phosphate reducer??

falonchristie

New member
Hello,
I have been going to aquariums in Edmond and getting my water tested. It has been finished with its cycle for awhile but for the last 2 weeks i have had phosphate in my tank. I just started using rodi water 2 weeks ago to fix the problem but still i have .25-.50 on phosphate. Leigh Ann said if my phosphate did not go away this week then i was going to buy something to add to tank to get rid of phosphate. So my question is that i only have time today to do this and she is closed today so what are you suggestions?? I will be adding corals this weekend and I wanted to get this taken care of today so I know my tank is ready and healthy for frags. hopefully it is some kind of supplement i would buy at petco.
thanks
 
Hello,
I have been going to aquariums in Edmond and getting my water tested. Leigh Ann said if my phosphate did not go away this week then i was going to buy something to add to tank to get rid of phosphate. hopefully it is some kind of supplement i would buy at petco.
thanks


No supplement,

If you are going to listen to Leigh Anne, then trust her and wait till you go back next week to get your water tested.

Are you feeding your tank? If so, cut back for several days.

Keep up with water changes....

Keep moving slowly....

Don't worry, be happy :clown:
 
no i do not have a sump. I just remembered that she said we would put something in my hob filter. I'm wondering if it was carbon she was talking about. I cant remember but she said this week if phosphate still .25 we would put something in the filter and you just drop it down in there she said. so carbon?
also i am not feeding my tank. she told me not to since im cycled and not to feed only fish but i have no fish right now.
 
Yeah. I am going to agree with Lynn on this one. Cut back on feeding and keep up water changes. If all your other parameters are in check and your phos is around .25 you are fine. Since you have switched over to ro/di it will slowly continue to go down.
 
There is a filter called Aqua-Pure...made by HBH??..whoever that is in Springville Utah, that says it "Helps reduce phospate levels". I keep some in my Seahorse tanks in the HOB filters...do they work??...I really don't know. I don't have any phospate problems but I watch my feeding carefully and have alot of Macro alge in my tanks along with ALOT of snails. I'm not sure where I bought my 'Phospate cut to fit filter pads'... Petco or Pets Mart...maybe....but listen to Lynn...cut back on your feeding and keep testing your water....
 
those pads have a GFO or granular ferric oxide which phos binds to. you can buy it at petco or petsmart if you have to for a Quick reduction but its better if you run it in a reactor. There are a lot of products that claim to remove phos but gfo does work but its just a patch, even though I run it to! lol
 
okay leigh ann emailed me and told me to use a phosphate sponge. But bummer part is that i have to wait until phosphate is gone for a consistant amount of time so she told me not to get a frag this week. i was so excited about frags. so i guess i will just learn to be patient. I am the most impatient person and this hobby requires me to be patient. I think that is going to be my biggest challenge yet. hehehe
Does anyone know where to get a phosphate sponge. I wont be able to get out to edmond before aquariums closes this week so i need to hopefully find one at petco or somewhere thats open later than 7
 
Hi falon,

Phosphates at that level would be dangerous to fish, not to frags....... imo

do you have any snails or hermit crabs?
 
Hi falon,

Phosphates at that level would be dangerous to fish, not to frags....... imo

do you have any snails or hermit crabs?

i have 7 snails and a few hermit crabs, coral banded shrimp, pepermint shrimp, emrald and strawberry crab. my phosphate has been .25 for 2 weeks. So should i still wait on frags?
 
Somebody smarter than me will have to tell you wheither to wait or not....I would guess if your shrimp and inverts are living, it would be OK...but I don't know. The phosphate sponge is the thing that Cjilge and I were both talking about..this company just calls it a cut to size filter pad......Mike
 
Reef Shop warehouse sells phosphate sponges and I bought PhosGuard from LeighAnn. Its by seachem. You put it in a filter sock (or an old pair of pantyhose) and run it in your filter for a few days. You shouldnt keep it in there more than 4 days at a time and when it stops lowering the phosphates you have to replace it with new PhosGuard.
 
Reef Shop warehouse sells phosphate sponges and I bought PhosGuard from LeighAnn. Its by seachem. You put it in a filter sock (or an old pair of pantyhose) and run it in your filter for a few days. You shouldnt keep it in there more than 4 days at a time and when it stops lowering the phosphates you have to replace it with new PhosGuard.

this is correct, but I believe if you read the instructions you can run it lonoger periods of time. I run it in a media reactor 24/7 and change it every month. But I'm jumping on the band wagon with bio pellets this week, new monster reactor is here and getting plumbed tomorrow. I don't sugest bio pellets untill you have a great understanding of the chems and params in your tank. phosguard works well just make sure you check for phos reg. Invest in a Hanna checker Phos meter, mine just came in and it's Awesome!
 
Oh oh......

Oh oh......

What do I do if I don't have an old pair of panty hose.....all I have is my NEW pair that I wear....They are guaranteed not to tear run or creep, slip shrink or stink............:lmao:
 
Hi falon,

Phosphates at that level would be dangerous to fish, not to frags....... imo

According to Randy Holmes Farley in his study of , Iron Oxide Hydroxide (GFO) Phosphate Binders, Reefkeeping Magazine 4/2009,

"Maintaining appropriately low phosphate levels is one of the ongoing struggles that reef aquarists face. Elevated phosphate levels can cause a variety of undesirable effects, including increased green algae growth and decreased growth of calcifying organisms such as corals and coralline algae."

Randy goes on to say, "If allowed to rise above natural levels, phosphate can cause two undesirable results. One is inhibition of calcification. That is, it can reduce the rate at which corals and coralline algae can build calcium carbonate skeletons, potentially stunting their growth."

LL
 
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