Aquarium Chemistry: Phosphate And Math

[rioreef]

Don't know if someone already posted this article. Very informative article in Advance Aquarist on Phosphates.

 

Interesting opinion by Randy about the practice of rinsing frozen foods. "Again, the conclusion I make is that rinsing is not really worthwhile, in my opinion." Read and find out why and where phosphates are coming from.

[Origami]

I saw this a month or so ago. Phosphates are everywhere - they're a key component of the DNA backbone. So is nitrogen in the form of amines (in amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins), which after decomposition fuels the nitrogen cycle. While the major source of phosphate is still in the food itself (and not in the liquid of a frozen cube), I still rinse my cubes in a brine shrimp net under a steady stream of water just to loosen up the food so all of the fish get a good shot at getting some of the thawed food which distributes more evenly in the tank.

 

Good article. Thanks for posting it again.

[sen5241b]

I do not rinse my foods. Its interesting to note that some members have had the problem of phosphates being too low. Zooxanthellae is alage and it needs phosphates but not that much. The average phosphates in seawater is 0.005ppm and sometimes 0.007.

0.25 ppm will start killing some corals.