so my tank has been having alot of issues over the past year. i think it has old tank syndrome. one of which is the wall to wall algae i have. i tested phosphate in the water column and got 0.03 ppm but i asumed that was because the algae is eating it up. so i stuck a syringe in the 3" sand bed and tested that. 0.15 ppm. how do i remove the phosphate? i am already doing weekly water changes. im hesitant to try gfo as ive read it can harm corals and lower alkalinity, which i am already battling due to my sand bed becoming acidic. also i have some nice corals that are barely hangin in there do not want to risk losing. any help appreciated
how to remove phosphate
- Thread starter Dingodan
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dragonfisher33
Aquarium Advice Addict
what's the size of the tank?
what livestock do you have in it?
how often you feed? and what do you feed?
what kind of light? and how long?
RO/DI water with 0TDS?
what livestock do you have in it?
how often you feed? and what do you feed?
what kind of light? and how long?
RO/DI water with 0TDS?
BigRedsReefs10
Aquarium Advice Addict
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- Dec 25, 2013
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If you don't want to go the chemical route then increased wc's with decreased feedings. You should also be monitoring your nitrate as that is also fuel for algae. Gfo works fine as long as you don't let it strip all the po4 from your system, you obviously have a good test for it so if you want to try it IMO it would work fine for you just stop using it when the algae is under control and po4 is below .03ppm. Wc's should keep you in check from there, just my $.02 though
Macscale
Aquarium Advice Addict
any suggestions on what type and how to run gfo?
tank is about 5 years old, 25 gallon with 25 gallon sump, current live stock 1 6line wrasse, 2 serpent stars 1 cleaner shrimp, soft and lps corals, ecotech radion light, aquac remora hob skimmer, ro water, currently feeding brine shrimp3x per week but was just recently also feeding coral frenzy 2x per week. this is only its current setup. it has gone through many different phases with different livestock and filtration and maintenance schedules
tank is about 5 years old, 25 gallon with 25 gallon sump, current live stock 1 6line wrasse, 2 serpent stars 1 cleaner shrimp, soft and lps corals, ecotech radion light, aquac remora hob skimmer, ro water, currently feeding brine shrimp3x per week but was just recently also feeding coral frenzy 2x per week. this is only its current setup. it has gone through many different phases with different livestock and filtration and maintenance schedules
Macscale
Aquarium Advice Addict
A GFO reactors are pry the most efficient way to go. BulkReefSupply has them for about $50 with a pump to run them, I think.
Macscale
Aquarium Advice Addict
Never read that, sorry.
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
GFO can crash your alkalinity. Read my recent post on it. I prefer Phosguard and I list my reasons. But if you're already testing at 0.03ppm, you don't want it any lower. A old tank with acidity issues respondes well to a thorough cleaning and the occasional addition of baking soda or sodium carbonate (soda ash).
Macscale
Aquarium Advice Addict
Interesting, never had problems with phosphates. *Phosguard would probably work better, like you said.
*=edited
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
I suggested phosguard, different product. If you don't have a P4 problem, then why run anything?
Macscale
Aquarium Advice Addict
Oh sorry my fault, haha.
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
Makes some sense. P4 can get built up because biological actions (growing algae or even bacteria) reduce nitrates at a almost 16:1 over P4. Once the nitrates are bound up, no more P4 can be taken up thru biological process's. The only down side to using a P4 binder like GFO or phosguard is they can potentially harm corals by stripping the water of nutrients the corals algae need to sustain itself. My understanding is that anything from 0.05ppm to as much as 0.10 is optimum for hard coral growth. The closer to the 0.05 you get the better the color.
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Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
The algae reduction process isn't just about phosphates. Reduction of the tanks photoperiod and reducing feedings using foods that have been rinsed first are where you start. You're already doing most of the things like RO/DI. There is no problem with adding a bag of phosguard, GFO or even purigen. They will reduce the dissolved organics, including P4. Just add it in a bag to a high flow area of the sump.
It becomes a balancing act. Organic compounds need to be kept low to starve out the nuisance algae while not too much so you don't starve the algae in the corals.
Interesting side note, I believe natural reef levels of P4 are 0.007ppm. So why doesn't this starve out the algae in the coral? My theory is that our captive reef inhabitants depend mainly on photosynthesis from their algae. Not much planktonic life for them to filter. But in the wild, they get a lot more nourishment by filter feeding and they aren't so totally dependent on light. So that makes our captive corals more sensitive to the amount of algae they support.
It becomes a balancing act. Organic compounds need to be kept low to starve out the nuisance algae while not too much so you don't starve the algae in the corals.
Interesting side note, I believe natural reef levels of P4 are 0.007ppm. So why doesn't this starve out the algae in the coral? My theory is that our captive reef inhabitants depend mainly on photosynthesis from their algae. Not much planktonic life for them to filter. But in the wild, they get a lot more nourishment by filter feeding and they aren't so totally dependent on light. So that makes our captive corals more sensitive to the amount of algae they support.
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ok i have an old hob filter i think ill use that with a bag of phosguard in it. off topic but what do you think about removing my sand bed sections at a time since thats where my problems are all steming from? im worried to touch it as its 5 years old and as i know full of phosphate
Gregcoyote
Aquarium Advice Addict
I think that siphoning out a small section prior to your water exchange would be okay. Just don't get carried away and make sure the siphon does the work and you're not stirring stuff up. Next time stock a critter that digs in the sand all the time.
im thinking about just siphoning out all my sand at once. all my live rock is in the sump all thats in the tank is a frag rack and corals/livestock. any thoughts or advice? i know ill lose all the good bacteria but i think at this point the dsb is doing more harm than good, plus i have so many pounds of live rock in my sump so im sure itll help out a bit once the sand is gone...
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