Phosphates are 1.67 - advice needed

[jkobel]

Hi all,

Current numbers:

Sal - 1.028
ph-8.11
temp - 78.3
alk - 9.95
ca - 373
N - 4.6
P - 1.67

All testing was done with Hanna and run 3 times each, these are the averages.

working to get the salinity down tonight.

My tank is 145 gals TSV and is 4 years old. Tank is currently LPS dominant and has always done great with LPS. My goal is to have an SPS dominant tank and SPS have always struggled in my system. For 3.5 years my nitrates and phosphates were stuck at 0. I have started feeding more heavily over last 6 months and things got dirty, now my nitrates seem to be in a better place but phosphates are way too high.


What is the best course of action to lower phosphates from this level to .02 -.1 range? Is it GFO? (I have a reactor and can set that up easily) or is it some other treatment?

The fish are all tangs and a Goby so just want to know what the safest and most productive course of action would be here.

Thanks for any help

 

[scotty333]

Gfo was my control method for a while before I researched lanthium chloride
You need to do a lot of reading before taking this route as it’s powerful stuff and will surely be a cheaper option at those levels
Here’s what I did after a lot of reading and worked for me

I bought agent green LC and diluted it 50% for greater control , hooked it up to a doser and dripped 1ml per hour for x amount of hours needed to find a steady amount of reduction .

I plumbed the airline from the doser into the skimmers body with a hard pipe on the airline to keep it down in the body , I use filter wool in the baffle tightly packed to catch any crystals that the skimmer didn’t catch ( never saw any in the wool) , some use 5 micron socks but they’ll clog quickly and I don’t feel it’s necessary because it won’t get passed your skimmer
I have a caluerpa forest in the next chamber for added protection of any escape and by the time water reaches your return it should be free of any deposits
You will read reports that it’ll kill your tangs but imo it may if the lc gets in your display so use whatever you can to reduce that risk
Go slow until you start to see a reduction of say .05-.1 per day and in a few weeks you’ll find the maintenance dose needed

 

[splunty]

Not sure it's meaningful to your situation, but high silica levels can interfere with po4 tests. I'm almost positive this happened to me a few weeks into a new tank with marco rock. I ran a tiny amount of GFO and my readings for po4 over the course of a week went ~ 1.0, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5, 1.0, .03 ... plummeted overnight.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Just as an aside, and you're most likely acutely aware, but your high salinity needs attention. Sorry. I tend to state the obvious.......

 

[Spare time]

GFO works. Just run small amounts at a time.

 

[Patx]

For 3.5 years my nitrates and phosphates were stuck at 0. I have started feeding more heavily over last 6 months and things got dirty, now my nitrates seem to be in a better place but phosphates are way too high.

if possible, you Could stop feeding "reefroid" or any food that contain high level of Po4.
And see if the level drop.

 

[jkobel]

i dont feed roids currently, just frozen mysis and brine and occasionally squid.

going to address the salinity via water change tonight

i'll start the GFO after the water change, might hold off on the LC for now as it seems to bring with it some serious risks if not used correctly and the research im doing is lots of red flags due to Tangs.

Thanks all, i'll report back if things dont improve.

 

[Reefahholic]

Advice….avoid feeding the system so much.

 

[bobnicaragua]

GFO is a good solution. Run a small amount and change it every week or two.

No rush, I would take it down slowly. Once phosphates are in a better range you don’t have to change the GFO so often.

 

[Red_Beard]

Rowa phos also works fantastically. In my experience it also has a higher capacity than regular gfo. It isn’t cheap though, but it really does a good job.

 

[VintageReefer]

I like this better than gfo. I really struggled with gfo in a phosban 150 reactor. I used brs high capacity. It always clumped up. Day 1 I’d have the little surface ripples and by day 2 or 3 it was clumping

This stuff doesn’t clump and I find it’s easier to use. Rowa is probably more effective and faster. I’ve never used it.

Just throwing out an alternative that worked for me and was easy

 

[Red_Beard]

I like this better than gfo. I really struggled with gfo in a phosban 150 reactor. I used brs high capacity. It always clumped up. Day 1 I’d have the little surface ripples and by day 2 or 3 it was clumping

This stuff doesn’t clump and I find it’s easier to use. Rowa is probably more effective and faster. I’ve never used it.

Just throwing out an alternative that worked for me and was easy

That is what I was used to using and have used for years. I have been feeding pretty heavy for a while and got lazy changing it out. Short of the long, after a bunch of po4 got bound up in the rocks due to running about .5 for months, the phosguard wasn’t cutting it. I chucked in the recommended amount of rowa in a bag in the sump and it was almost a little too aggressive. It dropped down to .02 within 2 weeks. Surprised my LPS didn't get crabby...

 

[VintageReefer]

That is what I was used to using and have used for years. I have been feeding pretty heavy for a while and got lazy changing it out. Short of the long, after a bunch of po4 got bound up in the rocks due to running about .5 for months, the phosguard wasn’t cutting it. I chucked in the recommended amount of rowa in a bag in the sump and it was almost a little too aggressive. It dropped down to .02 within 2 weeks. Surprised my LPS didn't get crabby...

If it’s bad then the Phosguard will absorb quick but needs to be changed out every 4 days

On Sept 14 I dropped from .44 to .2 in 16 hours by replacing Phosguard with new Phosguard, and replacing my chemi pure elite bag (which contains some gfo)

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hi all,

Current numbers:

P - 1.67

What is P and how are you measuring it?

The Hanna ULR Phosphate (PO4) tester does not read that high...

 

[jkobel]

What is P and how are you measuring it?

The Hanna ULR Phosphate (PO4) tester does not read that high...

Hanna Phosphate LR (not using ULR)

 

[jkobel]

I like this better than gfo. I really struggled with gfo in a phosban 150 reactor. I used brs high capacity. It always clumped up. Day 1 I’d have the little surface ripples and by day 2 or 3 it was clumping

This stuff doesn’t clump and I find it’s easier to use. Rowa is probably more effective and faster. I’ve never used it.

Just throwing out an alternative that worked for me and was easy

can this be used in a standard BRS media reactor like this? https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-...D=1655&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products

 

[VintageReefer]

can this be used in a standard BRS media reactor like this? https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-...D=1655&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products

Yes
Unlike gfo, it doesn’t clump and doesn’t need to tumble. Just needs water to flow through it

I changed this out on the 14th at 5:15 am. My phosphate measured .44

I also changed two bags of chemipure

I tested again 9:15 pm - I got a .2

I did use a few tsp more than the recommended amount

 

[VintageReefer]

Hanna Phosphate LR (not using ULR)

I use the same one

 

[jkobel]

Yes
Unlike gfo, it doesn’t clump and doesn’t need to tumble. Just needs water to flow through it

I changed this out on the 14th at 5:15 am. My phosphate measured .44

I also changed two bags of chemipure

I tested again 9:15 pm - I got a .2

I did use a few tsp more than the recommended amount

Thanks, is there a limit to how fast you want to drop it? Like not more than .5 in 24 hours or something?

 

[VintageReefer]

In general yes. But the risk is bottoming out. I have been experimenting with the effectiveness of Phosguard on my system for a month, and know what 10 scoops does. I did 14 tsp knowing it would have a stronger effect without bottoming out to zero