. He is known to be extremely educated on corals, His LFs store is stocked with amazingly beautiful species all around much more towards corals. but even then I have learned about reefing with corals even involving the most well educated can and be contemplation and speculation in certain circumstances. because fish are much easier to deal with than corals in the first year. It's a very tough thing. Well anything other than like torches I should've never bought SPS. I threw my money away but it's OK. I make good money and I'll make more money so when my biology improves I'll get the coral I want. His whole perspective is my phosphates are low. I have low nutrition. I have to feed more and I have to increase the biological environment. incidentally I contacted Algae Farms and I told them I'm also having a cyano outbreak. Their response was exactly the same: low nutrient environment, feed more etc. Although algae farms never told me about getting a small tang. The whole thing situation was the owner was telling me the fish I have now at all tiny and each contribution of theirs is tiny compared to the overall volume of the tank and juvenile tang would have a more substantial impact on the nutritional biological levels of the tank. It would eat more it would excrete more and eat algae. A Tang is really against what I want to do in my tank, but I listened to him and I have a small purple tang that I know I'm gonna be trading in for some coral because he did tell me he would give me a good trade-in credit. I regret having it a little bit. It goes against my philosophy of what I want in my tank. I did not want a purple tang or anything like that my my 42 gallon tank he got around a little bit and I guess the owner could be criticized on that, I see doing a lot of buildup on his store and I wonder if people being imperfect he's also trying to get some cash in, but it was given in the context of setting up the biology of the tank so that it would be suitable for coral growth. Because my tank is nutritionally starved. No nitrites no nitrates no phosphates. What is that? last night I took each individual life rock out and scrubbed each down and I used siphon so there's very little green left in my tank, but I'm still at zero phosphate. I know it will take time. but my tank today looks a lot nicer than it did 24 hours ago. in the pictures you will see the tank as it is today. It's absolutely clean compared to 20 hours ago when was filthy green. Do I have buyers remorse about the baby tang? Yes I do. It's a beautiful animal and it's not what the philosophy of my tank was I think I just talked into getting it. So at some point either gonna be buying a larger tank anyways, it will be rehomed. Money is not a huge deal for me. I'm older I've done well. I would even give away the Tang to somebody I wouldn't care. I am hoping that Zoe frags come around because they took a turn for the worst last night when I cleaned out my rock. I'm wondering if there's any chance Zoas will pop again bc today there are grayed out. I know the picture of having a tang in my tank as a 42 gallon. It's gonna shock a lot of people, but I can tell you it was not part of my plan.

edit
I removed the second heater from the tank because I felt it was collecting cyano. I also feel like that is the case with the reef wave. I think I just need to read the instructions on how to remove the wave real quickly so I can take it out, clean it up and put it back in. I've learned any kind of decor is problematic. Yes people told me that at the beginning but only through experience, do we learn

 

[NanoNana]

No, people don’t need to be less emotional when it comes to animal welfare.
You need to be less impulsive when it comes to what you purchase.
There are many many many fish that would have eaten algae and added to your bioload that would not need removing from the tank. Purple Tangs are hardly the best algae eating tangs, and there are many species of snails that would do a better job on cyano. A few CCs of an inexpensive product a day could easily bring your nutrients up.

You were given viable alternatives to potentially endangering fish but you wanted a tang. You have a tang. Congratulations.

Why do you ask for advice when you just ignore, argue and insult? Maybe just ask your LFS guru in the future and leave us to our happy little cult.

 

[Ballyhoo]

dude, I'm just narrating what my experiences have been overtime obviously I'm probably gonna be a little bit more impressed by a face-to-face relationship compared to somebody I don't know over the Internet. Made very clear re Tang is really not along the philosophy of what I want and will be very temporary. edit
I agree with you that the impulse buying is an issue for a new reefer who get all excited about this. I think that should've been something I probably should be complaining about with LFS owner and his encouragement should've been discouragement re Tang again he says "about what you read on the Internet it's gonna be BS,
Tang is fine to two years in your tank."

