phosphate ??

[powderhound]

Where does everyone keep try to keep there phosphate levels at? i know 0 is the goal but within reason. i just measured my levels with a hanna phosphate checker and it showed 0.08 is it time to start running GFO again

 

[Finland]

I don't have a hanna tester, so I really don't know what my P04 is really at, I use salifert and it reads zero. From what most say, who do use a hanna, .03-.04 range is what alot of people shoot for. Too low and corals fade, too much and they brown out.

 

[powderhound]

Thanks for the reply. I stopped running gfo cause my phosphate was 0 and colors were dull. Trying to let them raise a little but want the balance between enough and too much

 

[fishyguy7]

My system runs about .04 PO4

 

[sponger0]

Phosphate should never be 0. You need some phosphates. In the range of .04-.06 is good.

 

[downbeach]

Read, "Summary of Phosphate Reduction Methods", in this article:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

 

[acroholicreefer]

Phosphate should never be 0. You need some phosphates. In the range of .04-.06 is good.

+1. I have never figured out how people run their system without having phosphates above .03 unless they are dosing a lot of other stuff. I have found that acros start to starve with additives if phosphates are below .03.

 

[xenon]

Yes. I hate that its common knowledge in this hobby that PO4 should be 0.

I learned the hard way and realized on my own that a little PO4 is ideal (0.03-0.06) with Hanna Checker.

 

[sponger0]

Phosphates are necessarily for living things

 

[arnaldolex1]

whats the best cheapest gfo

 

[sponger0]

whats the best cheapest gfo

Ive tried to use GFO and Ive used 2 brands. It never worked for me. For one, my phosphates didnt drop and my corals got affected. 2, I got brown dust all over my sand from it. Guess I didnt wash it good enough.

So instead I was told to use Xtra PhosX from a member of my local reef club. Stuff works great. And it is inexpensive. I never had and visible bad side effects.

 

[powderhound]

I know we need phosphates in a system, but you always here people saying 0 is where it should be. Just trying to get my system dialed in to the correct amount

 

[sponger0]

It should be .03-.06 for an SPS system. Never 0

 

[Tokyoyankee]

Agree with sponger. Don't go crazy with trying to eliminate PO4

 

[Alex T.]

Just like many other are saying...you need some phosphate in your tank. Measuring 0.00 on a Hannah checker is probably not ideal. Some of the best sps tanks I've seen have measurable nitrate and phosphate, up to .08.

Many who claim undetectable phosphates are probably not using a Hannah Checker. Those who run a bacteria driven system like Zeovit, (vodka, vinegar, sugar) or biopellets are usually dosing other additives to keep the corals healthy/alive.

 

[bobkill]

0 phosphate is fine, if you feed ur coral

 

[bobkill]

Bump second part of Alex t's post

 

[REEF SMAC]

i just measured my levels with a hanna phosphate checker and it showed 0.08

If you had just fed your tank and then measured your PO4, I would not worry too much. If this measurement was 20 hours after your last feeding I would begin to lower it slowly.

Anything below .05 seems to be fine IME.

 

[Met3112]

If your below .02 then feed your tank well, above .05 add a phosphate remover, refugium, do more water changes...its a balance.

 

[sirreal63]

Before the Hanna meters all we had (unless you spent the big bucks) was test kits, which did not have a high enough resolution to give accurate results, so if you got the test kit to read zero, it was considered good. The problem is now we can remove too much po4 and people still shoot for zero and that can cause problems. My tank is happy at .04 measured with the Hanna pocket meter, when it gets lower things start to lose color.