Phosphate Advice
 

Checked my phosphate level today for the first time and its reading 5ppm. I checked my water source RO/DI and its 0ppm.

Would that be an indication of overfeeding or something else? I dont usually give more food than they can eat in around a minute however some of it gets blown around by the fans and is probibly consumed by brissle worms.

Anything else that could be putting phosphate in there? I have some algae growth on the sand bed but I wouldnt call it extreme.

Whats the cure? Water changes?

I am not running any mechanical filtration except today I installed a 100micron filter sack on the overflow pipe to my sump. There is a lot of particles blowing around in the water. Thinking about getting a canister filter but have not yet.

Thanks in advance.
Martin

zeolites or rowaphos, but not both

Feed less, increase water changes and rowaphos/phosban.

If you're feeding frozen food try thawing it on a paper towel to absorb the liquid (which is full of phosphates) before feeding it.

5 ppm?! :o What brand test kit are you using? Have you checked the expiry date? What kind of algae is on your sand?

Some of the information in here is geared towards lowering phosphates: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=44473

Some good advice in that thread. Using a Nutrafin kit i just got today. Its not expired. Also tested again and same result. I think the algae is slime. I have some growing on the back glass but, i figured only because I dont swipe it with the magnet.

I will do some water changes and run some rowaphos to see what I can do.

Martin

I didn't have a big phosphate problem but when I added Chemi Pure Elite to my filter it dropped to 0 and has stayed there.

Phosphate now dropping, thanks guys. Interestingly I tested some freshly mixed salt water (Red Sea) and it was showing 0.5 ppm for phosphate despite the RO/DI water reading zero. Is that normal?

I was going to switch salt anyways.
Martin

yeah if a salt says "phosphate free" they're lying because all salt mixes have trace amounts of phosphates.

Also, Nutrifin test kits are nutoriously innacurate. Use a good brand like Elios, Salifert, or Aquarium Pharmaseuticals