Phosphates over 10 ppm

[Formulator]

The tank is only 3 weeks old. Keep up with regular water changes and maintenance and test again in a month or so.

Ya I missed that important factor. In a tank that age with that level of phosphate, if you don’t have algae, it is just not yet

 

[VintageReefer]

Lol, bound phosphates will unbind until they are gone (assuming there's a removal process going on). No, the tests won't measure or tell you how much is bound, but if there is no other obvious source, this is the most likely scenario.

What are you laughing at? I’m fully aware of this topic and process and my statement is accurate. You even agree in your reply.

They won’t unbind unless you disturb the equilibrium, by removing a bunch from the water column, and even still it will revert to the prior level not higher.

Op mentioned nothing of any steps taken that would trigger unbinding. And it will not happen on its own, otherwise nobody would have phosphate bound rock issues.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

What are you laughing at? I’m fully aware of this topic and process and my statement is accurate. You even agree in your reply.

They won’t unbind unless you disturb the equilibrium, by removing a bunch from the water column, and even still it will revert to the prior level not higher.

Op mentioned nothing of any steps taken that would trigger unbinding. And it will not happen on its own, otherwise nobody would have phosphate bound rock issues.

So what's your point?

 

[VintageReefer]

But it would release it into the water column

No, new setups the rocks will continuously absorb phosphate until they can not hold anymore, and this generally takes 6-12 months. At that point people tend to notice high phosphate that is “impossible” to lower. This is because then do a water change or use gfo and as they absorb/remove phosphate from the water, new phosphate unbinds from the rock and reesrablishes the equilibrium. It does not continuously leach if you are not continuously removing

Eventually through aggressive use of gfo, algae scrubbers, or chemicals, all the phosphate will be unbound and levels will go down. Even this can take months though

 

[VintageReefer]

So what's your point?

The test results are not high, based on logic and the info we have, due to rocks leaching / unbinding phosphate. It’s nearly impossible

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

The test results are not high, based on logic and the info we have, due to rocks leaching / unbinding phosphate. It’s nearly impossible

Hardly impossible. You don't know the history of the OP's rock. It could very well have come from another tank and already be full of phosphate.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

My phosphate was .98 end of July. Tank looks great lol

I have since lowered to .44 btw

You talked me off the ledge a couple weeks ago, lol. I was at .81, now .22. I have also dosed 7 gallons of LC though.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

You talked me off the ledge a couple weeks ago, lol. I was at .81, now .22. I have also dosed 7 gallons of LC though.

Kidding about the amount I dosed

 

[VintageReefer]

Hardly impossible. You don't know the history of the OP's rock. It could very well have come from another tank and already be full of phosphate.

Have you ever heard of levels like this from phosphate bound rock? Possible yes but very unlikely unless the rocks been cultivated in neophos

The worst of the worst situations on here don’t have a 10+ phosphate reading. I doubt it’s the scenario but hey, I could be wrong

 

[VintageReefer]

Kidding about the amount I dosed

I’m actually testing my phosphate now. I’m not sure what caused my .98 but the only change I had was trying crt v3 for a week.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I’m actually testing my phosphate now. I’m not sure what caused my .98 but the only change I had was trying crt v3 for a week.

Mine was operator error. I broke my tank down and it is sitting in a stock tank until my new tank gets here. I put some sand in my temporary 40b sump for some of my CUC to live. In doing so I took some pleco food from a planted tank I have and put 5-6 wafers in the sump for the snails, mostly the conks. Two days later I tested and WOW, it was like jet fuel. Read the ingredients and sure as poop, po4 is listed at the top of the list, sigh...

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Have you ever heard of levels like this from phosphate bound rock? Possible yes but very unlikely unless the rocks been cultivated in neophos

The worst of the worst situations on here don’t have a 10+ phosphate reading. I doubt it’s the scenario but hey, I could be wrong

Huh? We've already established that the test can only measure up to 3ppm, so the "10+" is a red herring now.
And sure, there very well might be other reasons, but to say it's "impossible" is silly.

 

[VintageReefer]

Huh? We've already established that the test can only measure up to 3ppm, so the "10+" is a red herring now.
And sure, there very well might be other reasons, but to say it's "impossible" is silly.

You left out “nearly” I did leave room for possibility from the rocks, although, I still feel unlikely.

Easy check.

50-75% water change
Test after 1 hour. Should see a reduction in test results.

Then test again 1 day later with no feeding in between. See if it goes back to 3+

 

[Mschmidt]

No, new setups the rocks will continuously absorb phosphate until they can not hold anymore, and this generally takes 6-12 months. At that point people tend to notice high phosphate that is “impossible” to lower. This is because then do a water change or use gfo and as they absorb/remove phosphate from the water, new phosphate unbinds from the rock and reesrablishes the equilibrium. It does not continuously leach if you are not continuously removing

Eventually through aggressive use of gfo, algae scrubbers, or chemicals, all the phosphate will be unbound and levels will go down. Even this can take months though

Yes I know. But op bought the "live rock from eBay". So the rock's previous owner could have bound the phos. But that would take years of serious neglect and probably a predator tank. When it hits ops new tank the phos would unbind as if it were a 100% water change.

Still I think smart money is testing error until that's ruled out by op.

 

[VintageReefer]

Yes I know. But op bought the "live rock from eBay". So the rock's previous owner could have bound the phos. But that would take years of serious neglect and probably a predator tank. When it hits ops new tank the phos would unbind as if it were a 100% water change.

Still I think smart money is testing error until that's ruled out by op.

I agree. Predator tank rock could cause this. And I don’t think the forum has many people with predator tanks, selling rock to new people, who then have phosphate issues. It’s completely plausible.

I still feel it’s a test issue or “close to a feeding testing” or something more likely, but I do agree your scenario is a possibility

 

[Mschmidt]

Hadn't thought of feeding too close to testing being an issue. That could be another reason.

 

[M2lab]

Hadn't thought of feeding too close to testing being an issue. That could be another reason.

I just did another test and the color was basically the same, so for now I would only change 20% of water once a week because it's still a new tank and also keep a close eye on corals and algae growth, If things get much worse I will buy that phosphate absorption media

 

[Rjukan]

Please post a picture of your test kit and result at 10ppm

Off topic but... change your swing plane to inside out to fix the slice!!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I just did another test and the color was basically the same, so for now I would only change 20% of water once a week because it's still a new tank and also keep a close eye on corals and algae growth, If things get much worse I will buy that phosphate absorption media

FWIW, don’t expect water changes to drop phosphate by the % changed. Any drop will likely be much lower due to desorption from rock and sand.

 

[M2lab]

FWIW, don’t expect water changes to drop phosphate by the % changed. Any drop will likely be much lower due to desorption from rock and sand.

Well the reason is 100% in the rock because I have crushed coral as my substrate, I do water changes rather to control nitrates level, and yet still phosphates. So about them, I think that with the growth of corals and algae as the tank matures, they should go away because after all, it cannot be that there's an infinite amount of it in my rock