Any natural ways to lower phosphate?

[richardhmc]

I have a 50 gallon reef tank. My phosphates are consistently at least .25 ppm and yesterday it was at .50 ppm. I have a lot of cyano algae which I know is from phosphates.

I do 5 gallon water changes every weekend. Is there any way to lower the phosphates naturally without a reactor, or chemical phosphate removers? Is it true that seagrass removes phosphates?

Do phosphates stunt coral growth? I know reefers strive to keep their phosphates as close to 0 as possible.

Thanks

 

[adamt]

if you are using tap water for your water changes, your prolly putting in as much as you're taking out.

tips for lowering po4:

use ro/di water for changes (small frequent water changes are way better than intermittent large changes)

rinse frozen food in a brine shrimp net before feeding

add a refugium (phosphates are plant food) chaeto is a good choice for macro algae

add scavengers like hermit crabs and nassarius snails to the system (theyll eat any excess food that falls to the bottom)

avoid flake food, and make sure your not overfeeding

vodka dosing will cause micro bacteria to flourish and out compete nuisance algaes
(brightwells bio reef fuel is a simplier substitute and should be used in combination with mb7)

Ive heard that kalkwasser will percipitate out as calcium phosphate and is removed by skimming, but im not 100% on that

If you really dont want to use a product like phoszorb than these tips are the best hope for lowering your po4.... gl!!!

 

[richardhmc]

if you are using tap water for your water changes, your prolly putting in as much as you're taking out.

tips for lowering po4:

use ro/di water for changes (small frequent water changes are way better than intermittent large changes)

rinse frozen food in a brine shrimp net before feeding

add a refugium (phosphates are plant food) chaeto is a good choice for macro algae

add scavengers like hermit crabs and nassarius snails to the system (theyll eat any excess food that falls to the bottom)

avoid flake food, and make sure your not overfeeding

vodka dosing will cause micro bacteria to flourish and out compete nuisance algaes
(brightwells bio reef fuel is a simplier substitute and should be used in combination with mb7)

Ive heard that kalkwasser will percipitate out as calcium phosphate and is removed by skimming, but im not 100% on that

If you really dont want to use a product like phoszorb than these tips are the best hope for lowering your po4.... gl!!!

I do have a refugium stocked with seagrass and chaeto.
I think I may feed a little too much sometimes.
I also heard that kalkwasser does dissolve phosphates. I'll look that up

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

without a phosband reactor its hard, you can try putting phosband in a bag if you dont want a reactor but i think media has to tuble in order to wrok right
Yes it will stunt coral growth even kill if that high of .50

 

[richardhmc]

oh snap. no wonder my corals are having a hard time growing.

 

[fallenlordz]

I use phosban reactor, sump with chaeto growing, and feed once a day. With great results.

I would try limiting your feeding.

 

[adamt]

I do have a refugium stocked with seagrass and chaeto.
I think I may feed a little too much sometimes.
I also heard that kalkwasser does dissolve phosphates. I'll look that up

kalkwasser doesnt disolve po4, as i understand it the excess calcium bonds with phosphates to form, you guessed it, calcium phosphate which is then removed by your protein skimmer.

seriously try rinsing your food in a brine shrimp net before you put it in the tank. it really helps.

do you use tap or ro water? if you do use tap water, stop. trying doing small frequent water changes with ro, i do 5 gal every other day on my 65g.

if you dont want to use a reactor, maybe consider using a pura pad. They can be folded or cut to fit just about anywhere (i have mine folded up in the return chamber of my remora skimmer) and they remove po4, silicates, metals etc. change it out once a month.

 

[tynman]

water changes with get rid of your phos. but you need to do 5 gal a day or every second day. and chemi pure comes in a bag already and can be put in the sump but get the one with the phos remover i think its the elite. you should do about a 10 gal water change every weekend instead of 5 gal. they say 10 to 20% so 5 gal is the min 10%. good luck.

 

[richardhmc]

I think I figured out why I got a sudden spike in phosphates.
Recently about a week ago I was recommended cyclops. I bought this in ice cube form and the first time I planned to feed it, I tried to wash them in a brine shrimp net. However, it was too small, so it just went right through the net.

Ive been feeding them the cyclops for the past week and I realized that none of my fish can eat it, only few of the corals are able to grab it, and the rest just floats around the tank.

I do use homemade RODI water.

I'll look up on the pura pad thanks

 

[jadakiss]

quick ? i have a sump can i put cheato in there? does it need light?.

 

[OzoneParkGuy]

quick ? i have a sump can i put cheato in there? does it need light?.

yes to both your questions..




Richard we discussed this yesterday...... same advise, guess better to be certain then uncertain. LOL!

 

[mqur1963]

yes go to any stores by day light 6500k 100 watts

 

[Slamajamajama]

i luv my algae scrubber, my tank never looked better

 

[Staaan]

without a phosband reactor its hard, you can try putting phosband in a bag if you dont want a reactor but i think media has to tuble in order to wrok right
Yes it will stunt coral growth even kill if that high of .50

Jarrett when you say kill coral... Are you referring to just SPS or all types?


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