Why does my Phosphate level continue to move to zero despite dosing

[SteedC]

I have a 625 Redsea Reefer and it's been up for a bout a year.

My Nitrates and Phosphates were at zero for several months and I ran into an issue with Dyno's Since then I started dosing Nitrates and Phosphates.

I was easily able to get my Nitrates at 5 and maintain that level with no issues. However, the phosphate I can get to .05 for about a day or two then back down to 0.00. I am dosing 3 times a week but always back down to 0.00. Dosing with Seachem Flourish Phosphorus

All of my other parameters seem fine. Alk 8.39, Calcium 480, Mag 1360. I am running a protein skimmer, fuge with Chaeto, and have 2 Marine Pure blocks.

Any thoughts?

 

[Tegridy Reef]

I have a 625 Redsea Reefer and it's been up for a bout a year.

My Nitrates and Phosphates were at zero for several months and I ran into an issue with Dyno's Since then I started dosing Nitrates and Phosphates.

I was easily able to get my Nitrates at 5 and maintain that level with no issues. However, the phosphate I can get to .05 for about a day or two then back down to 0.00. I am dosing 3 times a week but always back down to 0.00. Dosing with Seachem Flourish Phosphorus

All of my other parameters seem fine. Alk 8.39, Calcium 480, Mag 1360. I am running a protein skimmer, fuge with Chaeto, and have 2 Marine Pure blocks.

Any thoughts?

The cheeto is probably what's depleting it

Phosphate is what algea feeds off of or algea growth in your tank but your scavenger crew eats it but my bet is the cheeto is consuming it

 

[SteedC]

The cheeto is probably what's depleting it

Phosphate is what algea feeds off of or algea growth in your tank but your scavenger crew eats it but my bet is the cheeto is consuming it

I was thinking the same thing but harvested most of my Chaeto and only have a small ball of it left about 2in in diameter.

 

[PatW]

I run chaeto. In order to keep phosphate at detectable levels, I dose phosphate daily. I keep costs down by mixing my own phosphate stock solution. I put 2 tbs of trisodium phosphate reagent grade from Amazon in 1 gallon of RODI.

 

[Ling_Thing]

I run chaeto. In order to keep phosphate at detectable levels, I dose phosphate daily. I keep costs down by mixing my own phosphate stock solution. I put 2 tbs of trisodium phosphate reagent grade from Amazon in 1 gallon of RODI.

Why run chaeto if you have to dose back in nutrients? Sounds counter intuitive

 

[SteedC]

Why run chaeto if you have to dose back in nutrients? Sounds counter intuitive

Well, that is what I am starting to wonder is using Chaeto worth using or is it just counter productive at this point? Would love to get some thoughts on this

 

[Hemmdog]

Well, that is what I am starting to wonder is using Chaeto worth using or is it just counter productive at this point? Would love to get some thoughts on this

Remove it until you have a nutrient issue of being to high. It’s causing more harm than good as of now.

 

[BeejReef]

I've had some success dialing in my fuge by allowing the chaeto to grow to the point where it pretty much fills my fuge and then adjusting the length of photoperiod. In my case, about 9 hours and I can keep detectable phosphate and 3-5ppm Nitrate. Not sure the approach would work on a more established tank, but I like the idea of keeping one variable (chaeto size) as a relative constant and then adjusting the other (length of light). I also seem to get a little die off on the unlit side of the chaeto. Perhaps it releases a little N and P back?

 

[Tegridy Reef]

I was thinking the same thing but harvested most of my Chaeto and only have a small ball of it left about 2in in diameter.

When did u harvest it cause the results of depleting so much could change now

 

[mta_morrow]

Why run chaeto if you have to dose back in nutrients? Sounds counter intuitive

Beat me to it!

