Is Phosphate the Reason?

[EricBrian]

Ok, so I checked Phosphate tonight and it was ~1ppm!

 

Might that have been the reason my yumas were doing so badly? And, how do I get that value down to 0? ... Besides less food and water changes? Anybody use phosban or like?

 

I need to check that more often.

 

Thanks for any suggestion.

 

Eric

[flowerseller]

Personally, I like Kent Marine phosphate sponge.

When I find a need, I run it in a DIY phosban like reactor for 24-36hrs then remove and discard.

The smaller the total gallons, the shorter the time. I also use a flow rate of <200gph.

As with ANY phospate media, you my notice a slight color lightning in SPS which in my case returns to normal colorization in less than 2 weeks.

[EricBrian]

Personally, I like Kent Marine phosphate sponge.

When I find a need, I run it in a DIY phosban like reactor for 24-36hrs then remove and discard.

The smaller the total gallons, the shorter the time. I also use a flow rate of <200gph.

As with ANY phospate media, you my notice a slight color lightning in SPS which in my case returns to normal colorization in less than 2 weeks.

 

Thanks!

 

I don't have any SPS in this tank... This is the one where I have LPS.

[flowerseller]

Don't be suprised to observe some temporary lighter colors with many LPS as well.

 

My reasoning for this is some of the zoozanthellae is negatively effected by the treatment

of either phosban or phosphate sponge.

 

As with any treatment except for nudi's or flat worms.......... EASY DOES IT!

You can always treat a second time if neccesary and massive water exchanges to dilute a heavy treatment dose often causes and or creates other problems in the process.

[davelin315]

I haven't used phosban before, but make sure you follow the correct treatment guidelines with the phosphate sponges. I think that many of them are made with metals which can leach into the water and cause problems for your invertebrate life forms. I always used to use Kent phosphate sponge with a lot of success, but that was years and years ago. You can also use various macroalgaes to "scrub" your water clean.

[DEEPBLUE]

I've used Phosban Pro before with not affect to my corals or inverts. It does cloud up your tank for a couple hours, but you will have a 0 reading in 24 hours.

 

Eric

[EricBrian]

Got it on order. Will get it tomorrow. I'll give it a try then.

 

Thanks for all the help.

 

Eric