quickest way to reduce phosphates
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resortez
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Another thing, there’s a huge misconception of what are phosphates in this hobby, the various forms, the origins, the benefits, where they come from, no test kit capable of differentiating the various forms, etc. phosphates are a massive key to sustaining life if understood properly so I suggest hitting the books. Just my $0.02.
Filipino Reefer
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100 percent water change
Nano_Man
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Water changes sort out nitrate . Phosphate is another thing and what method you use when you get your phosphate down it will rise again from leaching for the rock work and sand bed . And as your thread title says the quickest way to remove phosphate it’s definitely L chloride. Also I did a load of water changes for phosphate it never touched it. Just reduced nitrate . Just my experience with phosphate
Filipino Reefer
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Vinegar and vodka
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Depends entirely on how much you use and how you flow water over it. I think the focus on speed is misguided and may lead to problems.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Organic carbon dosing is not very effective for lowering phosphate, although it will to a small extent. it's much better for nitrate.
It would be a very bad method to use unless nitrate is many hundreds of ppm, since you will bottom out nitrate long before you use up 7 ppm of phosphate.
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And how much do you predict that lowers phosphate? its not 100%, as it would be for nitrate. It may still be worthwhile, but its not the cure-all your short answer implies.
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What is the misconception?
Rich Klein
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Sorry - but I still come from the school that nothing good happens quickly in a reef tank. IMO nothing beats a bunch of growing chaeto, and it allows me to make my fish fat which poop all over my corals (low phosphate and everyone is happy). I do have to Dos nitrate to feed keep my levels at 3ppm
BionicReef73
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I'm having the same issue. I am trying carbon dosing. Vodka, very small amounts.
The massive amount of phosphates bound in the rock and sand will not unbind all too quickly, so don't be in too large of a hurry.
LC is safe and works well if you are smart. Use a sock on the overflow and drop the LC into the overflow. If you don't have an overflow, then clamp the sock onto the side of your tank and use a powerhead with a hose to squirt into the sock - dose into there. I have had no issues directly dosing LC into my FOWLR, but I have seen people who are not dumb that did have issues, so I am cautions. I use SeaKlear - the pool stuff.
Don't let the phosguard tumble and rise it well. I won a 5g bucket at a raffle once and used it on a FOWLR. I had none of the aluminum issues that Dr RFH has written about before, but I also rinsed it well and did not let it tumble. Others have had issues with elevated aluminum. I will be shocked if that 2l lowers the po4 amount by 1.0 once the rock and sand unbind to equilibrium.
LC is safe and works well if you are smart. Use a sock on the overflow and drop the LC into the overflow. If you don't have an overflow, then clamp the sock onto the side of your tank and use a powerhead with a hose to squirt into the sock - dose into there. I have had no issues directly dosing LC into my FOWLR, but I have seen people who are not dumb that did have issues, so I am cautions. I use SeaKlear - the pool stuff.
Don't let the phosguard tumble and rise it well. I won a 5g bucket at a raffle once and used it on a FOWLR. I had none of the aluminum issues that Dr RFH has written about before, but I also rinsed it well and did not let it tumble. Others have had issues with elevated aluminum. I will be shocked if that 2l lowers the po4 amount by 1.0 once the rock and sand unbind to equilibrium.
YoubetyourWrasse
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I use LC and NOPOX in my 180. Seems to work out well. I originally started with 0.9, but could knock it down to 0.0 (hypothetically) and it would be 0.8 the next day from the equalizing of the PO4 bound in the old LR and substrate. I started being much more conservative with the dosing for the marathon. My tank stays around 0.04 with small dosing of both LC every other day and 12ml of NOPOX daily. I feed fairly heavy as well. My Tank started as FOWLR, but exchanged most of the fish for reef safe and went the inevitable route that I had swore off with a solemn oath lol. I have Tangs and I have had ZERO issues with fish dosing LC. I just dose into the top of the skimmer neck which is fairly lazy 
Filipino Reefer
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1% ... 1 is better than none...I was just being sassy.... honestly there are tons of ways to reduced.... currently I'm on that same boat. I started feeding less and weekly 10% water change with an gfo and carbon reactor running 24/7 atm. I got 0.47 Po4 and No3 35.6. It's been couple of days I can't say I have seen any big changes yet however all my corals are up and about so I'm not to worried... prior to that I was feeding alot and change water every 30 days
