reducing phosphate

[Rhygar666]

Hello,

i got a ~90g tank and a ~40g sump, i let my mother feed and i got way to many algae after testing i found out that the phosphate went too high so im trying to reduce it, i got a gfo unit and some algae for my sump.
what else can i do to remove the phosphate execpt waiting?
can i do more water changes atm im doing about 16 g per week, can i do more or do 16g that every 3-4 days.

thanks for the help.

 

[dlondono]

If you have corals and super high phosphate learn how to use pool phosphate remover slowly and properly.

Works very well on fish only tanks and fewer cautionary steps.

If your phosphate is over .2 gfo alone will be an expensive way to reduce phosphate unless tank is small, say under 55 gallons.

If you want to address your phosphate properly buy a hanna phosphate checker and get a good read on your actual level

Water changes to reduce phosphate is a pain

 

[Rhygar666]

If your phosphate is over .2 gfo alone will be an expensive way to reduce phosphate unless tank is small, say under 55 gallons.

i got a professionel test, its about .2 anyway, tried testing with my salifert p04 test and it almost checks out, so i can use that to see how its reducing.
I got gfo material from a store i thrust for a reasonable price so thats not the problem, i was just thinking of speeding up the progress but if water change doesnt help then i just let the gfo run, do my routine and see how high it is after 2-3 weeks.

thanks

 

[George_Goosen]

Doing water changes more frequently to get the numbers down and then use gfo to maintain the low levels. You'll also need to figure out where the phos are coming from? Do you use rodi water? Are you over feeding ?

 

[Rhygar666]

Are you over feeding ?

it was over feeding, totally my fault i showed my mother how to feed but apparently she fed more anyway now i know the issue and im getting it right and its not happening again, i feel bad enough anyway.

 

[LuciDog]

Do not lower it rapidly. You will impact everything in your tank. If it's been high for a while, it's in your rock work. Frequent water changes, and gfo.

 

[Sk8r]

Change gfo medium monthly until you see algae growth weaken. Likewise, wind and yank with a toothbrush and pull by hand: every pound of algae pulled out takes phosphate with it.

 

[CStrickland]

Do not lower it rapidly. You will impact everything in your tank. If it's been high for a while, it's in your rock work. Frequent water changes, and gfo.

+1 a lot of people start with a half portion of gfo, so that the change is gentle for the tank. It's one of those things where it takes longer to fix than it took to break it.

 

[blando233]

mean time if you have some algae i would try picking some of it off so it doesn't spread fast. Also could get a cleanup crew to eat it also. I agree with LuciDog don't rapidly do it. Take your time it will come back down.

 

[Sandrock.e46]

I heard using rowa phosphate remover works really well

 

[George_Goosen]

I heard using rowa phosphate remover works really well

Rowaphos and GFO are the same thing.

 

[igadget56]

High phosphates can use up GFO in a matters of hours. Test it coming out of the reactor.

 

[FishN00b83]

when using GFO you need to check the output of the reactor, once phosphates start to rise it's time to change the media. if your phosphates are high it can happen pretty quickly so definitely check often and change it when necessary

 

[igadget56]

Ya what he said

 

[LuciDog]

Gfo can be costly if your p04 is high, and it's leeching from rocks. I now use lanthenum chloride (the pool stuff a few posts up). There are most definitely consequences to using it, so make sure you 100% sure know what your doing, and read the threads in the chemistry forum. Lanthenum chloride can drop p04 FAST so you need to be very very careful, or you will kill off everything. The life can't keep up to the rapid swing. Slow and steady.

 

[Rhygar666]

Gfo can be costly if your p04 is high, and it's leeching from rocks. I now use lanthenum chloride (the pool stuff a few posts up). There are most definitely consequences to using it, so make sure you 100% sure know what your doing, and read the threads in the chemistry forum. Lanthenum chloride can drop p04 FAST so you need to be very very careful, or you will kill off everything. The life can't keep up to the rapid swing. Slow and steady.

i manually removed lots of algae today, i feed way less now, make more water changes than usual, normally i did about 8g now its 16g, the algae started with my new tank and when my mother fed it, the tank is about 3-4 months old and i noticed this algae 2-3 weeks ago, so i guess it cant be leeched into the rocks in that short amount of time but thats just me guessing as im no expert.
i will keep it like this and test phosphat once a week and look what the test shows, if i see no positive result in like 3-4 months i may try something else.

 

[LuciDog]

If that's all it's been then don't start playing mad chemist yet. Run gfo, manually remove what you can, and do some frequent water changes. It will come down on its own.