Phosphates

[Mitchell]

After testing my water with my new API phosphate test kit it says I have .25 ppm of phosphate. Is this bad? Will my clam lower the phosphate levels? Will water changes lower it?

 

Thanks

[jgf86123]

Are you using RO/DI water?

[Mitchell]

Are you using RO/DI water?

 

I'm using Tim's (Westside Aquarium's) premade saltwater.

[jgf86123]

Ahhhh ok, you might want to look into a phophate remover, certain reactor types are the way to go.

[ReeFit]

if your test kit is accurate, then that is pretty high. you want to aim for .1 or lower depending on your coral species. Your clam probably won't put much of a dent on that, i would consider some kind of phosguard or GFO in a reactor. check out BRS reactors, they are cheap and easy to use.

[Mitchell]

if your test kit is accurate' date=' then that is pretty high. you want to aim for .1 or lower depending on your coral species. Your clam probably won't put much of a dent on that, i would consider some kind of phosguard or GFO in a reactor. check out BRS reactors, they are cheap and easy to use.[/quote']

 

Do you think there is phosphate in the premade water?

 

The test goes from 0 to .25 nothing in between. I'll do another test tonight and post pics of the results, I could not be reading it right. I also took the water out of my tank in a little paper cup, could that have messed with the results?

[Harold B]

You might want to try to have someone with a photometer test your Phosphate levels for you. IME test kits have given an incorrect/almost impossible to interpret reading.But I agree with Reefit on the GFO.

[ReeFit]

Do you think there is phosphate in the premade water?

 

The test goes from 0 to .25 nothing in between. I'll do another test tonight and post pics of the results, I could not be reading it right. I also took the water out of my tank in a little paper cup, could that have messed with the results?

 

you need to do the tests exactly as directed. don't even let your body oil come in contact with the water in the vial. what test kit is that?

Salifert tests from .03, .10 and .25 for the first 3 tiers. If your test kit doesn't measure that kind of accuracy, then i would toss it out. its worth about as much as a burnt dollar bill.

[rubberduck9]

no

 

No, dont think its coming from Tims water. Its probobly leaching from your rock and or sand. When I first got started I used a product called Extrax Phos made by brightwell aquatics. Get a mini bag and a large container of that stuff. fallow the directions to the tee! I believe its a half cup for a tank your size. ALso after you put the half cup into the mini bag, wash it very well and then drop the bag into your sock in your sump. I was going to tell ya, your next purchase should not be corals or livestock. When I first started I wanted to learn everything there was about this hobby so I went out and bought a bunch of books. A few good ones are coral propogation by Adam calfo vol 1 & 2 and Salt water tanks for dummies (not trying to be rude! good book!) Between reading and driving my friends crazy with questions I learned a ton and saved mucho dinero on stuff I would have killed. PS: that doesnt meen I didnt have any casulties . Just remember, many of us reefers are very pasionate about doing our part to help make it right again with Posidon lol. IE dont like seeing stuff die, so take peoples advice and scoldings with a light heart. And read, read, read!

[Harold B]

Phosphates can be introduced in a number of different ways from simply not rinsing frozen foods, to calcium reactor media the list goes on and on you need to find an accurate testing method 1st, then identify the underlying phosphate problem/source(s), fix them/those, and use gfo to remove any phosphates left over and as maintence

[Mandinga]

++++123

 

must use chemical filtration media...GFO. Granular Ferric Oxide.

[Mitchell]

BRS is sending me replacement parts for my reactor I should have my gfo/cabon reactor set up this week.

[Mandinga]

good start!

 

The carbon may help with your cloudy water. MAY...good luck, this hobby is really fun when you get the basics down(lighting, salinity, temp, Ca, kH, pH, p04, NO3).

[Mandinga]

Mitchell, also...since you are trying to learn all this stuff...heed this advice;

 

feed your fish once every two days. they wont starve.

 

 

99% of new hobbyists make the same mistake...they think by feeding the fish more and more, that they are helping the fish. BUT, in fact the reverse is true. Too much food will cause the water to eventually be unhealthy, killing the fish, corals, and inverts that we were once trying to help.

[Algae]

No' date=' dont think its coming from Tims water. Its probobly leaching from your rock and or sand.[/quote']

 

+1. This can easily happen if you have older rock. I had some rock in my tank that was live Florida rock that had to be 10+ years old. I just got through the long process of cooking 65lbs. of it.

[tigerv503]

Clams will not lower Phosphate, the ideal range should be around .05 ppm. Doing a water change won't help to reduce Phosphate. You can use Phosphate removal media with a canister to lower Phosphate. Another option would be Vodka dosing, but be very careful with it!

 

Vin B.O.M "Blue Ocean Marines Inc."

[WAVES]

You might consider dosing carbon (not active carbon) the new solid vodka method (like Ecobak) works like a charm. I used to dose vodka but with the use of ecobak on my system I run with phosphates below .03 with my milwaukee colorometer and I feed 3 times a day pellets, reef-roids, and elos SVC.

 

Set it and forget it, more upfront cost than GFO or aluminum oxide, but it last for 9-12 months.