Phosphate issues!

[JurisHP]

I have always battled high phosphates---I use RODI water exclusively, and have tried various methods of reduction (GFO for a couple of years until I recently replaced that with Phosguard).

I first added the Phosguard to my sump in a filter pouch with the recommended amount. After 1 week, my levels were STILl at .90 (HannaChecker).

So I decided to double-up and put another pouch---4 days later (today) STILL .90!!

Any suggestions?

REALLY annoying/frustrating!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Usually the biggest source of phosphate in aquariums is fish food. I'd suggest looking at the amount of food you are adding. Lot's of people overfeed. Consider adding a Nassarius snail or two to clean up any extra food. Macro algae take up phosphate. More water changes could help. Maybe a better skimmer.

I've read that dry rock can leach phosphate for a year or more. Since it sounds like this has been a problem for 2+ years, I tend to come back to overfeeding as the likely culprit. You may also want to test your ro/di water just to be sure it isn't the source.

That's all I can think of. Good luck with it!

 

[bertoni]

I agree that fish food is the most likely source of phosphate. If the level has been high for long, leaching can be a major concern. The media might be exhausted in a few hours with the level at 0.9 ppm. Also, the media needs to have water forced through it to be effective. That's generally easier in a reactor.

For larger tanks, lanthanum dosing (SeaKlear and the like) can be cheaper than media like PhosGuard. How big is this system?