why PO4 not dropping?

[reef4life!!!]

Hi everyone,Last 2 months i've been struggling to lower nitrates and phosphates(before this time nitrates was around 100 and phosphates almost 3(salifert kits))so i've started nitraphos and a lot of WC...The tank got hit from ich and i've lost all my fish so the tank is fallow from 15/10/2020(only some nasarius and a urchin left) ..So my nitrates are now between 5 and 10 but i struggle to lower my phosphates as they are at 1ppm for over 1 month now...2 weeks ago i added phosphate minus from aquaforest and activated carbon in my external filter but the phosphates is still very high at 1ppm..Why are not dropping at all?nitrates has dropped significantly last 2 months(from 100 to around 5) but phosphates never really went down where it sopposed to be...Why are they so high?

 

[hyeclass]

Hi everyone,Last 2 months i've been struggling to lower nitrates and phosphates(before this time nitrates was around 100 and phosphates almost 3(salifert kits))so i've started nitraphos and a lot of WC...The tank got hit from ich and i've lost all my fish so the tank is fallow from 15/10/2020(only some nasarius and a urchin left) ..So my nitrates are now between 5 and 10 but i struggle to lower my phosphates as they are at 1ppm for over 1 month now...2 weeks ago i added phosphate minus from aquaforest and activated carbon in my external filter but the phosphates is still very high at 1ppm..Why are not dropping at all?nitrates has dropped significantly last 2 months(from 100 to around 5) but phosphates never really went down where it sopposed to be...Why are they so high?

With geo you have to use you might want a flash it 2 times

 

[hyeclass]

Hi everyone,Last 2 months i've been struggling to lower nitrates and phosphates(before this time nitrates was around 100 and phosphates almost 3(salifert kits))so i've started nitraphos and a lot of WC...The tank got hit from ich and i've lost all my fish so the tank is fallow from 15/10/2020(only some nasarius and a urchin left) ..So my nitrates are now between 5 and 10 but i struggle to lower my phosphates as they are at 1ppm for over 1 month now...2 weeks ago i added phosphate minus from aquaforest and activated carbon in my external filter but the phosphates is still very high at 1ppm..Why are not dropping at all?nitrates has dropped significantly last 2 months(from 100 to around 5) but phosphates never really went down where it sopposed to be...Why are they so high?

What's your phosphates reading and nitrate more then 50

 

[reef4life!!!]

What's your phosphates reading and nitrate more then 50

Sorry i didn't understand what are u saying..the first world it's "why" and not "what's" maybe?

 

[hyeclass]

Po
Nitrate
Level

How do you check your no3 and po

 

[reef4life!!!]

Po
Nitrate
Level

How do you check your no3 and po

salifert test kits

no3 is between 5-10ppm
po4 is at 1ppm

 

[hyeclass]

Your nitrate is good your po suppose to be 0.03 not 1

0.09 - 0.03 is good lvl

 

[hyeclass]

You have a hanna checker on phosphate

 

[reef4life!!!]

Your nitrate is good your po suppose to be 0.03 not 1

0.09 - 0.03 is good lvl

i didn't have corals in the tank only fish so i didn't care about the levels too much...now i want to start with corals

i know it's too high but i am asking why are they so high and what to do to lower them

no i don't have hanna checker

 

[hyeclass]

i didn't have corals in the tank only fish so i didn't care about the levels too much...now i want to start with corals

i know it's too high but i am asking why are they so high and what to do to lower them

no i don't have hanna checker

The first post I gave you the answer to your question how to lower the po

 

[SMSREEF]

The PO4 stays high because the rock has absorbed it over time. When you lower PO4, it will leach out of the rock.

just keep at it with a phosphate remover and you will get it down eventually once it is mostly leached out of the rock

 

[reef4life!!!]

The PO4 stays high because the rock has absorbed it over time. When you lower PO4, it will leach out of the rock.

just keep at it with a phosphate remover and you will get it down eventually once it is mostly leached out of the rock

so this is normal right?it's not caused by something else or my phosphate remover is bad,it's just to procces that takes time....i mean it is not something that must bother me right?

 

[Uncle99]

Use caution reading and getting any great value out of any test except Hanna ULR for phosphorus.
The levels are so small you may just be chasing a not so accurate number.
My Salifert showed .25 for 6 months even when using a GFO.
Turns out was 4ppb or about 0.01, not .25ppm.
I had to dose it back to 18ppb or 0.05ppm.......1 week later....corals looked fantastic

 

[reef4life!!!]

Use caution reading and getting any great value out of any test except Hanna ULR for phosphorus.
The levels are so small you may just be chasing a not so accurate number.
My Salifert showed .25 for 6 months even when using a GFO.
Turns out was 4ppb or about 0.01, not .25ppm.
I had to dose it back to 18ppb or 0.05ppm.......1 week later....corals looked fantastic

yeah i know that phosphates test kits are off sometimes and i will try to get a hanna checker if i see that i have serious problems

 

[Reef.]

Use caution reading and getting any great value out of any test except Hanna ULR for phosphorus.
The levels are so small you may just be chasing a not so accurate number.
My Salifert showed .25 for 6 months even when using a GFO.
Turns out was 4ppb or about 0.01, not .25ppm.
I had to dose it back to 18ppb or 0.05ppm.......1 week later....corals looked fantastic

what test did you end up using?

 

[SMSREEF]

so this is normal right?it's not caused by something else or my phosphate remover is bad,it's just to procces that takes time....i mean it is not something that must bother me right?

Yes, it’s normal. It takes time for it to leach out of the rocks. Don’t let that bother you. You got the level down a ton already. From here on it will be harder. Kinda like a diet and those last 10 pounds, lol.

I do agree if you want to get phosphate down to reef levels, a Hanna checker will be good.

Also be cautious, and slow once your levels get lower because 0 phosphate is probably worse than a higher than normal level in a reef tank. And reliable test is needed at lower levels.

 

[reef4life!!!]

Yes, it’s normal. It takes time for it to leach out of the rocks. Don’t let that bother you. You got the level down a ton already. From here on it will be harder. Kinda like a diet and those last 10 pounds, lol.

I do agree if you want to get phosphate down to reef levels, a Hanna checker will be good.

Also be cautious, and slow once your levels get lower because 0 phosphate is probably worse than a higher than normal level in a reef tank. And reliable test is needed at lower levels.

alright then thanks,hope i see results soon so the first coral can go in xD...

yeah i have read that in the lower reef levels the hanna checker is a must to have,so i will try to buy it to..

 

[Uncle99]

what test did you end up using?

Hanna ULR, very consistent, in line with ICP and just makes more sense in my chemistry.
Remember from start to one year old, keep those nutrients balanced and in the range.
Very, very important