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REALLY high Phosphates...do I need a reactor?

pjewett

pjewett

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I hadn't been checking for phosphates until recently so I guess I shouldn't have been shocked to discover they were 1.5!

I've increased the lighting in my intank fuge (chaeto & dsb), performed a 20 % water change & will be cutting back feedings to twice per week.

A few questions...

1. What's the best low or no phosphate food I can feed my fish & inverts? I have 7-8 sexy shrimp that need to be fed to keep them away from my zoas.

2. I have a 30 gal hex (and thus little room for more equipment) with no sump so I'm hesitant to get a reactor. Should I bite it and just get one? What's the best brand & brand resin?

3. Anything else I've not considered?

Thanks!
 
pjewett

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hijinks said:
do you use ro/di water?
Click to expand...


20% water changes weekly with RO (just added DI a few days ago). The RO is only 2 months old.

I have a pretty cheap TDS meter but one thing I've noticed is that it consistently reeds 0 when sampling directly from the RO filter but once my bucket is filled and I test I sometimes get readings of 100. I've heard marine salt will make TDS meters whacky so maybe it's residual salt in the bucket?
 
pjewett

pjewett

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hijinks said:
how old are the bulbs on your lights?
Click to expand...


Just replaced my MH bulb 3 days ago....the light I purchased was a display model so I don't know how much life was on the bulb when I bought it.

It's entirely possible I would think that the actions I've taken thus far may make the difference but I don't know how long I should expect to see results?

1. Added DI to RO 3 days ago.
2. Replaced MH bulb (15k) 3 days ago.
3. Added more light to my fuge to promote chaeto growth.
4. Cutting back on feedings.
5. Continuing to do my weekly water changes.

And like I said my other levels are great....NO3 is always undetectable to 5...never ammonia or nitrites...calcium, ph, alk..all good.
 
h20 freak

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Well no flake for one.I would say mysis and cyclopeeze would appease most of your inhabitants, be sure to thaw the mysis in tank water and then strain the actual shrimp from the water.I'm not sure where I heard to do this but it makes sense to me.Do weekly 10 percent changes. Try these measures first and see what happens.


edit: didn't see the weekly changes you already do, my bad.
 
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H

hijinks

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I can't really explain it.. but I used ro/di water since day 1 and when i turned on my MH fixture.. 2 weeks later.. phosphates were high and getting green hair algae.

I got a ceiling hang kit to hang it higher above the tank then the legs and my phos. levels have dropped and algae is going down.. not sure if its just dumb luck or what.

I mention that since i have a similar size tank then yours with a 150w MH.

Also I am experimenting with a scrubber and not even use a skimmer.. building one next weekend I think.
 
KathyC

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All great suggestions above except the thought to feed the fish only twice per week IMO.
If you are feeding flake or pellet, then do tend to have phosphates in them, and it would be helpful if you fed less per serving rather than less times per week. Doing so will stress your fish and you open yourself to the likleyhood of them perhaps developing an illness.

Best to feed less per serving on a daily basis and be sure to add phosphate free food to their diet, as in the cyclopeeze and Mysis shrimp that were suggested.
Rinsing the food before use will greatly help in reducing the phosphates.

You can also increase the size of your water changes to help a little more.

Regarding the use of a TDS meter after you have mixed your rodi waterwith with salt..it is useless then. It will only given accurate reading on pure rodi water :)
 
cb747

cb747

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Its very possible that your live rock is bound with PO4 and is leaching it back into the tank. I had slacked on my PO4 testing for several months and last week my level was 2.33............ As of last night it was .33
I use a product called Seaklear Phosphate remover for swimming pools. Its the same exact chemical thats marketed for aquarium use but much cheaper. I dosed 10 ML mixed in a gallon of RO water and dosed slowly with a dosing pump directly into the skimmer intake. 30 ML total over 3 days. My suggestion would be to get your PO4 down quickly with the chemical and then use GFO to lower it the rest of the way. With the chemical you wont get much lower than what i have now.
This method is what they use at Atlantis Aquarium and Joe helped me with it as i went along. Any questions just ask or shoot me a PM if i dont answer. :)
If you choose the chemical route youll use alot less than 10 ML. I have approx 200 gallons of water volume.
 
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JLAudio

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yea for there fairly reasonable price and minimal electricity use, I say get one, there always up for sale here, or you can use and old canister filter with media in it, if you have one
 
T

tosiek

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Reactor +1 for me too. Get one, it doesn't hurt, along with running carbon.

Everyone missed the fact that his Po4 reading is probably not as high as he thinks it is.

What type of test kit are you using? I'd only believe it from a hanna =0P Other test kits come close but alot can be waaaaayy off.

Reread kathyC's post a few times. Its real important. What your doing is like taking a overweight person and feeding them once every 2 days to help them lose weight. The fish need daily doses of vitamins and such and their not getting it through the lights.
 
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pjewett

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I've never actually run a PO3 test...I had my first one done a little over a week ago at Aquatic Express.

It was really a spur of the moment decision to include that in the tests I requested. I don't have what I would call a major algae problem but I don't want one. Here's some pics if anyone wants to give their own assessment.

I probably will go for the reactor from Bulk Reef Supplies as they said the bracket that will hang over the edge of the tank is 3" which will be tight but doable. Still considering the Fluval 204 I have laying around but then I have hoses going into the display so I'm trying to determine the lesser of the two evils.

P1010037.jpg

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P1010040.jpg
 
pjewett

pjewett

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