YAY!!! Phosphates!!?!?

[jamesbaur13]

I'm relatively new to the hobby (1.5yrs) and I wanted to share a mistake I made.

I thought "0" Phosphate was a good thing... as I have learned, it isn't.

You want Phosphates to read .03 or slightly under.

Phosphates help bacterial and algal growth, without some phosphates this growth is stunted/starved.

As many of you all know, symbiotic algae exists in many of the organisms we want to keep. Without Phosphate this symbiotic algae suffers and as a result your corals suffer as well.

In addition, de-nitrifying bacteria also suffer. Can't get nitrates to lower? Try testing your phosphate, if it's "0" shut off your GFO.

I just figured I should post this just so others don't make the same mistake.

Thanks.

[hollister]

Well as long as you feed them as if they are coral and fish. Some phyto planket a few times a month and then the waste from fish and bits of food they get. They are like the CUC.

This is why a few fish in a coral tank is good. Staying below allowed amount and never overstock.

Also overskimming can be bad as with excessive water changes.

Ita all about balance.

And keeping your phosphates high only invites un wanted algea. Phosphates main source would be the water used and or overstocking and overfeeding or under maintaining.

I know its hard to hear and im sure im wrong but the basics never fail me.

[jamesbaur13]

You totally missed my point.

You want .03 or slightly less.

My mistake was trying to remove something blindly (I wasn't testing for it regularly) that is beneficial to the health of any/all reefs. If in excess, yes it leads to algae. I'm not talking about excess though, I'm talking about maintaining it at a targeted level.

[hollister]

Phosphates are unwanted.

[jamesbaur13]

Phosphates are unwanted.

They are needed.

Stripping your water of nutrients and creating a sterile environment is as equally as bad as creating an environment that has excess nutrients.

How do you control algae outbreaks? You eliminate excess phosphate and nitrate.

Do coral contain symbiotic algae?

I hope you see my point.

[sponger0]

Agreed phosphates are needed. .03 and under are still low for a SPS system. You are better off running .03-.06 for an SPS system or higher for softies and LPS tanks.

.03 I dont think is enough at all.

[Kyle918]

Phosphates are unwanted.

They are needed, but only in very low concentrations. Completely eliminating phosphates will starve corals.

There was a thread about a week ago of someone that was having issues with corals dying and whatnot...it turned out that he had an ULNS and was obsessive with removing nutrients only to find that the more he tried to eliminate then, the worse his corals got.

[BAGGERZ13]

I guess if you look at it like this. A fish and reef tank need to have water conditions as close to natural sea water as possible. I'm no expert by any means and I'm sure there's definitely phosphate in sea water so I can understand you don't want to completely eliminate phosphates because at certain maintained levels they are beneficial and are needed.

[Anemone]

This is what's wrong with trying to chase some number (in this case, zero phosphates). You can have zero phosphates and have a tank full of hair algae, and you can have zero phosphates and have a spotless tank. It's all about being able to recognize that the health of your tank isn't in a specific number. That's the "art" part of the "art and science of reefkeeping."

And, as someone mentioned, it's also a reason to have fish in the setup. IMO, a few fish and regular feedings will take care of any need for phosphate.

Kevin

[Painted skin]

^^ +1

[potterjon]

Great thread. I think it is possible to starve corals in our systems if we keep them too clean. Our corals come from all over the world and varying water parameters.

[hossa81]

I just added my sump/fuge and my phosphate is at .1 im currently running a mixed softy and lps tank, but want to add an sps. how should i lower it or will my fuge lower it on its own?

[jamesbaur13]

And, as someone mentioned, it's also a reason to have fish in the setup. IMO, a few fish and regular feedings will take care of any need for phosphate.

Kevin

True, but I also believe this is a common made mistake. IMO it is possible for GFO to remove phosphate from the water column before it has the chance to be metabolized by any of the inhabitants.

[jamesbaur13]

I just added my sump/fuge and my phosphate is at .1 im currently running a mixed softy and lps tank, but want to add an sps. how should i lower it or will my fuge lower it on its own?

At this point I'd monitor it and see if it drops on it's own, your fuge should help absorb it. If it climbs you can add GFO to a rector or filter sock (reactor would be best).