What is your phosphate level?

[oualid]

Hi,

I am wondering what is your phosphate level especially if you have SPS and a lot of fish?

What is your method to bring down the level, GFO, feeding carefully?

/Oualid

 

[loweryphil]

Agent green got mine to 0.02

 

[oualid]

Agent green got mine to 0.02

And your SPS are healthy?

 

[loweryphil]

Yeah with growth. I only have two at the mo but they are growing just fine.

 

[Sherman]

Hi,

I am wondering what is your phosphate level especially if you have SPS and a lot of fish?

What is your method to bring down the level, GFO, feeding carefully?

/Oualid

0.02 - 0.08

 

[graham_kyle1]

.03

 

[oualid]

But if the phosphate is so low where do the corals get the nutrition?
They do not starve?

 

[Elegance Coral]

But if the phosphate is so low where do the corals get the nutrition?
They do not starve?

The same place we do. From the food they eat.

 

[landlubber]

i'm between .02-.06 for the most part as well but keep in mind that nitrate needs to be in check too. test for it and try to keep it under .5ppm.

 

[Elegance Coral]

I maintain an undetectable PO4 level.
I run BB with lots of flow across the bottom to keep particles from settling. The flow across the top is directed towards the overflow to push particles down to the 100 micron socks that are changed out often. Then a big skimmer, and a reactor with a little bit of GFO.
I can feed as much as I like, within reason, because there are very few places where particles can settle and rot within the system.

 

[Chris Adams]

.05 - .10 preferred for me (sorry missed the a lot of fish part) However I do not know that would change the levels my corals in my tank seem to be happy with.
much better growth and color

 

[AcroNutt]

I maintain an undetectable PO4 level.
I run BB with lots of flow across the bottom to keep particles from settling. The flow across the top is directed towards the overflow to push particles down to the 100 micron socks that are changed out often. Then a big skimmer, and a reactor with a little bit of GFO.
I can feed as much as I like, within reason, because there are very few places where particles can settle and rot within the system.

This is the way i run my system too with just a small amount of sand for a bed for my wrasse and gobi. Very high flow that leaves it mostly barebottom. PO4 stays between 0 and .015 on the hanna ULR. I dose KZ and AF products for coral nutrition.

 

[oualid]

This is the way i run my system too with just a small amount of sand for a bed for my wrasse and gobi. Very high flow that leaves it mostly barebottom. PO4 stays between 0 and .015 on the hanna ULR. I dose KZ and AF products for coral nutrition.

What do you mean with KZ and AF?

 

[luke33]

Wait, are we suppose to check for phosphate : )

The first year I checked pretty religiously and was getting .02-.06. I haven't tested for atleast a year and my sps are all growing and coloring up nicely. I think after your tank mature's you just let her go with whatever the phos levels like to stay at. But you can have successful sps tank's from 0.0 to .3, atleast i've seen them at those levels before.

 

[AcroNutt]

What do you mean with KZ and AF?

Korallen Zucht and Aqua Forest

 

[happyhourhero]

I havent checked mine in a very long time. I keep my algae scrubber and skimmer running and just feed my fish as much as I want.

 

[mps026]

Mine now is .07. It used to be .35 believe it or not and my sps were thriving. I use gfo now and have added an enclosed refugium. With the gfo alone i was still getting some hair algae. Now my macroalgae is thriving and no more hair algae.

 

[bif24701]

I have .02-.1 when mine starts getting up some I reduce it with Phosphate RX, also put some GFO in with my carbon. Also have cheato.

You can have very low PO4 and not starve corals because of the Red Field Ratio, basically compared to Nitrate you need far less if it.

 

[Pongo]

0.0 to 0.03 with Hanna ULR checker.
I have 14 fish in about 120gal. system including 4 tangs and 1 Foxface with 3 more fish (wrasses) in TTM/QT waiting to go in.

I feed once a day pellets and 2 cubes of frozen.
1/2 sheet Nori 2-3 times a week.
I skim heavy and wet. Water change is 25gal every 2 weeks.
SPS are mostly various types of Montipora with good PE, color and growth.

I've never had any algae in the system (YET).

 

[reeffish]

.16 and it won't go lower