.15 ppm Phosphate with 0 Nitrate!! Cheato Export?

[runningrandy04]

Hey everyone,
My main question:
Can Cheato grow on phosphate only or does it need nitrates as well?
My plan to leach phosphates:
So I just finished up my cycle after 6 weeks (75 gal DT, 33 gal Sump). Started with a ground up dinner shrimp, but it smelled bad and I worried about fungus taking hold. I switched to Dr Tims Ammonia.
Haven't used any lights yet so there isn't any algae in the tank. MarinePure block is the reason my nitrates are nadda. I tracked them up to 20 and then they dropped off about the same time as nitrite. I'm going to use the next 6 weeks to let it stabilize and reduce PO4 while I QT my first set of fish (3x yellowstriped cardinals.)
Step 1: Add tisbe pods, chaeto ball, Reefbreeders Fuge-light, and search for yellowstriped cardinals in stock this week. (start dosing minimal ammonia daily)
Step 2: Start fish with ttm in 20gal (DT water goes to QT and new water goes to DT.) Thats a 15 gal water change every 3 days on DT.
Step 3: Start up GFO reactor before the fish lights go hot and fish move to permanent home.

Any suggestions or comments? Lay it on me, how bad is .15ppm PO4

 

[runningrandy04]

Any comments or related discussion welcome!!

 

[Art13]

Possibly just ghost feed the tank instead of adding ammonia, will help with the life you are adding to the tank. GFO will pull the phosphates, you'll be running it for a while. Just leave it running in a reactor and change it out every 2 weeks to a month depending on your readings.

 

[runningrandy04]

Possibly just ghost feed the tank instead of adding ammonia, will help with the life you are adding to the tank. GFO will pull the phosphates, you'll be running it for a while. Just leave it running in a reactor and change it out every 2 weeks to a month depending on your readings.

Thanks for the reply Art13,
I will most likely be ghost feeding ground up expired pellets for the pods. Cheaper than phyto!!
I've read that systems with no nitrates make GFO the only way of removing phosphate. They dose NO3 to make it more available to chaeto or an ATS. At least that's what I've read. It's the internet though. Since the only life will be pods, dosing ammonia will be the same as dosing NO3 but will feed the bacteria as well.
I really don't want to be using the GFO forever. I'd rather carbon dose depending on how my tank adjusts to it.

 

[Art13]

I'm in the same boat with gfo, but with my current issues it makes sense. I don't plan on using it forever, just until the tank balances out. At some point when everything gets running well i may even start dosing for nitrates.