Zero Nitrate but .17 Phosphate

[BHD]

Hello everyone,

I have been dosing vinegar and have a decent skimmer. My tank is bb and I vacuum out all the detritus. Now I just check Nitrate and it is at 0 but my phosphate is at .17 with the hanna phosphate kit. So is .17 is very high or it is alright?

I thought those Nitrate and Phosphate go hand in hand right? if one of them go up, the other go up as well, and if one of them go down, the other go down as well. I don't understand how Nitrate is at zero while phosphate is at .17. What could consume Nitrate but not consume Phosphate at all?

should I just run gfo to consume the rest of the phosphate or keep on dosing vinegar?

Thanks,
Bao

 

[agruetz]

I am not sure that nitrate and phosphate go hand in hand. I have zero nitrates and am having phosphate issues phosguard seems to be helping/getting it under control.

 

[RynosReef]

0.17 is very high if that reading is accurate. What type of hanna test are you using. And have you tested it multiple times to make sure that reading is consistent?

 

[ange062]

Nitrate and phosphate are not linked in any way. Carbon dosing helps with nitrates, but to get phosphate lower you will need GFO or another phosphate reduction media. .17 isnt obnoxious but higher than ideal.