 

[NanoNana]

dude, I'm just narrating what my experiences have been overtime obviously I'm probably gonna be a little bit more impressed by a face-to-face relationship compared to somebody I don't know over the Internet. Made very clear re Tang is really not along the philosophy of what I want and will be very temporary.
I agree with you that the impulse buying is an issue for a new teefer who get all excited about this. I think that should've been attain is something I probably they should be complaining about with LFS owner and his encouragement should've been discouragement on whatever forms but again he says about what you read on the Internet it's gonna be us. "Tang is fine to two years in your tank."

There are better tangs for the job, actually better creatures in general. Not all tangs are created equal. Curious why you’d be sold a purple strictly for cyano.

Yes, it will be fine for a while before it has to get chased around, pulled out of its home, hang out in a bag and acclimate to new surroundings again.

The point is, it was completely UNNECESSARY. Dude, it’s your money, do whatever blows your hair back. I stand by my original statement that asking advice, ignoring it and insulting the ppl you’re asking, which is something you do in every thread, is lame AF.

 

[Ballyhoo]

and honestly, maybe I should be a little bit more concerned ,rather than juvenile Tang is a little bit a smaller space in a midsize aquarium. I mean yes all relative. The tang never really knows that it's in a midsize aquarium.

 

[Ballyhoo]

it was either purple or a sailfin And the purple looked nicer.

 

[VintageReefer]

I feel like I’m talking to a teenager

Your tang won’t make it 2 years nor will it help your algae problem. I’m sorry to tell you that.

You need to reduce bioload and focus on stability and nutrient control, instead you drastically increased bioload and nitrate production. Your tank is an early stage and at this point it’s ticking time bomb and it’s going to crash and be even worse than ever.

I am going to respectfully step back from now on, I see no point helping someone who won’t listen. I do wish you luck and hope you have good outcomes.

 

[NanoNana]

it was either purple or a sailfin And the purple looked nicer.

Don’t bring politics into fish tanks. Thats just ridiculous. YOU are in control of the welfare and comfort of that animal not a foreign govt.

Another example of the LFS making a sale. If the concern was utility, he could have simply TOLD you which tang to look for that would be best for the job.

I sell livestock. I can’t count how many times I’ve sent people to competitors because the horse they came to look at wasn’t going to work for what they wanted. “No ma’am your 6 year old who’s never ridden is not going to be safe on a trail on a green broke thoroughbred.” “No sir, sheep aren’t going to do nearly as good a job clearing brush as goats would. Guy up the road has some goats you should consider.” That’s ethical business IMO and I won’t do business with ppl who do less.

It remains an absolute fact that there were better options for the health of YOUR tank. But like I said, it’s YOUR tank. You do you dude.

 

[Ballyhoo]

The tang will be rehomed. I'm not even comfortable having it. Just trying to justify having it.

 

[TX_REEF]

LFS tested my water and says they're no phosphate and that must be because my tank is under nourished and out competed by cyano, though i have a high number of new small fish that are not offering much biological impact or i need to feed them more. im having cyano issues they've taken
down some of my corals and few others not thriving . What recommendations are there for low phosphate? LFS recommended a small purple tang. I told lfs the Internet people will think that's horrible - a Tang in a 42 and his response is do opposite what most say to do on internet. anyway, I would love to be rid of phosphate and cyano so I can have a nice coral tank.

adding a tang will not help your phosphate level and also no tang belongs in a 42... feed reefroids or dose neophos.

 

[Ballyhoo]

people, reefers pat themselves on the back for homing a tang in 200 gallon tank knowing their open ocean animals really the relative difference between the 42 and 200 g compared to opean Ocean is nothing. everyone here can rid themselves of their Tang or shut up and put up. Anyways, I don't wanna keep my Tang. I was talked around by LFS owner in I think his imperfect moment and my imperfect moment and now I look at it and like it, and I am talking myself into keeping it for a while. Tang excrete more and put more bioload in tank compared to small fish that I have . So you're telling me that will not increase my phos? Maybe you're right my lfs is full of S because he wanted to make a sale.
but everyone should stop with this, "if you don't listen to me go away". There are thousand different opinions and perspectives in this hobby.
also, there are two different tank cultures, the real world LFS tank cultures where people can buy T'sfor medium-size tanks and rehome them later, and the Internet, social media culture that frown upon anyone with the tank smaller than 200 G owning a tang. It's just a bit weird internet elitist culture.

 

[VintageReefer]

Does Petco even allow returns of fish?