To phosphate or not to phosphate

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, if my phosphate undetectable with test kits, how safely i can raise them?

Since your target need not be super low, a number of kits are fine. 0.03-0.05 ppm is a fine target, and I could read that with kits 20 years ago.

 

[Marlon C]

So let's say tank is reading 0.00 phos on hanna. Over how many days would you slowly raise to .03 or possibly higher. I have turf algea growing in my sand but some acros started to stn and some are pale in color millies are showing less extension. Nitrate is 2.5. But my sand gets covered in algea when I feed too heavy.

 

[McCarrick]

So let's say tank is reading 0.00 phos on hanna. Over how many days would you slowly raise to .03 or possibly higher. I have turf algea growing in my sand but some acros started to stn and some are pale in color millies are showing less extension. Nitrate is 2.5. But my sand gets covered in algea when I feed too heavy.

What are you running in your filtration? My cyano has basically gone away but now I am also battling turf. I got a little urchin over the weekend to help battle it. I'm due for a filter cleaning and now that finals are over I can get to it. @Randy Holmes_farley suggested dosing either sodium or potassium phosphate. It seems to me that potassium phosphate would likely be better. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe potassium phosphate should dissociate in water leaving free phosphates in the water. Raising it.

Nice find, looks like Syllidae

sodium or potassium

 

[Vlad79]

So let's say tank is reading 0.00 phos on hanna. Over how many days would you slowly raise to .03 or possibly higher. I have turf algea growing in my sand but some acros started to stn and some are pale in color millies are showing less extension. Nitrate is 2.5. But my sand gets covered in algea when I feed too heavy.

I'm dosing ATI Nutrition P for about two weeks but my phosphate still 0

 

[rickster]

Hey Guys, I just read on FB BRS group that someone said that a balance of (16 x Phosphate = Nitrate)
Does that make sense? and they go on to say anything within 50x is still a good balance. any truth to this statement?