Phosphate Question

[captain hook]

I've had a FO tank setup for about 3 years now and I've been thinking of converting to a reef. The only real trouble I've had with the FO setup lately has been algae. That brown stuff that covers everything. I thought it was due to high nitrate levels (I've had over 100ppm on numerous occasions). I've slowly brought them down through regular water changes, more filtration, etc. They are now between 0-20 ppm, but I've still not gotten rid of this pesky algae. I scrub it off and it's always back in about 2 days. After reading alot on this board I've come to realize that it's probably caused by high phosphate levels. I've been using tap water for my water changes and I'll bet that is a large part of the phosphate problem, but I also want to make sure that it's not the food that I'm feeding also. I've noticed that almost every food that I'm feeding contains the following L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (vitamin C). I wanted to know if this could be broken down in the aquarium into phosphates. I've even found this on the label of my frozen food. If this is a source, does anyone have any suggestions of food I should use that doesn't contain phosphates. I have a yellow tang, hippo tang, tomato clown, green chromis, pygmy angel, and flame goby. All help is welcome. Thanks.

 

[jimi]

What size tank is it? Do you have any live rock or sand? Nitrates at 20 can and will still cause algae problems. If you are seriously thinking of switching to reef buy an R/O unit or even staying f/o buy one.Fish food does add phosphate but you cant not feed your fish ,an r/o unit goes along way.

 

[captain hook]

It's 75g with about 75lbs of LR and 50lbs of LS. (I just order another 50lbs LR and 40lbs of LS) I think my nitrates are closer to 0 zero but the accuracy of the darn dry tab test kit isn't very good, so I'm looking at alternative test kits also. Will the extra LR and LS help at all? I want to get the algae under control before I start looking to convert to a reef.

 

[sduda]

If you add all that LR and LS all at once, you're likely to cycle the tank and even potentially kill a few fish. If you don't want to get an RO unit to begin with, you can go to Walmart and buy distilled water for about 46 cent per gallon. This should help a little bit. I have been using New Life Spectrum Premium Fish Food and it is suppose to be good food (pellet). The LR and LS will definately help. You'll likely want a skimmer to get rid of the proteins also. Good luck, HTH.

 

[sduda]

Forgot to mention, you should consider Tropic Marine test kits (these seem really accurate) or Red Sea (they're ok but not stellar).

 

[sonny]

If your algae is brown, it is most likely brown diatoms, which is caused by silicates in the water. The fix is the same, start using RO water. Nitrates will help feed algae, but the quick growing brown stuff you have is most likely the brown diatoms. Get a silicate test kit and test your tap water.
Good luck,
Sonny

 

[bobber]

I agree with the above posts but wanted to mention that overfeeding will lead to accessive phosphates. Using RO water for topoffs and water changes are the best thing you can do for your tank. Some lfs will sell RO water for about 50cents a gallon. Definately stop using tap water. All foods will add trace elements and phosphates to the water. The correct amount of food is something you have to figure out. Water changes are also a MUST. HTH--Bob