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Need help with phosphates

Dodgefate

Dodgefate

Serious question... phosphates... been battling them for like 3 months(Mark Shultz has been super help full with me getting my tank better, i don't even dare post what everything was before I met him...js..) since I switched from fish only to mixed reef... they were literately off the charts.. over 10 got them down to a .25 and can't get them lower... running phosphate sponge or phosgard (which ever one the stores have in stock) in a reactor for about a month now and can't get them lower... think the rock is just leaching it out now? Any ideas to get it lower? Also, tank was a freshwater tank for 5 years ish.. salt,fish only for 2 years.... same sandbed for 7 years.

Setup:
55 gallon tank
canister filter (can't afford better) with 75 watt uv sterilizer
Small protein skimmer
2 powerheads
2-3 inch sand bed
40 pounds of live rock
Change phosphate reactor media every 2 to 4 days depending on type.
20 percent water change weekly, rodi store bought water that test 0 on phosphates

Ph:8.3
Amonia:0
No2:0
No3:0
Phosphates: 0.18-0.25 (only 0.18 for one day) checking with a Hanna checker and an api
Calcium:440
Kh:11

Fish:
2 Clowns,
1 Coral beauty angel
1 blue *******
1 Yellow Eye Kole Tank
2 Freshwater Mollys
1 Neon Dotty Back
 

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Jeremy Brito

Jeremy Brito

I have the exact opposite problem at the moment, to little phosphate my tank is to clean and some of the corals that thrive with a little dirtyness arent doing well, but in the begging I was where you are with high phosphates and nitrates making my other more sensitive corals grumpy.
Originally I ran Chemi pure BLUE with a Purigen resin for phosphates that lowered my levels then I got a kit by red sea called reef mature I bought it mainly go the bacteria and the Nopox so I began by adding a ton of Nitrifying bacteria then I carbon dosed for about 3 weeks.. In the end my phosphates went trace to unreadable and my nitrates went to just above trace but since carbon doseing requires both phosphate and nitrate to work properly I couldnt go lower...

Shortly after I started noticing bubbles all over my rocks just blanketing all the bare rock .. Then a brightly colored green and red algea growing in patches on the rock and sand .. This happened because the algea food source normally found in the water colum was now leeching out of the rocks and sand and the algae was growing there because that was the only place it could find its food source.

My thoughts your rocks and sand are the source of your phosphate problems youd be amazed about how much they can be saturated in,the stuff
 
diana a

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
  • Do you have sponages in the canister?
  • What canister are you using? If it is a small one, then you have too many fish for the canister to handle
  • You should have not reused sandbed from previous tank setup...weather fresh or saltwater setup. Too much dirt...new setup equals new sand. Sand is cheap, and I would siphon it out
  • What type of rock are you using? How did you clean it when you got it?
 
H

horseplay

NJRC Member
Phosphate at .25 is not too high you might be able to live with it.

We must be pragmatic when dealing with this type of problems. Phosphate is produced from fish waste. Rocks can also leach phosphate. The difference is if it is mainly from fish waste you will also have elevated level of nitrate. However not a lot nitrate is leached from rocks. So invest in a nitrate test kit is a good idea. I use the one made by salifert.

If it is the rocks, you can take some out and acid bath them. But we need to determine it is the cause first. If it is not then we will discuss how to deal with high nutrient issues.

keep in mind phosban is spent quickly at .25 ppm phosphate level, just a few days max.
 
diana a

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
You didn't mention if you are using tap or RODI water. I am using a BRS 6 stage system because my water is high in phosphates, nitrates, TDS, & silicates
 
Dodgefate

Dodgefate

diana a said:
  • Do you have sponages in the canister?
  • What canister are you using? If it is a small one, then you have too many fish for the canister to handle
  • You should have not reused sandbed from previous tank setup...weather fresh or saltwater setup. Too much dirt...new setup equals new sand. Sand is cheap, and I would siphon it out
  • What type of rock are you using? How did you clean it when you got it?
Click to expand...
5 stage sponge
It flows 525 gallons an hour.
Sand bed.. well can' do much about that now.
Rock was purchased from a local fish store, it was cured live rock.
 
Dodgefate

Dodgefate

horseplay said:
Phosphate at .25 is not too high you might be able to live with it.

