Phosphates high

[mbettman]

Little help!!!

As some of you know I have a newer set up. Now seeing hair algae. Checked phospates. High.
Did water change, still adding water. Ro/di. Should I just let the new tank syndrom take its course or will the chemicals work at this point. Cant afford a reactor. Have a clean up crew in there, They are doing their thing.

What to do?

[lazylivin]

Continue to do your maintenance i.e. water changes, if you don't have already add some macro algae to your sump with a light running 12-18 hours. Monitor your phosphates with weekly tests and keep a record so you can see if they are going down or up. Keep us updated  so we can  could recommend future action such as gfo reactor, algae scrubber etc....

[mbettman]

Ok. Looks like with water change it dropped to .05-1.0 hard to tell difference between the two light green colors.  It was in the blue range. 

Also how does everyone avoid carrying buckets of salt water for the water changes?

[HUNGER]

take ur time and do watter changes

[Todd W.]

Ok. Looks like with water change it dropped to .05-1.0 hard to tell difference between the two light green colors.  It was in the blue range. 

Also how does everyone avoid carrying buckets of salt water for the water changes?

I just put in a setup that I am tweaking.  I have a Mag7 in the basement under the tank.  I pump old water out into the side yard, and then when ready, pump in new water that is downstairs..

[mbettman]

What are you storing the water in. How long will it store for?

[HUNGER]

i use a trash can for the saltwater changes and a 55 gallon drum of ro i only mix up saltwater when i need it maybe a day or 2

[kattz]

I just put in a setup that I am tweaking.  I have a Mag7 in the basement under the tank.  I pump old water out into the side yard, and then when ready, pump in new water that is downstairs..

You either hate your grass or hate your driveway.  Salt water destroys both.

[kattz]

What are you storing the water in. How long will it store for?

The bluish-grey Rubbermaid 35 gallon cans are the safest for storing RO water (Lowe's).  There are some dyed or black cans out there that I've read are not recommended for RO storage, as they leach chemicals into the water over time.  As long as the water has zero TDS and is in the dark, it will store for a looooong time.

[lazylivin]

Not sure what would go wrong with mixed saltwater over time. Certainly it would be fine for a few months. Just keep it covered so evaporation doesn't occur or it could become super saturated which would cause precipitation of salts.

[kattz]

The first time I had my water tested by a shop (Phishy Business) after I started up my tank, my phospates were through the roof.  Mind you, I'd been testing my water with an API kit.  The Salifert kit showed how things really were.  I bought a TLF Phosban reactor, filled it with a small container of RowaPhos GFO, and my phosphates were almost gone within two days.  They've never really come back in any number that would cause an issue that I'm aware of.  Nitrates were the battle I fought.  Finally won that one as well.

Lazy, I know you've been curious about my phosphates.  Turned off the GFO and carbon last week, still running the Brightwell Katalyst pellets, and had my water tested via meter this evening.  PO4 at .002 ppm, NO3 at 6ppm.  Running the liquid version of Chemiclean now to eradicate the red slime algae; heard that it's the shizzle, dizzle.  We'll see.

[mbettman]

Won't my phosphates eventually be gone as the cycle matures?

[lazylivin]

Phosphate will always be there. The goal is to match the uptake of phosphate with the output of phosphates. When you feed your tank you fish waste is adding phosphates to the water. Your corals and algae's are consuming the phosphate. The more phosphate released the more your algae will grow. To much phosphate can cause algae to do really really well. That is what your are experiencing as am I. It can even go beyond that where more phosphate is released then what the algae can consume. When that happens the corals begin to suffer. Turn brown and even die. So you are looking for that balance. Typically in most reefs there is more released then can be consumed so people use things like GFO, Macro Algae, Algae Scrubbers, Chemicals to absorb and export the excess. Bacteria also consumes small amounts of phosphate so a seasoned tank can do better then a newer tank.  So yes the issue could eventually go away when the balance occurs. Your goal for most corals is .02 Phosphate AND a negligible amount of algae that keeps it there.

[The WuSue]

You should also check the silicates level because of the sand used....

[kattz]

The last two posts are spot-on, and you must have some phosphate level for nitrate uptake when using biopellets, so goal if using a meter is very low, like around .002-.010ppm phosphates.  Even though the Salifert test states that it's minimum color change threshold is .003ppm, it will basically still look clear.

Also, I found out a gem of wisdom from Chris at Brightwell last week.  If you're feeding frozen foods, rinse them with tapwater in a brine shrimp net (unless oyster eggs or some other tiny tiny food) prior to feeding them in your tank.  You should be left with solids and nothing else.  I took a 1/2 X 1/2" cube of Rod's Reef food, thawed it out in 4 oz of tank water, and checked the phosphate level.  My Salifert kit maxed out.  Rinsed the food, same test, no phosphates.

I've also read that gut-loaded brine shrimp is high in phosphate content, and because the flash-freezing process splits the shrimp open, you end up with a lot of non-nutritional items when feeding frozen brine shrimp.  I want to try Mike Landis's frozen recipe and get away from the commercial foods.

[The WuSue]

Kattz: You just blew my mind on that one...wow.  I'll have to try that.

[Todd W.]

You either hate your grass or hate your driveway.  Salt water destroys both.

Neither.... I'm no hater   We have a side yard that is between us and a field that is an easement area to the land behind us, it is filled with honeysuckle that I don't mind dying.... Other than that, nothing grows there...

[Todd W.]

The last two posts are spot-on, and you must have some phosphate level for nitrate uptake when using biopellets, so goal if using a meter is very low, like around .002-.010ppm phosphates.  Even though the Salifert test states that it's minimum color change threshold is .003ppm, it will basically still look clear.

Also, I found out a gem of wisdom from Chris at Brightwell last week.  If you're feeding frozen foods, rinse them with tapwater in a brine shrimp net (unless oyster eggs or some other tiny tiny food) prior to feeding them in your tank.  You should be left with solids and nothing else.  I took a 1/2 X 1/2" cube of Rod's Reef food, thawed it out in 4 oz of tank water, and checked the phosphate level.  My Salifert kit maxed out.  Rinsed the food, same test, no phosphates.

I've also read that gut-loaded brine shrimp is high in phosphate content, and because the flash-freezing process splits the shrimp open, you end up with a lot of non-nutritional items when feeding frozen brine shrimp.  I want to try Mike Landis's frozen recipe and get away from the commercial foods.

This is fantastic info!  Thanks

[kattz]

Neither.... I'm no hater   We have a side yard that is between us and a field that is an easement area to the land behind us, it is filled with honeysuckle that I don't mind dying.... Other than that, nothing grows there...

Sounds like an opportunity.  Me, I'd pipe it into my neighbor's tomato garden; he IS a h8tr.

[The WuSue]

Hey now! No tomatoes need to die for this hobby....

[kattz]

You're right - nothing so delicious as a tomato should suffer for this hobby.  Waitaminute!  Pan-roasted line-caught lionfish fresh from Florida with broiled tomatoes and garlic...  mmmm-mmm.

[The WuSue]

Oooooohhhhhh Yeaaahh! Field trip!