Just got my Phosphate Test Kit.....ACK!

[maxwell1295]

After several unseccessful attempt to find one locally, I ordered the AP Phosphate test kit from Big Al's last week. It arrived taday and all I can say is that I won't be dosing any phosphate.

It's tested my 30 gal tank and it was off the charts....somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-10ppm. 8O

It also tested my 7gal Minibow...same thing. DOH! At that point, I immediately knew why some of my plants had not been looking so good lately. As a matter of fact, the decline started when I began measuring and dosing macros. I wasn't sure whether I had dosed too much Fleet Enema or not. I figured the only way to tell was to get a baseline reading from my tap. Bingo! My tap water measured out between 1-2ppm. I guess the plants were suffering from ODing on phosphate.

 

[JDogg]

i feel your pain as i too have 2 ppm of po4 in my tap water

 

[maxwell1295]

i feel your pain as i too have 2 ppm of po4 in my tap water

How is that working for you? I'm wondering if a substantial increase in lighting with help with uptake of some of these nutrients.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

i feel your pain as i too have 2 ppm of po4 in my tap water

How is that working for you? I'm wondering if a substantial increase in lighting with help with uptake of some of these nutrients.

If you have more light, and have the CO2 to back it up, you will have substantially more uptake. Just don't do like me and place 520W over a 75G, it's like trying to jump into a NASCAR during the middle of a race. And talk about pearling.... Thought my tank was over a fire and the water was bubbling.... LOL

 

[malkore]

I've seen some weird results from that AP test kit, and its why I only recommend the SeaChem phosphate test kit. its $10, and well worth it IMO.

And yes, more light and CO2, as well as keeping tabs on your other nutrient levels will increase phosphate uptake by the plants. Also, the types of plants you choose can make a difference, as fast growing stem plants like hygro sp. soak up more nutrients than slow growing anubias or crypts.

There are phosphate absorbing medias, and even a spendy phosphate reactor.

But the question is, what does your tap water test at with that AP kit? if you have no PO4 in the tap, then your tanks are getting it from rotting food. it may be time to switch foods, and re-evaluate whether you are over feeding or not.

 

[maxwell1295]

I don't know if I meade it clear or not. I just received the test kit yesterday. I had been dosing phosphate (~2ppm) for about a week now, using Fleet Enema. After my tank water tested so high, I decided to test the tap. That's when I found that I was already getting 2ppm from the tap.

As far as feeding is concerned, I normally feed them about 3-4 mins worth of food once a day on a 2 days on/1 day off schedule. Skipping every 3rd day keeps the water clean and the nitrates low enough that I have to does KNO3 weekly to get nitrate levels up to 20ppm.

 

[malkore]

ahh, i missed the tap water measurement in the OP.

yeah, just stop dosing the fleet for a bit until things look more inline...10ppm nitrates for every 1ppm phosphate. the fleet is the reason PO4 is so high right now. I think it'll maintain itself, and you likely won't need to dose fleet, or at least not until there's more light and CO2...even then you'll only need a little.

 

[maxwell1295]

I figured as much. I just swapped in a new 96watt CF unit (Jebo/Odyssea). I'm just going to keep an eye on it for a while. If I can get things balanced, I may put my old 42watt Aqualight back on for even more light. Right now I'm at about 25ppm of CO2 using a DIY Jello mix.

 

[JDogg]

i feel your pain as i too have 2 ppm of po4 in my tap water

How is that working for you? I'm wondering if a substantial increase in lighting with help with uptake of some of these nutrients.

i have low light 1.07 wpg, i dose nitrate to 4 ppm and i use excel every other day. PO4 does not change for me

 

[czcz]

I have 1-2ppm PO4 from tap, depending on which AP test I use (hence I no longer bother testing PO4). I have found success by dosing PO4 anyway under high light, to 3ppm. More phosphate is good with everything else in line. The only time it has caused issue for me was when I dosed past 5ppm in a control tank, and that may have been coincidence. (The problem is still there after limiting P, not dosing P, dosing P again and controlling other levels, all with multiple water changes to reset the system, etc).

More nutrients shouldn't make your plants look bad on their own, but will possibly influence algae. If the plants look bad (not algae), suggest looking for nutrient indicators and address the deficiency. In these cases continuing PO4 is good imo. HTH