My new phosphate article has posted

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 18, 2015

deerhunter06 · Mar 18, 2015

great article. You always have plenty of helpful and useful information. thanks.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 19, 2015

Thanks very much!

Happy Reefing.

5Bucks · Mar 19, 2015

Thanks Randy for another great article!

I believe I had a case of phosphate binding to aragonite. I was advised to remove aragonite and bathe in vinegar for 2-3 minutes followed by heavy freshwater rinse and then let it dry. I baked it in a low oven for 90 minutes. Do you feel this is a valid method for removing phosphates bound to aragonite?

Rybren · Mar 19, 2015

Thanks for the new version of the article Randy. On behalf of Reefers everywhere, thank you for your continued efforts to help us become better aquarists.

Cheers!

Diesel · Mar 19, 2015

Very helpful for many of us.
The explanation of different export materials and methods is a BIG PLUS!
Thanks Boss.

Rob Top1 · Mar 19, 2015

Have learned so much from your articles over the years thank you for your on going contributions to the hobby.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 20, 2015

5Bucks said:
Thanks Randy for another great article!

I believe I had a case of phosphate binding to aragonite. I was advised to remove aragonite and bathe in vinegar for 2-3 minutes followed by heavy freshwater rinse and then let it dry. I baked it in a low oven for 90 minutes. Do you feel this is a valid method for removing phosphates bound to aragonite?

An acid wash is a good way to remove phosphate, although I do not know if 2-3 minutes is adequate or not.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 20, 2015

Thanks, folks.

Glad the updated article was helpful.

Happy Reefing!

hart24601 · Mar 20, 2015

Wow, we are lucky to have you in our hobby Randy!

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 20, 2015

Thanks very much.

Happy Reefing.

Vegard Myrvang · Mar 20, 2015

Great indepth article.
Also provised insight about kalkwasser and phoshate removal, havent found anything about that before.

pdiehm · Mar 21, 2015

in reading the article, it appears my Pukani Rock curing in the garage, dosing with SeaKlear when the levels get appropriate is a preferred method. One thing that I don't think was mentioned was the PO4 remover like SeaKlear will not work if PO4 levels are below...0.05 I think. I'm not sure, about that number, but there's a point when SeaKlear will not bind to the phosphates in the water column.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 21, 2015

Where did you see that about not binding below 0.05 ppm?

Nano sapiens · Mar 21, 2015

Great article Randy, yet again

If I may make an addition for your consideration.

An additional phosphate control method, that I believe is often underestimated, is the regular removal of detritus. I use this method (along with 10%/wk water changes) exclusively. With only 10g of water volume to work, I can measure the rise of inorganic phosphate within a relatively short period of time if I do not remove detritus regularly. Although I can't measure organic phosphate, logically one would assume that it rises, too.

I believe that there are two main reasons why detritus removal can effectively keep phosphates in check:

1. Removal of the detrital material itself exports both organic and inorganic phosphates from the system.

2. Physically keeping the substrate porous through detritus removal allows the substrate bacteria and micro algae to process phosphates more efficiently. These organisms receive more water flow, have larger active populations, and as a result they can more effectively sequester in-tank nutrients. Regular detritus removal removes a portion of the bacterial/algal mass, which is partially made up of phosphates. Their regrowth to previous population levels then binds phosphates again until the next cycle of detritus removal occurs.

Ralph -

pdiehm · Mar 21, 2015

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Where did you see that about not binding below 0.05 ppm?

I am not sure. I vaguely remember reading something about it when I was researching how to use LC, and it's viability in PO4 removal.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 22, 2015

Nano sapiens said:
Great article Randy, yet again If I may make an addition for your consideration.

An additional phosphate control method, that I believe is often underestimated, is the regular removal of detritus. I use this method (along with 10%/wk water changes) exclusively. With only 10g of water volume to work, I can measure the rise of inorganic phosphate within a relatively short period of time if I do not remove detritus regularly. Although I can't measure organic phosphate, logically one would assume that it rises, too.

I believe that there are two main reasons why detritus removal can effectively keep phosphates in check:

1. Removal of the detrital material itself exports both organic and inorganic phosphates from the system.

2. Physically keeping the substrate porous through detritus removal allows the substrate bacteria and micro algae to process phosphates more efficiently. These organisms receive more water flow, have larger active populations, and as a result they can more effectively sequester in-tank nutrients. Regular detritus removal removes a portion of the bacterial/algal mass, which is partially made up of phosphates. Their regrowth to previous population levels then binds phosphates again until the next cycle of detritus removal occurs.

Ralph -

Yes, I agree that detritus removal can export a lot of organic material before it breaks down.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 22, 2015

pdiehm said:
I am not sure. I vaguely remember reading something about it when I was researching how to use LC, and it's viability in PO4 removal.

Ok. I'd have to say I am skeptical since I've seen many people claim to have dropped it lower. I've not tried it myself, however.

VicD81 · Mar 22, 2015

Thanks for the Info. I was about to post a question but being as how we are on the subject.

How do we know what actual PO4 is vs What the tests are indicating? I've read that tests are not accurate because they do not account for what the macroalgae is taking in. I just figured if its testing 0 it actually is 0 and the macro is doing its job.

pdiehm · Mar 22, 2015

VicD81 said:
Thanks for the Info. I was about to post a question but being as how we are on the subject.

How do we know what actual PO4 is vs What the tests are indicating? I've read that tests are not accurate because they do not account for what the macroalgae is taking in. I just figured if its testing 0 it actually is 0 and the macro is doing its job.

There is a +/- accuracy. My hanna checker is +/- 0.04. So a reading of 0.05 could be lower or higher. I think my rock curing will be taking a lot of the PO4 out but then controlling it with GFO and then using either observation to determine the value of PO4 or a time period of say 4 weeks routinely to change gfo