We must be pragmatic when dealing with this type of problems. Phosphate is produced from fish waste. Rocks can also leach phosphate. The difference is if it is mainly from fish waste you will also have elevated level of nitrate. However not a lot nitrate is leached from rocks. So invest in a nitrate test kit is a good idea. I use the one made by salifert.

If it is the rocks, you can take some out and acid bath them. But we need to determine it is the cause first. If it is not then we will discuss how to deal with high nutrient issues.

keep in mind phosban is spent quickly at .25 ppm phosphate level, just a few days max.
Click to expand...
Nitrates are 0, but api test kit, that I used to get readings on when it was fish only and I was not as good with the water changes.
As for the phosban, I change it every 4 days.
 
Dodgefate

Dodgefate

diana a said:
You didn't mention if you are using tap or RODI water. I am using a BRS 6 stage system because my water is high in phosphates, nitrates, TDS, & silicates
Click to expand...
I have been using store bought water for the changes as I don't have a rodi system yet. Checked the water from stores to be sure and they are at 0
 
Dodgefate

Dodgefate

Jeremy Brito said:
I have the exact opposite problem at the moment, to little phosphate my tank is to clean and some of the corals that thrive with a little dirtyness arent doing well, but in the begging I was where you are with high phosphates and nitrates making my other more sensitive corals grumpy.
Originally I ran Chemi pure BLUE with a Purigen resin for phosphates that lowered my levels then I got a kit by red sea called reef mature I bought it mainly go the bacteria and the Nopox so I began by adding a ton of Nitrifying bacteria then I carbon dosed for about 3 weeks.. In the end my phosphates went trace to unreadable and my nitrates went to just above trace but since carbon doseing requires both phosphate and nitrate to work properly I couldnt go lower...

Shortly after I started noticing bubbles all over my rocks just blanketing all the bare rock .. Then a brightly colored green and red algea growing in patches on the rock and sand .. This happened because the algea food source normally found in the water colum was now leeching out of the rocks and sand and the algae was growing there because that was the only place it could find its food source.

My thoughts your rocks and sand are the source of your phosphate problems youd be amazed about how much they can be saturated in,the stuff
Click to expand...
I kind of want to stir up the sand bed but am afraid of the aftermath and killing fish.
 
H

horseplay

NJRC Member
Dodgefate said:
Nitrates are 0, but api test kit, that I used to get readings on when it was fish only and I was not as good with the water changes.
As for the phosban, I change it every 4 days.
Click to expand...

In that case I would suggest taking half the rocks out for acid bathing then do the other half a few weeks later. Use muriatic acid much quicker and cost effective than vinegar.
 
Dodgefate

Dodgefate

horseplay said:
In that case I would suggest taking half the rocks out for acid bathing then do the other half a few weeks later. Use muriatic acid much quicker and cost effective than vinegar.
Click to expand...
So I have never cured rock before, just always bought it cured from the lfs... how do I go about the acid bath and then re curing it. Also, I have one rock, about 10 pounds that is basically the only one with green hair algie on it, covering half of it. If I do that one first, will my no3 spike and my phosphates spike?
 
H

horseplay

NJRC Member
Dodgefate said:
So I have never cured rock before, just always bought it cured from the lfs... how do I go about the acid bath and then re curing it. Also, I have one rock, about 10 pounds that is basically the only one with green hair algie on it, covering half of it. If I do that one first, will my no3 spike and my phosphates spike?
Click to expand...

It’s easy. Just mix some muriatic acid with some water in a bucket and let the rocks soak for 20 mins. The acid should be used up pretty fast. Then rinse with water. This will remove most of the organically from the rock.
 
Dodgefate

Dodgefate

horseplay said:
It’s easy. Just mix some muriatic acid with some water in a bucket and let the rocks soak for 20 mins. The acid should be used up pretty fast. Then rinse with water. This will remove most of the organically from the rock.
Click to expand...
sweet that sounds easy enough!
 
diana a

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
horseplay said:
It’s easy. Just mix some muriatic acid with some water in a bucket and let the rocks soak for 20 mins. The acid should be used up pretty fast. Then rinse with water. This will remove most of the organically from the rock.
Click to expand...

do this outdoors. I would not use it indoors and certainly not without some form of extraordinary ventilation.
 
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