Phosphate getting consumed at an alarming rate? Normal? Increase dose?

[LesPoissons]

Hey all,
Im battling dinos. I am dosing NeoPhos like crazy. I dose enough daily to bring 250gal to 0.08. (75ml)
Within 24 hours all the phos is gone. (Hanna Low Range Checker). (If I check immediately after dosing, the phos registers). Is this normal? What is using up all the phos? Would you dose more? Like double the dose?
Thanks!

 

[homer1475]

What is happening is all the phosphate your adding is binding to the rock and sand. Once there is an equilibrium in the tank, you'll likely cut back on dosing. IME

I wouldn't double your dose, just keep adding slowly.

 

[Tony616]

What's your nitrates level at?

 

[LesPoissons]

Aprox 8-10 for Nitrates
(Its a guess, the color falls between the 5 and 12 on the nyos test, so more than 5 but less than 12)

 

[Timfish]

Keep dosing and testing, daily if needed. Biofilms can sequester quite a bit of phosphate and cryptic sponges can make and store phosphorus crystals in their tissue. Your corals need a certain amount to avoid being deficient so you'll need to monitor it closely until things settle down.

 

[nereefpat]

Don't go crazy. Just keep doing what you're doing, by slowly dosing and testing daily.

If you can get your hands on trisodium phosphate (I got mine form Etsy, of all places), it would probably be cheaper than buying Neophos.

 

[LesPoissons]

Ive been dosing and testing daily for 3 weeks and its all "absorbed" within 24 hours. Am I trying to reach a a point where there is enough phos that its not getting immediately used within 24 hours so it registers on the hanna checker? If thats the case then shouldnt I increase the dose? I guess I dont understand how Im going to reach an equilibrium here.

Okay thank you I will check out trisodium because I am going through neophos like mad.

 

[maharsreef]

Loudwolf has the cheapest and purest forms of nitrate and phosphate by far.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Don't underestimate binding to any exposed calcium carbonate surface.

One pound of Florida aragonite rock was shown to bind 57 ppm of phosphate from 5 gallons of water, leaving only 0.16 ppm in the water.

Phosphate Absorption Rates in Aragonite

The more you add, the more will bind!

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Smite]

If the phosphates are being absorbed in your rock like stated above, then eventually they'll begin to leach back into the water column and you'll be able to stop dosing. If its being consumed by your dinos or other algae then that wont be the case.

If it weren't for the dinos I'd say don't worry about it too much and just feed heavy but dinos can really strip a tank

 

[LesPoissons]

Thank you all, this is super helpful!

Can I use this?

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/t-s-p--trisodium-phosphate-powder-400-g/1000130976

Or the Loudwolf?

Randy holms mentioned using this calculator in another thread (at 77%) to create a mizture- is this the calculator that you all use?

 

[nereefpat]

The loudwolf is what I use. Not sure about the T.S.P. It takes so little of the stuff, so any impurities might not be a concern.

I roughly calculated myself and used a (fairly) accurate kitchen scale to make a 1 liter solution. It takes about 4 mLs to take my 125 reef from zero to 0.02, and it was a bit of trial and error.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you all, this is super helpful!

Can I use this?

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/t-s-p--trisodium-phosphate-powder-400-g/1000130976

Or the Loudwolf?

Randy holms mentioned using this calculator in another thread (at 77%) to create a mizture- is this the calculator that you all use?

There's no reason to not use a high quality material to begin with:

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

 

[LesPoissons]

That’s kind of what I ordered but mine doesn’t say “dibasic.” I wanted to make sure the same calculator applied?
This is what I got:

http://etsy.me/2jlRX4i

 

[nereefpat]

http://etsy.me/2jlRX4i

Trisodium phosphate and the sodium phosphate dibasic are very similar. The math would be a little different, and the pH of the solution would be different, but the effect will be the same on phosphate.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

That’s kind of what I ordered but mine doesn’t say “dibasic.” I wanted to make sure the same calculator applied?
This is what I got:

http://etsy.me/2jlRX4i

Given all the uncertainties involved, exact dosing amounts are not important, and I'd treat them the same way.