Detritus and Phosphate

[andy51632]

I have a horrible detritus problem going on in my tank and my phophate is at 1.
This weekend I upgrade my pump and overflow box from 600GPH(Rio) to 1500GPH(mag-drive).
I also have 12 little nassarius snails but they dont seem to be making a dent in it either.
Rest of my readings are good ph 8.2 no2 0, no3 .2, nh 0. I just received a salifert test kit for my alk have not tested yet. I am having a hard time getting coraline algae to grow.
Could the detritus problem and phosphate levels be related? What other livestock would help w/ detritus problem? My coraline is not growing because of the high phosphate level, right?

 

[murf48]

You need more snails, 12 won't even keep up, I'm not sure of the ratio's but I think you need to have at least one for every 3 gallons of water. Check this site for cleaning crews if you haven't already. The packages they offer are pretty much right on for keeping the bad stuff down

 

[miaheatlvr]

Originally Posted by andy51632
I have a horrible detritus problem going on in my tank and my phophate is at 1.
This weekend I upgrade my pump and overflow box from 600GPH(Rio) to 1500GPH(mag-drive).
I also have 12 little nassarius snails but they dont seem to be making a dent in it either.
Rest of my readings are good ph 8.2 no2 0, no3 .2, nh 0. I just received a salifert test kit for my alk have not tested yet. I am having a hard time getting coraline algae to grow.
Could the detritus problem and phosphate levels be related? What other livestock would help w/ detritus problem? My coraline is not growing because of the high phosphate level, right?
DOnt be afraid to syphon the top of your live sand as well,,, very important! Im surprised you have no Nitrates with all that detrius you describe.