Rock, sand and phosphate
- Thread starter sredzins
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Phosphates bind with calcium carbonate. Keep phosphates low and it wont be a problem.. Also live rock usually contain bacteria which consume phosphates so even if some is released it usually aint a problem unless you have really negleted your tank.
Live sand can get chocked with detritus and start causing real problems, again keep it clean and keep phosphate low also setting it up right so detritus does not have a chance to settle.
Think about it we add calcium to our tank all the time like through Kalkawasser and that binds phoshpates. Kalk will settle out in the tank with those phosphates not all kalk gets skimmed out. We dont worry about that.
Basically good husbandry and common sense and it should not be a issue.
Live sand can get chocked with detritus and start causing real problems, again keep it clean and keep phosphate low also setting it up right so detritus does not have a chance to settle.
Think about it we add calcium to our tank all the time like through Kalkawasser and that binds phoshpates. Kalk will settle out in the tank with those phosphates not all kalk gets skimmed out. We dont worry about that.
Basically good husbandry and common sense and it should not be a issue.
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I just don't want to get to the point where I have to replace sand or live rock
Would it make sense to get a phosban reactor so most of the phosphate binds to that and not the rock or sand Or calcium?
Would it make sense to get a phosban reactor so most of the phosphate binds to that and not the rock or sand Or calcium?
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Need to find out where the phosphates are coming from. What's your water source? You can run a reactor or a bag of PhosGuard works great also.
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Genesis Corals
Genesis 1:21
Do you have a skimmer? Do you blow off your rocks with a turkey baster and stir your sand? Some things to consider in the battle against phosphates.
nelson.jdautobody
Valuable Member
i tried several phosphate removers/reducers and so far "rowaphos" got me the best results by faaarrrr!! still cant seem to get my nitrates under 15-20 tho-lol
nelson.jdautobody
Valuable Member
also ultimately i had to pull several of the more algae covered rocks and scrub them with a harder bristle car wash type brush, then rinse them off in a separate water bucket a couple times, and i added a sea slug. since i put the slug in there he is constantly roaming everywhere eating algae and i took my "algea eating" fish out (lawmower blenny, and a yellow tang) cause he puts both of them to shame, and that helped me get my nitrates from consistantly above 20ppm to at or under with less fussing over the water
You need to try to get them to test there ro water because if not working correctly you can still have phosphates from there water. Also lots of foods contain lots of phosphates. Many people are carbon dosing with great results. Lower phosphates and nitrates while dosing. You may want to get your water from another source .
I will make sure they test their water next time im in the store for water. I will get a spectra pure soon. I've been just dumping so much money into the tank lately, its hard to justify another big purchase.
Figure out where they are coming from, it is possible the phosphates are coming from your rock depending where it came from. Get yourself a BRS gfo reactor and run the heck out of some gfo. Change it every three days and lower your light time by a lot for about a week. If you can go completely dark for a couple days ( cover the tank with a blanket). Then the hair algae will start browning out and flaking off, use a toothbrush to get it off and suck it out with a water change.
