Phosphates from Reef Crystals?

[podcar]

The past six months or so I have been fighting hair alage. I was doing large water changes (40G on a 125) about every week or two. The problem kept getting worse. I was getting about .03-.9 on a hanna checker in the tank. Running GFO 24/7 and doding vineger (about 30ML per day).

I was making my next batch of water for the water change and decided to test the PO4 from my make up water. It read 1.24!! I tested the water from the output of the RO/DI abd got .00 for a reading, so the filters were still good. The only logical conclusion was that it was coming from eith the salt or the container. I mixed up a batch in a 5G bucket and got the same high results. I switched bags(although they came from the same 200g box) and got the same thing.

Has anybody else had problems from RCs before? Any thoughts on something I might have missed in testing the salt?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I've not heard of recent problems with RC, but there will be some low level in all salt mixes.

FWIW, 0.03 to 0.09 ppm in a salt mix is nothing to be concerned about. if you are using it for water changes, you'd be adding perhaps 10-100 times or more each day from foods as you would from normal water changes with that mix.

 

[podcar]

Is 1.24 something to be concerned about? I was hoping to lower my tanks phosphates (.06-.09) from the water change. So I am wondering if I should even use this mix?

The salt was in a sealed bag, but was close to a year old. Im not sure if that may have been part of the problem or not.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought the salt mix level was the 0.03 to 0.09 ppm. 1.24 ppm would be a concern, but that is more likely testing error, unless you were using untreated tap water. Try measuring that again side by side with tank water.

In general, water changes are not a useful way to lower phosphate. Even a 100% water change will not remove it all since much of it is bound to rock and sand.

Old salt does not acccumulate phosphate.

 

[podcar]

I just re-tested everything.

Tank = 0.12
RO/DI = 0.00
RC mix = 1.40

Looks like a bad box

 

[tozzi]

Id contact them and tell them the batch/lot #

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Maybe it was something in the source water that you used for that particular batch, or the container.

It is easy to understand how a "bad" batch can be made by mis-mixing the normal ingredients at the wrong ratios. It is much harder to understand how something not normally in the mix (and possibly not even in the manufacturing plant) could get added, and since there are thousands of RC users on Reef Central, a bad bulk batch like this would really have lots of folks noticing it. Maybe you are the first of what will be many, but if not, I think blaming the salt is unlikely to be the true story.

 

[jwoyshnar]

There was an independent test done somewhere on the internet a little while go an d all salt mixes had phosphates in it except for Coralife. I believe Red sea and instant ocean were the highest.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure which test you are referring to, but I have seen many such tests over the years and I agree there will be insignificant (but perhaps readily detectable; say 0.1 ppm or less; usually much less) amounts in many mixes, but none of the big name brands have values high enough to worry about and certainly none are above 1 ppm.

 

[agruetz]

Interesting, I will test my RC. I had a phosphate issues, but I was chalking it up to a new tank and a biological filter that was immature. As Randy told me more phosguard, changed more often...and a better test kit...issue seems resolved.

 

[podcar]

I emptied the last batch. I then tested some ro/di straight from the Brute container. I got 0.4. I looks like the can plus the salt was giving me the extra high phosphates.

Any suggestions on how to better clean a Brute container?

 

[bertoni]

I'm a bit skeptical that the container is a problem unless it's been used for something with phosphate in it, but some vinegar and a good wipe-down should clean it up.

 

[DrBegalke]

I haven't had any problems with reef crystals, although its been several months since I have purchased it.

 

[Drewbaby]

Plastic can leech things into any liquid. Since plastics are a semi permeable object they can also absorb things from what they contain. Take a Tupperware container for.instance. if you leave a tuna sandwich in one for say 4 weeks in the sun then wash it out it will still have some odd odor to it. When doctors tell you not to drink water from a water bottle that has been sitting in the car its because of contaminants that leech from the plastic into the water. The same thing happens with brute trash cans, 55 gallon drums, other plastic storage bins. It has to do with the genetic makeup of.plastic.