Phosphate control?

[doodguy]

I don't love doing water changes but notice my phosphates keep creeping up without water changes.

What are you guys doing to affordably control phosphates? Gfo is pricey, I built a refugium but my chaeto keeps dying despite decent grow light.

 

[Flippers4pups]

What's your water parameters at?

 

[MrObscura]

I prefer to just find a balance between feeding, skimming and waterchanges. I rather not run po4 removing media.

 

[doodguy]

Per api
Calcium 520
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 5.0

Per ghl
Dkh goes between 9 and 14. Still ruling out calibration
Temp 77
Salinity 1.025
Redox 246
Ph 7.8

 

[doodguy]

I prefer to just find a balance between feeding, skimming and waterchanges. I rather not run po4 removing media.

I try to keep tank well fed. Have about 30 fish in my 350 gallon.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Per api
Calcium 520
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 5.0

Per ghl
Dkh goes between 9 and 14. Still ruling out calibration
Temp 77
Salinity 1.025
Redox 246
Ph 7.8

That nitrate reading is your problem. Nitrates and phosphates need to be in some sort of balance. Both plants and corals use these nutrients to grow. Without nitrate, your chaeto will die and other algae won't grow, therefore no consumption of PO4. I would recommend dosing nitrate. Start slow, and increase it until your tank is able to stay fairly steady without dosing (i.e., NO3 stays around 1-5 ppm). You will be able to grow chaeto, and that will get rid of your PO4.

 

[MrObscura]

I'd be more worried about that Alk range.

 

[psirex]

1. Blue Life PhosRx
2. Seachum PhosGuard (Tumble in reactor)
3. Two Little Fishies Lanthanium Chloride
4. UltraLife Lanthanium Chloride

I have used all of the above and gotten good results. With phos level of 5.0, I would use either the Blue Life or TLF to get them down under .05 then use the Seachum Phosguard to manage from there.

I would also let the nitrate hang out between 10-20....

 

[MeatMountain]

Lanthanum Chloride works like a charm and is very cheap but works best with a skimmer.

 

[doodguy]

I have a good size euro reef protein skimmer.

Don't know why my nitrates are always 0 but never see any nitrates. Do you really think I should introduce some?

I use to run a bio pellet reactor but don't run it anymore was advised shouldn't run it. Should I put something in there to tumble? Need to ensure is reef safe

 

[psirex]

Lanthanum Chloride works like a charm and is very cheap but works best with a skimmer.

My assumption was that he\she had one.

 

[doodguy]

I'm heading to home depot now to buy spectracide stump remover. Does anyone have any advice of a calculator for how much to dose how many times per day to get nitrates up a little?

 

[psirex]

Get raw shrimp put it in a filter bag in your sump and monitor it... or Just feed a little heavier\more....

 

[Purpletang92]

Build or invest in an algae turf scrubber , Prodibio works well also.