phosphate's will not go down

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thumperss

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Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
295
Location
kelso ,wa
please help me my phosphate's will not go down every thang is reading good i don't know what is wrong.

sg-1.25
temp-78
ph-8.2
alk-9
amm-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-.5
phos-wacked
please help
Brandon
 
kalk drip or phos reactor

A simple kalkwasser doser will bind phosphates into solution that can be removed by your skimmer,while providing ph and alk stability.Another way to elimanate phosphates is with a phosphate reactor.With the right media and flo these work really well and the media last months,unlike the old beed style media.Another thing you should be aware of is that phosphate test should be done in a new glass vial every time ,since phosphates bind to glass and plastic and cannot be washed out.Phos test kits are notorious for being limmited in their acurateness and limited to their shelf life especially the liquid ones.If they are reading high and you arenot experanceing an increase in algae,than it is probably not accurate.Other causes of high phos can be traced to rocks used from an old aquarium,or water used to preform water changes.
 
Make sure you are using RO/DI water. If you are using tap water, check it for phos. That may be your source. RO/DI water is very important for water changes and top offs. If you don't have one, invest in one or find a source to get it. At the least, RO water. Also, do you have a good skimmer? Got to have a good efficient skimmer. Other than that, ecobalance has great advice in the above post.
 
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Do you have a deep sand bed? on a previous tank I battled phophates and once the sand bed was removed the problem was gone. I just replaced the sand with a thinner bed. Also you can try phos-buster. This worked great for me to get everything back to 0.
 
please help me my phosphate's will not go down every thang is reading good i don't know what is wrong.

sg-1.25
temp-78
ph-8.2
alk-9
amm-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-.5
phos-wacked
please help
Brandon

If you gallery photos are current, your tank is still very young. Phosphate should be very easy to get under control assuming your test kits are accurate. I would stay away from the cures and concentrate on the eliminating sources.


Don
 
I would flush everything and get a gold fish Brandon
PS just jokeing.
Ro water a must
clean up crew
Good skimmer
BB no sand JMO
lots of water movement
Just a few thing may or may not help. Chow
 
you don't have to go BB to not have low phosphate's. Are you using ro/di water and have you checked it with a TDS meter. How often are you doing water changes. Do you have a good skimmer and I also believe you must have good water movement also what brand of test kit are you using
 
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i do use rodi water my test are new and im useing top of the line test i do water changes 10 gal a week i use IO salt and everythang. i have a nice skimmer.
Brandon
 
I have had the same problem. I am using rodi water and it tests zero but my phos levels are high and have alge prob. I have a good skimmer and do water changes every two weeks.What is the best way to get these levels under control and is there a poss that over feeding is causing the phos levels to be high??
 
I have had the same problem. I am using rodi water and it tests zero but my phos levels are high and have alge prob. I have a good skimmer and do water changes every two weeks.What is the best way to get these levels under control and is there a poss that over feeding is causing the phos levels to be high??

Its very possible pretty much all foods contain P including fresh seafood from the grocery store.

Don
 
Shawn when you say you have a good skimmer... what exactly do you mean?

PO4 is not really that hard to rid of. You just have to know how it gets in before you can get it out.
There are SEVERAL things that can add to PO4
Keep in mind every little thing you put in your tank. Even your hands.
 
what kind of food are you giving to your fish ?
i could be wrong but 10 gals of water change for a 55 sounds a little bit small for me :p .
i do 10 gals for my 37 every week :p, so may be doing them a little bit bigger would help..... jmo.
 

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