Phosphates and how to stop the outbreak

[Super Fly]

ok so ill start straining my mysis shrimp cubes, im going to setup my refugium and hopefully fit my protein skimmer into it, also the zoo plank i feed is in a bottle how much of this are you suppose to feed cause i do literally a drop and some reef frenzy mix it with tank water and use a tiny baster to shoot at some corals

Try Reef Frenzy by LR, they add probiotic to the food, don't need to rinse and livestock love it. I switched from frozen mysis shrimp (rinsing) to this and never looked back.

 

[stacksoner]

High phosphates typically comes from feeding too heavily and/or not having an adequate cleanup crew to handle the food left uneaten. I would recommend cutting back on the quantity of food given especially if you're using flake or pellets as these are very nutrient dense compared to frozen. Flake and pellets also break down and release these nutrients to the water far faster than frozen as well. If you use frozen food try rinsing it first as many types have all that nutrient laden juice mixed with it. This is good if you have a lot of filter feeders or SPS, but only to a point. This soup mix quickly breaks down in a system without a skimmer to pull it out before it can do so.

So adding some hermits and various types of snails will help keep the phosphates in check. Second thing is water changes. How frequently are you doing them? On a 10g tank the nutrient levels can climb much faster than say a 75+ gallon tank so doing a 2-3 gallon weekly water change will do wonders for the water quality/parameters. Lastly have you tested your source water? I ran into an issue with a local LFS that had a contaminated filter system and was producing water with a 1.2 phosphate level.

How much phosphate can a half cube of uneaten food possibly produce?

 

[nightmarepl]

Try Reef Frenzy by LR, they add probiotic to the food, don't need to rinse and livestock love it. I switched from frozen mysis shrimp (rinsing) to this and never looked back.

how you use your reef frenzy? i put mine into a cup with alittle spoon mix it and squirt at the corals using a baster

 

[Super Fly]

I defrost enough amount to feed several days, mix w tank water and store in a plastic bottle in fridge. Every morning I feed tank on my way to work. Saves ton of time not having to wait to defrost.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

For feeding corals I primarily use Reef-Roids. for feeding I just do it the way this guy does it it here. I have seen amazing results with doing it this way. The corals all give an immediate feeding response and have managed to save a few corals that looked like they were on death's door.

How much phosphate can a half cube of uneaten food possibly produce?

I honestly couldn't tell you but it's not a lot, however it's cumulative, and when you add the waste produced by the fish, inverts, and corals with only small water changes for export it can add up. I ran into this with my 40g running a canister filter. The phosphates would slowly creep up on me despite my meticulous cleaning schedule, and it wasn't until I cut back on the food, increased the water change volume to 20% weekly, and added some macro algae to a veggie clip that it finally leveled off and dropped down to .08 from a consistent 1.75 reading.

 

[Super Fly]

I just let it flow around tank and some will get to corals, don't feed directly to corals. Specifically for corals I feed Calan-Eeze mixed with tank water in a plastic bottle (but this will add PO4 to tank) twice a week.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/calan-eeze-two-little-fishies.html

 

[Coral Newbie]

brightwell phosphate-e will do the trick. Just be careful as dosing the recommended will drop the pho’s like a rock and to fast. Start with half the recommended

I have a issue were my nitrates don’t move at all yet my phos continues to go up. I have a redsea E170 45gal and does 15ml every other day to stay in range

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How much phosphate can a half cube of uneaten food possibly produce?

It produces almost exactly the same amount as an eaten cube does, with most of the phosphate in it either way ending up in the tank water.

Most people think uneaten food is the problem, but its not. It's food, eaten or not.

That said, a half cube depends on what it is, but I show data here for some foods. A half cube of frozen Prime Reef will boost 100 gallons of aquarium water to about 0.01 ppm phosphate, when fully consumed somehow.

Aquarium Chemistry: Phosphate And Math: Yes You Need To Understand Both
https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

ok so ill start straining my mysis shrimp cubes, im going to setup my refugium and hopefully fit my protein skimmer into it, also the zoo plank i feed is in a bottle how much of this are you suppose to feed cause i do literally a drop and some reef frenzy mix it with tank water and use a tiny baster to shoot at some corals

Rinsing frozen foods may have the disadvantage of washing away potassium. I have a suspicion it is a reason why some reefers see potassium drop over time and others (like me) do not.

 

[lapin]

It will, even if he adds nothing, due to the phosphate that is bound to calcium carbonate surfaces. Even a 100% change rarely drops phosphate all that much.

How long will it take on average for them to leach or unbind?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How long will it take on average for them to leach or unbind?

Depends on flow to all of the available surfaces. Some are readily exposed, some down in sand and pores. It happens initially fast and continues until a new equilibrium is established.

A member tested dead rock (1 pound) in 5 gallons of seawater water. He kept adding phosphate (the reverse process of what we are discussing here) and found it took up a whopping amount. More than 50 ppm of phosphate was added and he final value ended up around 0.16 ppm.


https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/phosphate-absorption-rates-in-aragonite.352405/page-4

"Final measurement was 52 ppb in the water. .1594ppm.

57.4 total ppm added yields an absorption of 359x at a ratio of about 5 gallons per 1 pound of Florida-based aragonite. We also know that the aragonite is not likely saturated. Is there anything else to learn from?"