phosphate and carbon ?

poknsnok

poknsnok

New member
Hello... I purchased a low range phosphate colorimeter from Hannah instruments to get a better grip on what my phosphates really are in my reef tank. since I got it 3 months ago my water has tested at .02 ppm. which is real good. 3 weeks ago I started running about 4 cups of kent reef carbon. I change every 3 weeks. last week I tested my phos and it tested at .06. I changed the carbon sunday and tested phos last night and it was better at .04.. I am thinking that the carbon may be the culprit. ive read theories of carbon being a cause of elevated phos. has anyone else experienced this?. before I started running the carbon the phos was at .02.. . Also, for those using the colorimeter, what readings are you getting?
 
Put a piece of the carbon in some water, let it sit/shake it up and test the water. If you get a reading for P then it is releasing P.
Chris
 
I get regular readings of 0.03 on my hanna, and have not noticed any difference with carbon or phosphate remover. I have had elevated readings hours after feeding the tank, and elevated readings in the morning before the lights come on. The hanna is such a sensitive instrument especially at those lower levels that any alteration in your routine may show up as elevated phosphates. IMO any level below 0.05 is suffcient for a reef tank.
 
Im not too worried but I strive to keep readings of all my parameters steady... the jump from .02 to .06 was a little alarming but I also started getting slightly elevated readings from my rodi fror TDS. could be a correlation. i changed out filters and TDS are at 0. Im going to remove the carbon and go without for a week and see what happens. I dont think anyone who tests with a colorimeter gets a 0 reading..
 
OK so how much did the colorimeter set you back? And where did you find it? How accurate does Hanna say it is, +/- what?
 
Well I did a search for Hanna colorimeter on that site and came up with zippo. Is it called something else, or a combo meter or ???
 
Well called them and they could not find it either. But they promised to call me after some further searching. Mystery continues.
 
Does it read by use of a probe? No probe shown in the photo? If yes is probe included or do you have to purchase separately? Can it be set up for continuous read out like a PH meter.

And thanks for the help BTW.
 
no probe. a sample is guaged then a reagant is added and tested using color reaction. the meter uses light to test the color of the water that the reagant is added to... no problem at all
 
There is no probe used, instead a sample is read in a glass vial. You have to be very careful how you handle and store the vial to avoid fingerprints or waterstains as this could greatly affect your readings. The steps in performing the test are very simple, but getting consistant results that are reliable may take some trys. I think I paid $165 for my hanna by the way.
 
Just looking over the stats

Resolution
0.01 mg/L

Accuracy (@20°C/68°F)
±0.04 mg/L ±4% of reading


So if accuracy is +/- .04 this colorimeter is pretty useless for reef use.

Or am I missing something here??
 
still more accurate than your test kit with the shades of blue that you cant distingush and does read lower than .1. IE .01 + .04 < .1
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mrpet
Major Algae problems help !!
Replies
7
Views
213
Timfish
Timfish
Broken reefer
Alk and cal
Replies
10
Views
248
Broken reefer
Broken reefer
S
Phosphate flow out of live rock
Replies
0
Views
147
SantaMonica
S
S
No pe on acros
Replies
7
Views
276
Scotty333!!!
S
P
flat brown/grey growing all over rocks-
Replies
10
Views
440
BeanAnimal
B
Back
Top