Phosphates occur in most private or municipal water systems. They can be caused by fertilizer run off from farmlands or industrial waste. They don't make water cloudy. There are a few ways to rid water of them.You can use a
RO/
DI filter to eliminate them, or there are resins you can use in your aquarium filter to help control them. Just the natural biological processes occuring in your tank will produce some phosphate. Most fish foods contain phosphate. It is a substance needed to help sustain life. The biggest problem with it is it can cause nuisance algae in aquariums if conditions are right.I believe marine aquarists are more concerned with it than freshwater. My tap water contains between .5 and 1
ppm of phosphate, it's pretty hard to avoid
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