Removing phosphate from Nori?

[Maxx]

I'd been battling a phosphate problem and I finally traced it back to the Nori I was feeding my angels and tangs. I dont feed flake, or pellets. The frozen food I do feed is either soaked in RODi water for about 30 minutes or until thawed, and then filtered through a brine shrimp net to catch food but allow the phosphate loaded water to pass by, or its a whole food such as thawed shrimp or scallop...

I know that soaking frozen food in RODi water will pull the phosphates out of it, and I know from testing that putting Nori into normal ASW will cause an off the charts spike of phosphate, so I'd be willing to bet a good sum of money that soaking Nori in RODi would pull the vast majority of phosphates from the Nori...

The question is, how to dry it afterwards?

If I put it on some window screen, kinda like the sweater dryer I used to let my photography prints dry on, it should work, but I'm not 100% sure it wouldnt bond to the screen of the dryer.

Basically, I'm trying to seriously cut down on the amount of phosphates going into my tank from feeding Nori since that is the only vegatable matter my Blueline angel currently eats. I've tried blanched broccoli with this fish numerous times, it just isnt interested. I'm sure that if I put it in the tank with the Regal and the Purple tang, it would pick up on what they eat, but I'm also sure they'd kill it before it got a chance to learn.

The Nori is allegedly not oven dried, but I dont know how/why it would have phosphates if it wasnt being preserved for some reason in the process...

Any thoughts or options would be greatly appreciated.

Nick

 

[mercenary-grunt]

There are other dryed algae. Instant ocean makes some good stuff my Magnifiant foxface and sailfin love it.

 

[leebca]

You've come across one of the few downsides to using Nori instead of ocean macro algae. Nori is processed for human consumption where preservatives and other ingredients are not an issue. Some contain high levels of soy sauce; other contain hidden ingredieints. Many of the Nori brands are baked or cooked to dry them out, further diminishing its nutrient value to marine fishes.

Everytime a vegetable is processed it looses some of its nutrient value. If you want to continue using the Nori you have, I would soak it just prior to feeding and not attempt to dry it out again.

 

[Bosco83]

I have been feeding my fish red, green, and brown Ocean Nutrition Seaweed Select but just recently bought roasted nori from the store to save a little money. Should I go back to using the Ocean Nutrition Seaweed?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[mercenary-grunt]

Yes the stuff for human consumption is not really good for the fish. If you go into lee's forum there is a great right up about it. It made me rethink how I was feeding my fish. I never used dryed algae before but I do now. And I use it as supplement I out it in after the mysis or flake. And smaller amouts cus it is spendy otherwise.

 

[leebca]

Go back to feeding the actual ocean macro algae if you want to provide the best nutrition to your fish.

 

[Bosco83]

will do.

 

[rayjay]

IMO it's pointless anyway to try to remove phosphates. ALL FOODS we add to our tanks have phosphates in them. You can rinse off the added phosphates that are used sometimes for preserving, but you still have the phosphates that are in the food that will end up in the tank through decay of uneaten foods, and from fish wastes.
All you can do is be aware of the fact and take necessary husbandry procedures to remedy and select food that says "no phosphates added" as the only phosphates in that food will be naturally contained.

 

[NC2WA]

Lee,

Where does one get/purchase ocean macro algae?

I am using ocean nutrition algae strips soaked in garlic, is this what u mean?

 

[leebca]

By "ocean" macro algae I mean macro algae from the sea. The algae harvested in an 'as-is' state from the sea. Most of the packaged algae for marine fish use is this. It can be found in bulk if you have a large need, to help with the costs.

 

[NC2WA]

thanks...is there another company besides ocean nutrition you can recommend?? Ive seen Julian Sprungs, Two little fishies algae, but never used it...

 

[leebca]

I avoid recommendations since in certain circles they seem to be used against other manufacturers, causing many problems. There are other brands. A search on the Internet is one option. There are even places (or used to be the last time I checked) where living, harvested macro algae is available. Don't be surprised to find it on eBay at certain times. Julian's is good. His company used to offer it in bulk at a reduced rate.

 

[kevnkev]

How close do you live to the beach? You can go out collecting your own nori if you want to give that a try. What you want to look for is Porphyra, the same genus as the algae used to produce sushi nori. It grows high on the beach and will be pretty close to fully dessicated if you come across it at low tide on a hot sunny day. Find yourself a good guidebook or do some internet searching to learn how to identify it. It's safe for human consumption too, so have yourself a salty snack while you're collecting Like rayjay said, any food is going to have SOME amount of PO4 in it, but this wild harvested at least won't have any additional stuff in it.

BEFORE YOU GO OUT HARVESTING:
Be sure you familiarize yourself with the collecting laws where you live. In WA state this will require a fishing permit. Check out Fishing in Washington: 2012-2013 Sportfishing Rules Pamphlet - WDFW Publications | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife to see the harvest regulations. Also note that not all publicly accessible beaches allow harvest.

 

[mercenary-grunt]

You can feed from your fuge.

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