Phosphate test read 1.0 mg/l ok or bad?

[jgraeff]

i have the reef master kit from instant ocean my test results were below 10 mg/l nitrate, calcium was about 450-465, and my kh was 7dkh and ph was 8.3. My phosphate was the one i was concerned with how can i go about lowering the phosphate? i know by doing water changes i can lower the nitrate which i plan on doing. I have heard of the chemical to remove it but its pretty expensive any other ideas?

 

[reefreefer]

Decent sized water changes or chemical method. Many Freeze Dried foods contain phos. Not to dis on freeze dried foods I use many, but I always read the back labels some times you are the one adding the phos and dont even know it, also you could check levels of phos in the water before you add your salt, if you are getting water some other way you should check all levels before adding it to your tank. I was using an insufficient test which led to a spike, luckily I was keeping a good eye on my livestock,one of my Giant mushrooms was suffering severely, By that time I had taken a sample of my water to a L.F.S and my problem was reviled, I did not lose any livestock, but a Giant mushroom split into five pieces. Always monitor you livestock as well, usually they wont look as good if they are unhappy.

 

[jgraeff]

O i never even thought about the frozen food, il have to look into that and i have tested my water and its always shows no phosphates or nitrates. I guess il keep doing like 15-20g water changes since my system is actually about 55g n total and once i get exta money il get the chemicals to help remove the phos. But is 1.0 something i should be concerned about out is it ok for my live stock, i know its preferred to not have any but is anything in danger of dying?

 

[IPisces]

There is some good reading on phosphates and reef keeping on

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-09/rhf/index.php#6

This can also be found here on RF under Reef Chemistry Discussion with Boomer forum
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29451

 

[mjslaugh]

Decent sized water changes or chemical method. Many Freeze Dried foods contain phos. Not to dis on freeze dried foods I use many, but I always read the back labels some times you are the one adding the phos and dont even know it, also you could check levels of phos in the water before you add your salt, if you are getting water some other way you should check all levels before adding it to your tank. I was using an insufficient test which led to a spike, luckily I was keeping a good eye on my livestock,one of my Giant mushrooms was suffering severely, By that time I had taken a sample of my water to a L.F.S and my problem was reviled, I did not lose any livestock, but a Giant mushroom split into five pieces. Always monitor you livestock as well, usually they wont look as good if they are unhappy.

Thats it....I have been meticulous about testing for p in my water change and top off water and yet I have a trace amount poping up in my tank, but I got like three different kinds of freezer food from a friend that got out of the hobby, so that has to be where it came from, I didn't realize that freezer foods could be the cause, so now I will stick to the safe stuff. Thanks for the info.

 

[jgraeff]

Thanks for the info, so where do you guys normally get your water, do you have ro/di units at home? i have been thinking about investing in one, i get my from the LFS its only 30c a gallon and its clear of everything i test it about every month just to make sure in it always comes up clean.

 

[mjslaugh]

Thanks for the info, so where do you guys normally get your water, do you have ro/di units at home? i have been thinking about investing in one, i get my from the LFS its only 30c a gallon and its clear of everything i test it about every month just to make sure in it always comes up clean.

Well I have been buying mine from the lfs at .25g, I would love to buy an ro/di unit, but I will probably wait till we get a house and I can mount it permanently, in the mean time I just have 8 6gallon jugs and make a trip for water as neccessary.

 

[melsmom]

mjslaugh, where do you get it that cheap? I havent found anyone that has it for less than 50 something...other than coral reef....

 

[mjslaugh]

mjslaugh, where do you get it that cheap? I havent found anyone that has it for less than 50 something...other than coral reef....

I get it from Barbie at Aquarium Solutions, I know that Steve will give it free, but I have seen some of the containers dipped into his buckets

In addition to that you can look at the quality of the tanks in the two shops, and just know that you are getting good stuff from Barbie.

 

[returnofsid]

Purchasing RO/DI water is an option, but eventually, you're better off purchasing an RO/DI unit. It'll quickly pay for itself.

I do agree, if you're going to purchase RO/DI water, get it from Barbie or Kevin. I don't like talking about the negatives at LFSs, but it is a reality. Avoid Steve's like the plague.

 

[mjslaugh]

Purchasing RO/DI water is an option, but eventually, you're better off purchasing an RO/DI unit. It'll quickly pay for itself.

I do agree, if you're going to purchase RO/DI water, get it from Barbie or Kevin. I don't like talking about the negatives at LFSs, but it is a reality. Avoid Steve's like the plague.

I was attempting to avoid that whole topic(not very well I see), I was merely pointing out that his system of free ro/di water is a 'have at it' kinda thing and people dip there buckets into his barrels.