What is the acceptable level of Phosphate in an SPS tank?
- Thread starter MarineGirl411
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swk
New member
What is the acceptable level of Phosphate in an SPS tank?
And I never said all those companies are wrong - I said that I don't agree with your statement. How did people have sps reefs that thrived before gfo and cheap phosphate testing?
Those companies methods certainly work, and are successful at having the user buy LOTS of expensive little bottles to add things back to the tank after they have you strip it all out.
There's more than one way to skin this cat, and to say one way cannot be done is narrow minded. There are many ways to arrive at the end product of a healthy reef.
And I never said all those companies are wrong - I said that I don't agree with your statement. How did people have sps reefs that thrived before gfo and cheap phosphate testing?
Those companies methods certainly work, and are successful at having the user buy LOTS of expensive little bottles to add things back to the tank after they have you strip it all out.
There's more than one way to skin this cat, and to say one way cannot be done is narrow minded. There are many ways to arrive at the end product of a healthy reef.
Before GFO and low level Hannah test kits, there was good husbandry like water changes, growing chaeto (growing it well), growing and exporting coral, feeding responsibly with a responsible fish load. Back then, people also had larger tanks and fewer bio-cubes and nanos which is a bit easier to keep P under check with larger sumps and water volume and stuff.
There was no ULR Hannah test kit, but you did have phosphate test kits that would change color and you always wanted to be "clear." In today's terms, "clear" on Salifert is about 3-4 on a Hannah ULR checker... which is .009 or .01 PPM. There have been tools to do this since I got into this in 1992 - it isn't like folks were still making wheels with chisels back then.
IMO, most folks are going to get farther with this by betting on the rule rather than the exception. There are exceptions to everything which are interesting and worth noting. There are are studies that can show anything - I once had a professor in college tell us that he could commission a study to show beyond a doubt that our fathers were really our mothers and vice versa. In the end, most of the best or the best go with the rule, IME.
There was no ULR Hannah test kit, but you did have phosphate test kits that would change color and you always wanted to be "clear." In today's terms, "clear" on Salifert is about 3-4 on a Hannah ULR checker... which is .009 or .01 PPM. There have been tools to do this since I got into this in 1992 - it isn't like folks were still making wheels with chisels back then.
IMO, most folks are going to get farther with this by betting on the rule rather than the exception. There are exceptions to everything which are interesting and worth noting. There are are studies that can show anything - I once had a professor in college tell us that he could commission a study to show beyond a doubt that our fathers were really our mothers and vice versa. In the end, most of the best or the best go with the rule, IME.
ifarmer
New member
I dont know what phosphate is and i cant see them.
Not sure what it does to corals and tank.
Ever since i got my foot wet in this hobby since 2008.
From reading what many advance and experienced reefers or advance hobbyst share their knowledges. They recommend to always keep phosphate at zero for the health of the tank and corals.
So because of that i always try to keep it as closer to zero if not zero if possible.
Sent from my GT-I9192 using Tapatalk
Not sure what it does to corals and tank.
Ever since i got my foot wet in this hobby since 2008.
From reading what many advance and experienced reefers or advance hobbyst share their knowledges. They recommend to always keep phosphate at zero for the health of the tank and corals.
So because of that i always try to keep it as closer to zero if not zero if possible.
Sent from my GT-I9192 using Tapatalk
Last edited:
reefmutt
Active member
June 2015
July 2015
July 2015
May 2017
The red coral to the left of the big green coral is first image above. Not quite a colony..
Big green coral is middle photo above.. pretty much a colony..
Upper left corner is the third image above.. again not a huge colony..
June 2015
June 2017
Green one was also grown from frag..
In head two years I have struggled to keep p below .1. It had stayed mostly in the .08 to .17 range. Since last October. It has never been below .17 and has been as high as .22
N was was at 5 ppm until last October where it climbe to around 40-50ppm. Has been there ever since..
Have I had amazing growth? No. Have my corals looked better with lower p? Absolutely! Do I want to keep my nutrients where that are?? Absolutely not!
I want them lower to have better colour..
However, my corals are not brown, young frags or dead..
July 2015
July 2015
May 2017
The red coral to the left of the big green coral is first image above. Not quite a colony..
Big green coral is middle photo above.. pretty much a colony..
Upper left corner is the third image above.. again not a huge colony..
June 2015
June 2017
Green one was also grown from frag..
In head two years I have struggled to keep p below .1. It had stayed mostly in the .08 to .17 range. Since last October. It has never been below .17 and has been as high as .22
N was was at 5 ppm until last October where it climbe to around 40-50ppm. Has been there ever since..
Have I had amazing growth? No. Have my corals looked better with lower p? Absolutely! Do I want to keep my nutrients where that are?? Absolutely not!
I want them lower to have better colour..
However, my corals are not brown, young frags or dead..
markalot
...
So I've always wondered what has killed more corals in our reef tanks.
High PO4?
GFO?
The common theme for reefers new to SPS tanks, and mine was one of them, is concern over high PO4 and misuse of GFO resulting in a rapid PO4 drop and coral loss.
There are plenty of examples of higher PO4 SPS tanks that do quite well so why be overly concerned with PO4 while learning how to keep things stable and not overreact? Once the reefer learns the importance of stability then PO4 can be tackled if desired.
High PO4?
GFO?
The common theme for reefers new to SPS tanks, and mine was one of them, is concern over high PO4 and misuse of GFO resulting in a rapid PO4 drop and coral loss.
There are plenty of examples of higher PO4 SPS tanks that do quite well so why be overly concerned with PO4 while learning how to keep things stable and not overreact? Once the reefer learns the importance of stability then PO4 can be tackled if desired.
Organic carbon dosing can be quite dangerous since you can literally get down to nothing. Since GFO will only bind to equilibrium, you can get low, but not run out... it is hard to get into too much trouble with GFO unless you really, really overdo it... but your point is a good one... chasing zero can also be very dangerous and do damage.
Maxmax_025
Member
Phospate reader
Phospate reader
What do you guys use to measure an accurate phosphate reading? Thanks
Phospate reader
What do you guys use to measure an accurate phosphate reading? Thanks
Reefer40b
New member
HANNA meter ULR you can find on BRS.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/phos...eter-hi736-hanna-checker-hc-marine-water.html
reefmutt
Active member
I find the Hanna eggs to be somewhat inconsistent. But with the average of a few readings, you can get an accurate result..
My personal favorite is the Elos High Resolution phosphate test kit but it can be tricky to find in some areas.. has to be the righ Resolution, not the regular one.
Even the Red Sea one isn’t bad at lower levels..
My personal favorite is the Elos High Resolution phosphate test kit but it can be tricky to find in some areas.. has to be the righ Resolution, not the regular one.
Even the Red Sea one isn’t bad at lower levels..
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
This is a very strong statement. The expression "long run" is a like a piece of string. How long is a piece of string?
If we agree how long is.....a long run reef, please someone explain to me , why if corals thrive (fast growth rates +excellent coloration) under high po4 ( >0.1 or even a lot higher ) for let's say more than 6 months, why in the "long run" will have problems? If the high po4 levels affects them negatively, shouldn't we notice reduced growth rates or browning more or less sooner?
Edit: I should have quoted denadai post rather yours Bulent.
