Phosphates

so, i'm not a fan of "chemical" solutions to problems but, I think I have the source of phosphates under control in my tank. The phosphate level is still quite high so, I am employing PURA Phoslock to my system in hopes that it will remove the excess phosphate from my system.

I am following the advice of the manufacturer and filtering my water with a carbon filter beforehand to ensure that the Phoslock can absorbe the phosphate primarily.

I'll continue to test my water over the next few months to see how things develope.

 

How long have you had a PO4 problem? Are you using the phoslock in a filter bag or a reactor? Where did you find the source of the phosphate? What made you decide you had a PO4 issue to begin with?  And could you please let us know how well the phoslock works?  Thanks
I'm not trying to be mean asking these questions. It's just I am dealing with my own PO4 problems now too. I really wish I'd have know the signs of a phosphate issue sooner. Maybe it woill help others before they habe issues also.
Some things that I have found that can cause excess PO4 are as follows. Flake and pellet foods have a good bit of phosphate in them. Bio-pure products are also packed with phosphates to preserve freshness. Old used up di filters will let phosphate pass. And what nailed me was an entirely bad ro/di system.

 

I have not nailed down if my replacement water is high in phosphates. I made a 3 fold shift to counter act an algae bloom and, for the most part, the algae seems to have slowed down considerably in its growth. Also, my coroline algae was growing rather slowly so I became suspect that it was a PO4 problem.

The action I took was, A) I cut back on the feeding considerably. I reduced flake food to a very small pinch twice a day and chunks of frozen shrimp for my meat eaters I reduced and fed more carefully to reduce detritus particles. B) I slowly built up my detritus cleaning crew by adding 3 carnivorous serpent stars, 2 more emeralds, a coral banded, and 2 more pepermints. C) I reduced the light by moving the entire tank into a room with blinds that remain closed during the day.

The PURA Phoslock was recommended to me by the owner of Coralville Bay. It was actually one of the least expensive of the products he had and he said, he wants to phase out the more expensive and, in his opinion, less effective phosphate control agents. Yes, I have put it into a filter bag and placed it directly in the path of the water. I chose to put it actually in the top collection tray above the bio balls beneath the opening of the waterflow. The volume of "stuff" was considerably less than the other products were recommending on their packaging. Also, instead of being white pellets, they are dark reddish brown.

I have not taken another reading in the tank yet but, I will do so after 72 hours and then at regular intervals after. The product is supposed to reduce my phosphate levels for the month and the small $15 container has enough in it to last 3 months per the recommended usage for my 90 gallon tank.

The product makes two additional claims 1) that, like several other highly rated phosphate control products, it can be "reactivated" (granted at a lesser efficiency) by baking it at 450 in the oven in a dish that you do not intend to use for cooking and 2) that unlike most other products for phosphate control, its formula will not leach phosphate back into your system if left in the filtration past it's effective lifespan.

upon testing my system, my phosphate level was very high, reading off the scale of my testing kit. Again, it is my feeling that the introduction of new phosphate seems to be under control as the production of new nuisance algae had ground to a near standstill.

 

I should also add that, as I do want to get my coraline algae growth to reach its maximum potential, I have been disturbing any minute growth of cyanobacteria, using a turkey baster to blow dust off the liverock, and while doing so, using a hang-on microfilter to help collect those particles. I am worried that my calcium levels might be high due to the phosphates stunting the growth of the coraline algae, but I currently don't have a test kit for that. I worry, but I'm not tremendously worried about that. I'll get it in check some time this week.

 

so, in my impatience, ha ha, I tested my water levels today, they were previously reading above 5 (the max my test kit reads) and today they are reading between 3 and 2. This is an improvement. I assume that the levels will continue to drop, probably at a slower rate. I suppose we'll see. Everything in the tank still looks very happy. I have not noticed any strange behavior in the tank.

 

I get replacement RO water from two different sources currently. A) from Hung (i've tested his water at 0.2 ppm) and B) other is RO water from Walmart which I haven't yet tested.

 

The results for phosphates in Iowa City purchasable RO are as follow.

Hung's (Sea of Marvels) >0.2 ppm
Coralville Walmart (Culligan Filter) >0.2 ppm

0.2 ppm is the lowest range at which I can test. Just sharing the results.

 

Good to know. Test of PH yields 8.2, which as far as I know is where it is suposed to be. My calcium levels are high, i have postponed adding purple up for the time being, until the levels dip to 380ppm, right now they are at about 500ppm which I know is bad, but it should go down from what I've read.