Phosphate question

[Mickie]

My tank is doing fairly well so far, with a little algae here and there (random brown algae breakouts).

My question though, is that my phosphates ALWAYS read around
.25..No matter if I use phosguard or whatever else (less feeding, large water changes etc etc etc). Are my phosphates really .25 or should I get a different test kit?

Currently I use the API test kit....my tank is 4 months old and I used both live and dry rock.

TIA!!!!

 

[Mickie]

The rocks that look green on the left are my dry rock.

 

[SamsReef]

Please use Hanna ULR checker. Hanna also comes in low resolution and ultra low. Use ultra low.

Sam

 

[Mickie]

Please use Hanna ULR checker. Hanna also comes in low resolution and ultra low. Use ultra low.

Sam

Thanks!

 

[WVReefJunkie]

Yes, Hanna checker.

 

[Waterjockey]

My tank is doing fairly well so far, with a little algae here and there (random brown algae breakouts).

My question though, is that my phosphates ALWAYS read around
.25..No matter if I use phosguard or whatever else (less feeding, large water changes etc etc etc). Are my phosphates really .25 or should I get a different test kit?

Currently I use the API test kit....my tank is 4 months old and I used both live and dry rock.

TIA!!!!

I had the same problem with the api phosphate test kit. Didn't matter what I tested...aquarium water, pond water, tap water, rodi...always 0.25. Throw that kit out and get a Hanna

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If you don't have any algae issue, I personally wouldn't bother measuring phosphate.

 

[Squirrel_reefer]

if you're on a budget like me, you can always head down to your LFS and have him test a sample of your water to compare results before spending 50$ on a phosphate checker. If it shows something different, then it might be time to upgrade

 

[Mickie]

If you don't have any algae issue, I personally wouldn't bother measuring phosphate.

The only algae I get is on the glass and heater/powerhead (mostly brown). I clean it off every two or three days, but I'm assuming I'm still in the ugly tank phase...but I have no more GHA, bryopsis, cyano etc etc etc.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

what Randy said.
and the api will give a test error of .25 pretty consistently. If I get it it means I have detectable Po, and thats good for coral. and then sometimes ill do it 3 in a row. and then just average it. higher than a real .25 it seems to work better oddly.

tank looks great btw. Time for coral!

did you Vibrant or algaecide to wipe out the Bryo btw? that stuff is the devils lawn.

 

[Mickie]

what Randy said.
and the api will give a test error of .25 pretty consistently. If I get it it means I have detectable Po, and thats good for coral. and then sometimes ill do it 3 in a row. and then just average it. higher than a real .25 it seems to work better oddly.

tank looks great btw. Time for coral!

did you Vibrant or algaecide to wipe out the Bryo btw? that stuff is the devils lawn.

I figured I had some detectable Po...but I'm being anal over it lol.

Bryopsis, seriously. Bane of my existence. I had it everywhere. Basically I manually removed everything off the glass, then used Kent tech M for about a month...rose my Mg levels to 2000 and let it sit to get rid of it off my rocks. So far I haven't seen anymore pop up...

I have heard awesome things about Vibrant...haven't used it yet though.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I figured I had some detectable Po...but I'm being anal over it lol.

Bryopsis, seriously. Bane of my existence. I had it everywhere. Basically I manually removed everything off the glass, then used Kent tech M for about a month...rose my Mg levels to 2000 and let it sit to get rid of it off my rocks. So far I haven't seen anymore pop up...

I have heard awesome things about Vibrant...haven't used it yet though.

lol. I think your fine. if an lfs has a better test its good to compare results.
I was curious as to how you won the war.
Im fighting the bryo in the 30 right now. Oy vey!

 

[Mickie]

lol. I think your fine. if an lfs has a better test its good to compare results.
I was curious as to how you won the war.
Im fighting the bryo in the 30 right now. Oy vey!

It's awful, good luck to you! I had a harder time with bryopsis than I did with the glass anemones. Lol

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

It's awful, good luck to you! I had a harder time with bryopsis than I did with the glass anemones. Lol

lol. considering the number of bizarre stuff in my other tank I can believe this on is beating me.