Hello - phosphate problem

[rachelmillbank]

Hello,
I am new to this site. I have a 180l freshwater fish tank and at the moment we have a big algae issue. It very rapidly developed in a few days and we discovered that the phosphate levels of the tap water were very high which is probably what has caused this. We have had advice from the local aquarium shop and they sold us some phosphate filter packs to put in our existing filters. The poor fish are swimming in what I can only describe as green soup and I am getting very concerned that the filter packs will take a long time to start working. Have any of you had this problem and how long did it take to clear up?All the other levels in the water are fine but the phosphate levels are very very high. We have also turned the lights off for 24 hours (as advised) and changed the bulbs as i believe old lighting can contribute to phosphate. Any advice on how long this will take to resolve would be great!
I have attached a picture.

[ScotJudd]

Hi Rachel.
I would suggest that if your water has high phosphates and that this is causing your algae problem then you might need a longer term solution. You could consider a UV filter which, if the right wattage and water flow is maintained, would also give added protection from bacteria, fungal spores and reduce the efficiency of parasites such as ich. There are a few cheaper UV filters that are effective against algae but don't also protect against 'nasties'. But my thinking is that if you go to the trouble of installing a UV filter then a little extra cost could bring greater benefits than just controlling algae. It's just a consideration.


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[rachelmillbank]

I've actually had a uv filter in the tank since I bought it, but it really is only a temporary thing as whenever the uv bulb dies the tank gets like this, we replaced the bulb but it didn't work so we had to start doing something about the phosphate levels. Within 2 days of the bulb going the tank is this bad. I think the water is slightly improving since we added the filter packs but I don't know whether that's wishful thinking!


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[ScotJudd]

Sorry to hear that the UV doesn't help anymore - that was my only idea. Perhaps the packs will help. Good luck.


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[54seaweed]

I would do a big water change drop it down to about 2inch just so fish can swim than add clean water , your filters will work hard for weeks to try to get that cleared up
a tank that bad i doubt a uv would even help
its just amazing anything is alive

[rachelmillbank]

It's the tap water that is a problem as that's high in phosphate. So by doing a change that big we're just feeding the algae even more. I've asked that question at the aquarium and they said to leave it for a week or so otherwise we'll make it worse. I'm working on it!


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[54seaweed]

you can buy distilled water at the grocery store
until you invest in a good ro/di filter for the house