Phosphates?

[jgraeff]

I haven been trying to remove my nitrates and it seems like nothing is working. What can i do to get my phosphates to read zero? I only use ro/di water, i have a decent clean up crew; 8 turbo snails, 6 nassurius snails, 5 cerths, 15 dwarf cerths, sand sifting star, and some blue legged hermits sorry for the spelling errors.

its a 30g with a 20g refuge that has a lot of chateo and mangroves.

 

[EchinoWrangler]

try running gfo in a mesh bag or through a reactor

 

[tdgates10]

What's causing the nitrates? Do u feed too much? Not enough water changes? Skimmer not good enough?

What are your actual readings? It's wierd that your showing phosphates with macro because those usually eat up all of them??

 

[returnofsid]

What is in your tank, for fish?
No mention of a skimmer...are you running one?
8 Turbo snails in a 30 gallon??!! They might be pooping more than they're cleaning. That's a HUGE number of Turbos in that size tank.
How much live rock do you have?
Have you tested the water coming out of your RO/DI unit?
Describe your feeding schedule.
Are you using any type of mechanical filtration that has mesh or filters?

 

[jgraeff]

Ok i feed every two to three days, i have about 75lbs of live rock, a mandarin goby, pair of clarki clowns, flame scallop, and a sand sifting starfish which i move from the main tank to the refuge every now and then. My water tested at 20-30ppm nitrates, 0 nitrites, calcium 450ppm, and the sg is 1.0024.

I have not tested for phosphates but after reading everything about algae that is the main cause so im guessing that much be the issue other than the nitrates. I have activated carbon and a phosphate filter pad. I do have lots of chaeto so im not sure why i still have high phosphates and nitrates.

I normally feed mysis shrimp and sometimes frozen cytoplanton for the xenia and sponge but very rarely. I got the turbos because of all the algae problems i was having, didn't know you could have to many.

 

[jgraeff]

o and yes im running a skimmer its an ok one nothing great, a proclear 75. Its skims about a quarter cup every day or two.

 

[returnofsid]

You can't know that you have phosphates without testing for phosphates. Your 20-30 nitrates is extremely high and probably the cause of your algae problems.

Yes, you can have too many Turbo Snails. If you don't have enough food for them, they'll starve. If your tank is too small and not enough water volumn, the amount of feces Turbos put out could foul your water.

Have you tested your RO/DI water for nitrates?

How often are you doing water changes and how much water are you changing?

The only ways to export nitrates are through water changes, skimmer and pruning of your macro algae.

 

[jgraeff]

I do weekly water changes of 20g, and i have just bought some tests for phosphates. Do turbos eat the algae on the sand i never see them down there only on the glass and rocks?

how do you prune the macro algae i have heard of it but im not sure how to do it.

 

[returnofsid]

best to do with scissors, as apposed to ripping it. Ripping it can damage the cells and also encourage the macro algae to release some of it's stored nitrates.

Different snails perform different functions. I believe Turbo snails are best for rock and glass. A few Nassarius snails would work wonders for your sand bed.

I would also highly recommend you test your source water, coming out of RO/DI, AND your freshly made salt water. You might find that your RO/DI filters need to be changed and aren't removing nitrates from your tap water.

 

[jgraeff]

ok, i will look into that and i will trim the chaeto, about how often and how much do you trim it?

 

[jezzeaepi]

You might also want to try increasing the flow for your cheato. It will help it grow faster, which will help you get rid of your trates/phates faster.

 

[xon432246]

I would reccomend a larger skimmer. That particular model my not be able to keep up with the organic production in your tank. Also do you have a deep sand bed? These are great for nitrate reduction. I installed one my 60 gallon reef and in 3 weeks my nitrates started dropping. Now they are undetectable. phophates can be a problem even if your test kit shows zero. I may just mean that the algea is comsuming them as fast as they are being produced.

 

[jgraeff]

I would reccomend a larger skimmer. That particular model my not be able to keep up with the organic production in your tank. Also do you have a deep sand bed? These are great for nitrate reduction. I installed one my 60 gallon reef and in 3 weeks my nitrates started dropping. Now they are undetectable. phophates can be a problem even if your test kit shows zero. I may just mean that the algea is comsuming them as fast as they are being produced.

DSP in the refuge or in the main tank? which would be better?

 

[returnofsid]

Remote DSB is best. In the refugium or even in a 5 gallon bucket. There's all sorts of DIY information online about bucket DSBs.

 

[jgraeff]

how deep should i make it? should i have snails or anything to help stir it up? what about cleaning it do i need to ever?

 

[returnofsid]

A remote deep sand bed, in a refugium, shouldn't need any maintenance at all. A few nassarius snails would be great. I'd go with 6" or deeper. In a 5 gallon bucket, most authoritative things I've read, say to use 60lbs of fine aragonite sand. You can put a bucket under or next to your tank, use an aqualifter pump and you have a very effective remote DSB.