Phosphate issue.

[siptang]

So I have phosphate problems.
It always hikes up to 2.5 and stays around there.
I have managed down to 1 but that was the lowest it went down EVER.
I have tried phos ban and this pond phosphate remover (BIG BIG pouch) without any success.
I'm currently trying out phos zorb from APR since last night. It's a on going battle and I'm determined that I will win this one..
Now my question is this.
If I bring the po4 down to 0. Can I stop using the removers? I just don't like the idea of chemical running through the water all the time.
Or do I have to continue to use it to keep the parameters in check? Just wondering.
Siptang.

 

[cmonti]

your source water may be the biggest issue. Are you using RO/DI? You will notice a huge difference if you make the change . Also use Chemi pure elite. great carbon for controlling phosphates and silicates

 

[siptang]

hey buddy thanks for the reply.
Sorry for the lack of clarifications.
I have been using RO/DI water for last 5 years (tank is 6 yrs old) and I have been using marine land black diamond po4 free carbon.

 

[siptang]

Anyone??

 

[meowzer]

Look into a phosban reactor.....and run GFO in it....I had a problem with phosphates in my 225G and after getting one of them...and a much better skimmer....they went away YAYY

 

[siptang]

Hi Lois,
What is GFO? can you explain it little bit more for me?
How does reactor work? can i put it in my sump?
Also, do I have to run it constantly even when the lvl reaches 0?
Also how is this?
http://www.purelyh2o.com/index.php/h2o-test-meters.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=281&category_id=15

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Siptang http:///t/388479/phosphate-issue#post_3426305
Hi Lois,
What is GFO? can you explain it little bit more for me?
How does reactor work? can i put it in my sump?
Also, do I have to run it constantly even when the lvl reaches 0?
GFO is granular ferric oxide.....the reactor actually sits outside the sump....I have mine plumbed into the sumps return pump...it only needs a little flow
I run mine constantly.....
I'll pm you a link to a short video....

 

[snakeblitz33]

Ever thought about an algae scrubber? It's very effective at removing nitrate and phosphate and you won't have to keep buying chemicals all the time.
You can cheaply build one in your sump or out of your sump. Cleaning is easy, and your water levels will greatly improve.

 

[siptang]

Lois - Thanks for the heads up. Looking into it now.
Snake - I'm not a very handy guy and don't have much room in the sump, if you had to rate the difficulty of making this yourself, how hard would it be? (imagine that you have never done this before..) I'm considering all the options atm.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Siptang, I have a 10g sump with an algae scrubber in it, with 10 pounds live rock and enough room for a Tunze Nano protein skimmer. I don't know how much smaller you could get! lol I'm pretty sure you could fit one in some how. lol
If you don't know how to do anything at all when it comes to DIY, I would rate it at a 5 between 1 and 10, 10 being impossible. I believe the hardest thing you have to do besides roughing up the screen is cutting the screen slot. You can either take a dremel tool with a sanding bit on there and mark out a straight line and cut it, or you can use a zero clearance table saw with a 1/8" thick blade and run it through. I personally use the table saw cause it cuts the straightest slot.
I'll post some pics of my DIY algae scrubber build in a minute.

 

[snakeblitz33]

 

[snakeblitz33]

 

[siptang]

Question, does the whole sheet touch the water or just the bottom piece ? I couldn't tell from the videos...

 

[snakeblitz33]

I don't know if you have ever pulled hair algae out of a tank, and it seemed like once you pull it out, it's just a little bit of nothing - like hair folicle strings, lol. Takes A LOT of hair algae to make that much in the bowl. Imagine how much nitrate and phosphate it has already pulled out. I checked my nitrate and it was at 20ppm and phosphate was at 2.5 when I started the tank with tap water. I'm going to test my water on Sunday as well, to see where my water parameters stand.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Just the bottom half inch goes into the water. This is because if it wasn't, water would splash off the screen. By putting a half inch into the water, it just flows into the water instead of splashes. Whatever screen is below the water won't grow hair algae. lol

 

[siptang]

So just half of inch in the water and hair algae will climb it's way up right? I'm going to take some pics of my sump tonight, maybe if you have some time to look at it, maybe you can give me some pointers if you don't mind. Thanks again Snake.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Part of the build is cutting a slot in the PVC so that you can shove the screen up in the pvc so water will flow over the screen. The water flowing over the screen has algae in it from your tanks water that clings to the screen and then the light shining on it makes it grow and suck up nitrate and phosphate. Algae doesn't grow up the screen, it grows down the screen - the way the water flows down the screen.
You gotta really rough up the plastic canvas screen with a hole saw bit. The rougher the better - like cactus. It allows the hair algae roots to have something to hold on to. You should really check out the scrubber site to get some good ideas of your own about how to DIY it yourself.
I'll help yah as much as I can. Anyone can put an algae scrubber on any tank. You don't have to build it like I did, you can put it in a small container with a lid and two lights, and have it empty into your sump. You can have it on a shelf above your display tank and have the water flowing into the tank. It doesn't have to be built in your sump like mine. lol

 

[siptang]

Ahhh crap... I don't know how it will work out then.... crap...
I need to constantly fill my sump for water because of evaporation from my lights and from my fans. (once every other day.)
If it grows downwards and it can't be inside the water, then it may not work well in my sump..
I'm going to that site now and hopefully I can figure this sucker out..

 

[snakeblitz33]

Here's a video of my scrubber. As you can see, the water is flowing down the screen. The pump I'm using is a Rio 1100, but I have it throttled way back. I believe you could use a Maxijet 1200 or slightly less and get the same results.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Ah, I see what you're saying. You don't have to put it inside your sump man, lol! You can build it in a rubbermaid tote with a uniseal in the side of it. Set it beside the tank. A scrubber will slightly increase evaporation, and cool your water down a lot, if you put the fan on it, instead of blowing across your tank. Just a thought.
let me see a pic of your sump and I'll try to help you out as much as possible. If you could, give me your measurements from your water line to the top of the stand - clearance.