High phosphate

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Ulrichsd

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
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Location
Cincinnati, OH
I've only checked for nitrogen in my 125g mbuna tank and always keep parameters great < 5ppm nitrates. I picked up a phosphate test for my saltwater tank and figured I might as well test my freshwater tanks as well. My mbuna tank was at the top of the range, 5-10 ppm. I was surprised since nitrates are low. I do feed kind of heavy with 20 mbuna, especially a half dozen large acei. I run 2 large eheim canister filters and do about a 50% wc every other week.

Does anyone else test for freshwater phosphates? Any concerns? There's a little algae but certainly not out of control.1541888802303.jpg
 
I just checked and the tap water is zero phosphates. From what I've read a lot of flake foods use phosphates as a preservative... It must just release into the water more quickly than the nitrogen- containing compounds. I guess I will just try to do an extra water change here or there. I don't hey much algae... I had diatoms for a while but they have really mostly cleared up.
 
When I kept a Planted tank i tested for phosphate. I also included phosphate in my daily fert routine. Kept it at around 3-5 ppm. Any lower and I would see green spot algae appear on some of the plants and the glass walls (yep, it seems counter-intuitive).
 
Hello Ul...

Check the ingredients on your fish foods. Most, will contain high phosphate. Large tanks, still need large water changes weekly. Work up to the point you're removing and replacing half the water weekly. This will maintain a steady water chemistry and this is more important to the health of your fish than a particular water chemistry.

B
 
When I kept a Planted tank i tested for phosphate. I also included phosphate in my daily fert routine. Kept it at around 3-5 ppm. Any lower and I would see green spot algae appear on some of the plants and the glass walls (yep, it seems counter-intuitive).
Interesting that my planted tank, with low phosphate, is overgrown with algae (just added 11 nerites) while my mbuna tank, with high phosphates, has very little algae.
 
Hello Ul...

Check the ingredients on your fish foods. Most, will contain high phosphate. Large tanks, still need large water changes weekly. Work up to the point you're removing and replacing half the water weekly. This will maintain a steady water chemistry and this is more important to the health of your fish than a particular water chemistry.

B
Sometimes I do weekly, sometimes every other week. I check my parameters before water change so I always keep it at our below 5 ppm nitrates. I'm not overstocked and I overfilter so out isn't too bad.

I was just wondering if there would be any reason to run phosguard or gfo, but it sounds like phosphorous isn't really a health issue for fish....
 
Interesting that my planted tank, with low phosphate, is overgrown with algae (just added 11 nerites) while my mbuna tank, with high phosphates, has very little algae.


That’s a hard one to explain but I’ve seen it in my tank while adjusting phosphate levels in the ferts.
Either the phosphate levels directly affect the growth of algae (talking specifically about green spot algae) or at higher levels cause an increase in growth of higher level plants which, in turn, produce allopathic substances which decrease the algae growth. The latter maybe grasping at straws and the mbuna tank example (which I assume has few plants) kind of debunks it.
 
Testing that myself!

So far the GSA is winning. I’m wondering if the phosphate bonds with iron or manganese and kills the algae off that way atm. Nothing to prove it.
 
That’s a hard one to explain but I’ve seen it in my tank while adjusting phosphate levels in the ferts.
Either the phosphate levels directly affect the growth of algae (talking specifically about green spot algae) or at higher levels cause an increase in growth of higher level plants which, in turn, produce allopathic substances which decrease the algae growth. The latter maybe grasping at straws and the mbuna tank example (which I assume has few plants) kind of debunks it.
There are a lot of variables at play... I have brighter nicrew lighting on my planted tanks and fertilizer tabs, both of probably contributes to the higher algae. The mbuna tank has the hood leds that came with tank and don't seem as bright. They both run the same length of time, typically 12 hours, but I just recently cut back to 10 hours. The 10 or so nerite snails I just added are slowly taking out the algae though :)
 
I'd cut your lights back to 6 or 7 hours. But now that you got nerites I'd keep running the lights for 10 hours.
 
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