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Raising phosphates


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1 hour ago, Optimusprime3605 said:

 

Anyone dosing po4? I've been undetectable for several months maybe even longer.

If you are dosing po4, what do you use?

TIA

 

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This is what I am using on a tank that had undetectable phosphates.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WSKKTZ6/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

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13 hours ago, Lexinverts said:

Currently, I’m mixing 3.75 g of trisodium phosphate per L, with 10 ml dosed per day in my 60 gallon system. That raised my phosphate to .1 from undetectable.

Hey Andy - just curious what you are running your nitrates at with the 0.1 phosphate level.

Dodge - have you notice any ill effects from the low phosphate level?

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Currently, I’m mixing 3.75 g of trisodium phosphate per L, with 10 ml dosed per day in my 60 gallon system. That raised my phosphate to .1 from undetectable.
Correct me if I am wrong, do nitrates and phosphate go hand in hand, so to speak? With No3 and no Po4, is that a bad thing and vice-versa?

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Hey Andy - just curious what you are running your nitrates at with the 0.1 phosphate level.
Dodge - have you notice any ill effects from the low phosphate level?
Sean
The only thing I've noticed with undetectable phos is, some weird brown algae type, growing on plugs and the rock work. Not too bad but definitely noticeable. Also, I've been cleaning the glass more often, whereas before, I wasn't. So, I'm thinking there is some sort of balance between No3 and Po4, idk...

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9 minutes ago, Optimusprime3605 said:

Sean
The only thing I've noticed with undetectable phos is, some weird brown algae type, growing on plugs and the rock work. Not too bad but definitely noticeable. Also, I've been cleaning the glass more often, whereas before, I wasn't. So, I'm thinking there is some sort of balance between No3 and Po4, idk...

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I started dosing phosphates because I had undetectable amount and my nitrates would never drop just hover around 15-25ppm. I could do a 20% water change and within 24hrs nitrates would be back up. I also had very little growth from corals and seemed to get cyano once every few months. Got phosphates detectable and nitrates started to drop on their own pretty fast. I am now at a point where nitrates are almost not decidable so I have started to dose them as well.  Coral growth and coloration are better then ever and I find it easy to keep nitrates between 2-5ppm and phosphates between .05-.1. My algae scrubber also grows so fast now and pod population is insane.  I am a firm believer in having balanced nitrates and phosphates after seeing the benefits first hand.  

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33 minutes ago, Optimusprime3605 said:

Sean
The only thing I've noticed with undetectable phos is, some weird brown algae type, growing on plugs and the rock work. Not too bad but definitely noticeable. Also, I've been cleaning the glass more often, whereas before, I wasn't. So, I'm thinking there is some sort of balance between No3 and Po4, idk...

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Yeah - this is where you get into conversations about the Redfield ratio (16:1 N:P) and the interconnectedness of it and the microbiome of sea (or tank) water.  It's not completely clear but there is some evidence that keeping to this ratio fosters a proper balance of micro flora in your tank (mimicking the ocean) and deviations from it can produce "blooms" of potentially undesirable species that grow better under "imbalanced" or nutrient limited conditions.  Organic's experience above is the type of observational info that supports such a relationship.  It would be really interesting to add this variable to the biome analyses that Eli is offering through his new service Aquabiomics.  I would hope that it (N:P ratio) would be one of the factors he might collect from those submitting samples.  @EMeyer  This is, obviously, interrelated with your other post about nitrates.  Of course, there are a boatload of caveats here - not the least of which is the comparability of our nitrate and phosphate measurements with the elemental testing used in the Redfield studies.  Still an interesting topic and one that Aquabiomics might help provide some valuable insight into...

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I started dosing phosphates because I had undetectable amount and my nitrates would never drop just hover around 15-25ppm. I could do a 20% water change and within 24hrs nitrates would be back up. I also had very little growth from corals and seemed to get cyano once every few months. Got phosphates detectable and nitrates started to drop on their own pretty fast. I am now at a point where nitrates are almost not decidable so I have started to dose them as well.  Coral growth and coloration are better then ever and I find it easy to keep nitrates between 2-5ppm and phosphates between .05-.1. My algae scrubber also grows so fast now and pod population is insane.  I am a firm believer in having balanced nitrates and phosphates after seeing the benefits first hand.  
Outstanding!
Only difference with mine is that, my trates are gobbled up quite quickly and yours sticks around. Either way, I need to dose some phos. Glad, yours turned around and is now thriving!

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Yeah - this is where you get into conversations about the Redfield ratio (16:1 N:P) and the interconnectedness of it and the microbiome of sea (or tank) water.  It's not completely clear but there is some evidence that keeping to this ratio fosters a proper balance of micro flora in your tank (mimicking the ocean) and deviations from it can produce "blooms" of potentially undesirable species that grow better under "imbalanced" or nutrient limited conditions.  Organic's experience above is the type of observational info that supports such a relationship.  It would be really interesting to add this variable to the biome analyses that Eli is offering through his new service Aquabiomics.  I would hope that it (N:P ratio) would be one of the factors he might collect from those submitting samples.  [mention=15782]EMeyer[/mention]  This is, obviously, interrelated with your other post about nitrates.  Of course, there are a boatload of caveats here - not the least of which is the comparability of our nitrate and phosphate measurements with the elemental testing used in the Redfield studies.  Still an interesting topic and one that Aquabiomics might help provide some valuable insight into...
You lost me at "Yeah..." haha

I do need to read that article on the Redfield ratio, for sure. It's basically my comprehension of the article, I tend to wander, haha, then I lose interest...I'll give it a good read later today.
Thanks for the input, Sean!

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1 hour ago, Optimusprime3605 said:

You lost me at "Yeah..." haha

I do need to read that article on the Redfield ratio, for sure. It's basically my comprehension of the article, I tend to wander, haha, then I lose interest...I'll give it a good read later today.
Thanks for the input, Sean!

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I hear you - it's a bit dense in some ways and trying to sort out the reality from the theory is challenging in the descriptions I have read through.  I know Brian (PDXmonkeyboy) has spent some time looking at this topic as it's sort of up his alley.

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