Phosphate control method which is better?

[Chefjpaul]

So, just curious as to why you don't like these numbers? (As you just stated they are higher than you like, not the reason behind dropping them).

Granted the rodi number is a slight concern, and should be addressed.

Overall 0.03 is pretty on point for the display unless you're having coral color issues or algae problem?

Reason I previously asked about the no3 is to see your balance relationship with the po4. Having po4>no3 could be problematic, but again curious as to your overall concerns here.

 

[polywise]

I'm noticing more alge than normal, as well as red slime in the lower less lighted levels of my tank, and can't figure out what might be causing this change ?
also Lights (vho and mh) are only 6 months old.

 

[charliethetuna88]

I ha e a 450 gallon system, and currently use gfo .i have two separate reactors, i change one reactor each time i need to add new gfo ,i use 2 separate ones because i have noticed in the passed when i would change out the full 7 cups that was called for it would strip my phosphate down to fast and i would have issues ,stn ,rtn,coral loss and stress, so i added another reactor and split the 7 cups between both ...ive been doing it that way for over 2 years now and i get better results ,i like my phosphat at about .06 ,to low and i see coral stress.i am now looking into using phosphate rx (lanthem chloride ).i have heard great things about this from people with large system, and it cost 10 times less than gfo .

 

[charliethetuna88]

Oh and always always rinse ur frozen food .

 

[charliethetuna88]

Dont listen to the hype about having ur p04 at 0.00 phosphate its all bs ,thats mostly for zeo users who then add p04 and other nutrients back to there tanks in a controlled way threw dosing .some phosphate in a reef tanks good ..

 

[charliethetuna88]

https://youtu.be/ZRIKW-9d2xI

 

[charliethetuna88]

Check that link out ,and that from a guy that knows how to grow coral

 

[jackson6745]

The key to running high po4 SPS tanks is complete bright uniform lighting coverage. This is hard to do with manufacture ratings + factory LED's of today because the tank is woefully under lit when it comes to spread. Back in the day we all had dirty tanks were getting some colorful growing acros by blasting them with lots of MH lights. The intense light baked SPS high in zoox and made them grow + brought out colors.
Rich's tank looks great, but tanks with lots of feeding, yet low po4 + no3 such as Reefbums old tank + Joe peck's reef are leaps and bound ahead. IME the survival rate is much better in this type of tank as well. I'm not saying a high po4 tank isn't doable, but user results are better running a cleaner SPS tank. If you spend anytime searching great tanks you can easily make the connection.

 

[piranhapat]

Jim, may not be a phosphate issue. Could be nutrients and bacteria issue. Where Red slime is present.

 

[polywise]

charliethetuna88,
I currently don't rinse my frozen food, but will give that a try going forward.
rinse with some water from the tank, RO, or well water from tap ?

piranhapt,
red slime is generally in areas in the lower portion of the tank.
I'll try to put up a pic or two this evening.

Jackson6745,
I have personally seen both of those guys tanks in the past, and they were/are well taken care of, and the coral looked rich and colorful.

 

[charliethetuna88]

Yes polywise i rinse it in a brine shrimp net under the sink water ,u will be shocked how much crap comes off ,especially if ur feeding pe mysis..that was adding a ton of phosphate to my system .

 

[prattreef]

Rich Ross' system is an interesting case and very much an outlier ( there are others too) which illustrates that the issues surrounding PO4 are more complicated than we might think. However, the overwhelming body of hobbyist evidence points to better success keeping PO4 levels low. Striving for zero is silly and unobtainable IMO and probably not a good thing either. My systems have always done their best with PO4 in the 0.04-.06 ppm range with noticeable signs of decline beginning at around 0.10 ppm. Additionally, I shoot for NO3 at 5 ppm though higher levels don't seem terribly problematic.

The ratio between NO3 and Po4 is also important and 5ppm and 0.04 ppm respectively seems to roughly correspond to that sweet spot of 100:1 that is bandied about.

Any of the GFO products work well and I have never seen a problem from using them unless you use a massive amount and bring down high levels too quickly. Lanthanum also works well provided you don't let the particles that precipitate out get loose into the water where they will seriously irritate fish gills.

Personally, I find intensive algal filtration the easiest, safest and most effective export method, but there is no one size fits all solution for every system and all methods --like everything else in reefkeeping-- have their own efficiencies, inefficiencies and limitations which are up to you to understand.

 

[polywise]

I'm kind of embarrassed to show these pics that I just took.
they are over saturated, but you will get the idea of what I am concerned about..

 

[polywise]

quick video
https://youtu.be/5B3kHNpZOrQ

 

[MikeC]

Get in there with a turkey baster every night and blow that stuff around before you go to bed( this way you don't have to look at it during the day)and run your skimmer wet for a week or two.

 

[charliethetuna88]

Use some zeo coral snow

 

[BioMan]

Yes polywise i rinse it in a brine shrimp net under the sink water ,u will be shocked how much crap comes off ,especially if ur feeding pe mysis..that was adding a ton of phosphate to my system .

+1 to rinsing the PE Mysis,,whether it was cubes or the large sheet and break off however much you need,,, to see it the best put whichever you're using in a cup of your tanks water and let it sit until its melted; swirling it around a bit. You'll see how cloudy the water becomes.
That's why for the past few months I've been using a raw shrimp/salmon blend I make myself from the grocery store. Cleaner and cheaper.

 

[Chefjpaul]

I don't rinse any foods, whether I make or buy and have no Nutrient issue.
(Guess it could help here to lower the nutrients a bit).

I personally think this may be more of a light maintenance chore and low bacteria not being balanced due to the non existent no3 ratio to po4.

Prattreef is on point here.

 

[polywise]

I'm going to get a reactor on line (hopefully this weekend).
The thing for me that is strange, is that I have never had this condition as bad as it is now..

I usually relate this stuff to poor water conditions, and low lighting.
Both of which I feel my tank is on the + sided

 

[prattreef]

Cyano is weird stuff for sure and sometimes shows up in systems like yours that are seemingly in very good shape. This seems more common in the springtime for some reason, but obviously not always. Siphon out what you can, maybe change your flow pattern if possible and even consider 48 hrs without the lights on . Sometimes these things will force the cyano to retreat. Often it just disappears on its own in time. I am not at all convinced it is nutrient related in a clean system like yours.