 

[Tombones]

Personally I would rather feed cheato phosphate than pay for GFO to lower phosphate. Much cheaper. My tank is older and without cheato or GFO the po4 would go out of control. Adjusting the photo period on the fuge is a good idea. I will try it. My nitrates stay at 8-10 dkh and I add 1 ml of a stock solution every 10 days.

 

[PatW]

Why run chaeto if you have to dose back in nutrients? Sounds counter intuitive

Not really if you think of your tank as an ecosystem. Natural reefs generally have nutrients swept in from off shore that flow over and through the reef. Wastes produced are swept away.

We add food to our tanks and export the nutrients resulting from waste breakdown.

My system does not have a bunch of fish and I feed them unite a bit. My skimmer, filter socks and chaeto export more than I put in by feeding. To keep my nutrients stabile, I dose phosphates and nitrates. Dosing is an easy cheap fix that is also easily controlled. The idea is to produce stability in a dynamic system.

 

[SteedC]

When did u harvest it cause the results of depleting so much could change now

About three weeks ago

 

[Ling_Thing]

Not really if you think of your tank as an ecosystem. Natural reefs generally have nutrients swept in from off shore that flow over and through the reef. Wastes produced are swept away.

We add food to our tanks and export the nutrients resulting from waste breakdown.

My system does not have a bunch of fish and I feed them unite a bit. My skimmer, filter socks and chaeto export more than I put in by feeding. To keep my nutrients stabile, I dose phosphates and nitrates. Dosing is an easy cheap fix that is also easily controlled. The idea is to produce stability in a dynamic system.

So he’s not the only guy dosing back nutrients and runs chaeto? Seems like your fighting yourself but hey everyone runs a reef differently, I use to have to dose nutrients as well and then I removed my chaeto and just run a good sized skimmer and my acros are looking the best they ever have and my n03 and p04 are detecybale and STABLE and I also have never ran gfo either and i assume you guys don’t if your dosing p04...I’m just following the success and recipe WWC uses

 

[tehmadreefer]

Additionally, trimming your cheeto causes it to grown thus taking in more nutrients. That's why it is advisable for those that need to export po4 to trim it back every week or 2 to enhance growth.

 

[SteedC]

Additionally, trimming your cheeto causes it to grown thus taking in more nutrients. That's why it is advisable for those that need to export po4 to trim it back every week or 2 to enhance growth.

Crap! Ok I'll try pulling the chaeto and see if that works.

 

[dwest]

Crap! Ok I'll try pulling the chaeto and see if that works.

After my dinos, I had to remove my chaeto and dose phosphates every day for many months. 6 months later I don’t need to dose phosphates to keep them steady and measurable. I would certainly dose as often as required to keep them measurable at this point.

 

[Dan_P]

I have a 625 Redsea Reefer and it's been up for a bout a year.

My Nitrates and Phosphates were at zero for several months and I ran into an issue with Dyno's Since then I started dosing Nitrates and Phosphates.

I was easily able to get my Nitrates at 5 and maintain that level with no issues. However, the phosphate I can get to .05 for about a day or two then back down to 0.00. I am dosing 3 times a week but always back down to 0.00. Dosing with Seachem Flourish Phosphorus

All of my other parameters seem fine. Alk 8.39, Calcium 480, Mag 1360. I am running a protein skimmer, fuge with Chaeto, and have 2 Marine Pure blocks.

Any thoughts?

Bacteria and algae consume PO4. Sounds like you have a hungry, thriving population of organisms. Within the limits of PO4 level and coral health, keep dosing and these organisms will keep digesting organic compounds and consuming ammonia and nitrate for you. Aragonite also adsorbs phosphate for awhile. For whatever reason you think you need to dose nitrate, phosphate should be considered an important co-additive.

 

[JCOLE]

What brand and size is your skimmer? Just curious because I had a skimmer that was too large for my tank and it was sucking everything out making it almost sterile.

 

[kevinl]

Any thoughts?
Remove the 2 Marine Pure blocks
Add a fish or two and feed a touch more, (your corals will like that the most)