Newfishgirl April 15, 2015 Share April 15, 2015 I have really high phosphates and have for a while. I have tried everything to get them down to zero, but they steadily hold at .64. I've done massive water changes and got it to go down to .40 for a week, added Redsea additives, pellets, sponges, etc and nothing has helped. Is there anything else I can try to get them down or should I even worry about it? Denise Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami April 15, 2015 Share April 15, 2015 How does your tank look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime April 15, 2015 Share April 15, 2015 I would find the source if you're really worried about it. Maybe it's your water, maybe you're overfeeding? IMO, phosphates are not one of those things that you can drop down quickly. I ran my 150 with high phosphate numbers with quite a bit of SPS, and that was because I only fed frozen, and I fed a lot of it. The trade I made was more water changes, and siphoning out all the red cyano that came with it. You can always run GFO, but as long as everything in your tank looks fine, I personally wouldn't stress out about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott711 April 15, 2015 Share April 15, 2015 can you give us a description of your tank, how long you have tried some of the things you mentioned, are you using RO/DI water, other parameters, etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b April 15, 2015 Share April 15, 2015 Two simple questions: 1 Are you overstocked? 2 What is the TDS of your make-up/top-off water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfishgirl April 16, 2015 Author Share April 16, 2015 I have a 75 gallon with a 30 gallon sump. I use RO/DI wanted and I check the new water coming out ever few weeks to make sure everything is okay as I have well water. Phosphates: .64 Nitrates: .05 Nitrites:0 Ammonia:0 Ph:7.8 I've ways had higher nitrates as well but have been running a biodenitrator made and it's taking care of the problem, well starting too. I have 9 fish in the tank, but the only good size one is a juvenile orange shoulder tang, yes I know he will get big, but he's still tiny. The other fish are small, damsel, dragonette, baby clowns, etc. The only algae in the tank is some bubble algae and coraline. Should I get an algae scrubber to help? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott711 April 16, 2015 Share April 16, 2015 how long did you do pellets? Have you tried vinegar/vodka dosing? What is the phosphates of your RO/DI water? How often and how much are you feeding? what test kit are you using for testing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b April 16, 2015 Share April 16, 2015 (edited) I have 9 fish in the tank, but the only good size one is a juvenile orange shoulder tang, yes I know he will get big, but he's still tiny. The other fish are small, damsel, dragonette, baby clowns, etc. You don't sound overstocked. But like others have said, the type of food is a factor. Try not feeding your fish at all for 2 days and see if phosphate drops. Edited April 16, 2015 by sen5241b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals April 16, 2015 Share April 16, 2015 This might be a stretch but it's worth mentioning. Do you have any rocks that are drilled or broken apart in your tank? I have drilled rock before for rockscapes and then have had very high phosphates after. I was able to narrow the problem to one rock that was drilled all the way through and was leaching phosphates like crazy. I could do a 100% water change to get the phosphates down to zero and the next day they would jump up to 2. After removing the rock no more phosphates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b April 16, 2015 Share April 16, 2015 This might be a stretch but it's worth mentioning. Do you have any rocks that are drilled or broken apart in your tank? I have drilled rock before for rockscapes and then have had very high phosphates after. I was able to narrow the problem to one rock that was drilled all the way through and was leaching phosphates like crazy. I could do a 100% water change to get the phosphates down to zero and the next day they would jump up to 2. After removing the rock no more phosphates. Was the rock dead coral skeleton, aragonite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals April 17, 2015 Share April 17, 2015 Wish I could remember. I think it was aragonite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfishgirl April 17, 2015 Author Share April 17, 2015 Will the leaching ever stop? I did have high phosphates after adding a softball size rock a while back but didn't think it was that. I can't pull it out cause it's now buried under the rock wall. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfishgirl April 17, 2015 Author Share April 17, 2015 how long did you do pellets? Have you tried vinegar/vodka dosing? What is the phosphates of your RO/DI water? How often and how much are you feeding? what test kit are you using for testing? I was doing the NO3:PO4-X from Red Sea but after going 1/2 way through the second bottle I was over it. I want to try vodka dosing but it scared me a little cause with my luck I would forget a day. I feed twice a day. Pellets in the morning for my orange shoulder tang, Blenny and shrimp/crabs and Brine at night for everyone else. I use the Ref Sea test kits. I haven't done pellets and can't decide if I want to try a GFO or Algae Scrubber Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals April 17, 2015 Share April 17, 2015 Will the leaching ever stop? I did have high phosphates after adding a softball size rock a while back but didn't think it was that. I can't pull it out cause it's now buried under the rock wall. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk No clue. I would pull the rock. And see idiot helps. A minor rock scape change might be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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