phosphate reading high.....

[royalgamma]

ok...i have a 20 gallon tank atm ....had my metal hilade bulb die on my pendant ...so i went back to a compact florencent...any way...in that time of like 2 weeks i didnt have any lights on the tank..but its in the dinning room with decent natural lighting..but anyways...i had been having my gsp dying before this but now they are gone ...nothing left

.... i havent been doing paramiter checks ..just changing about 5-10 gallons of water every 3 weeks or so ..decided to get back in to the habit since gsp are gone..anyway i had no nitrites...alitlle nitrates..20-40 ppm ..amonnia 0.o ppm S/G is at 1.025 but my phosphates are like 5.0 ppm!...could this have been the killer to the gsp? i have some Zoo's and they are still ok?...idk any more info need just ask. Any way i have been reading other posts and say water changes dont really help with this problem...i have like 30lbs or so of live rock in there and its like 1 1/2 years old ....is it time to start changing out some rock?I have used some phosphat controll stuff in the past ( was in a mesh bag and white...just put it in the canister filter for a couple of weeks) but i would rather get to the bottom of this problem first...thanks

 

[chrgerondavins]

What kind of water are you using? You may not be using good enough RO.. and another way to get phosphates is with cheap salt and cheap food. Saltwater flakes especially.

 

[royalgamma]

Using tap water( I have well water)....tested for phosphates before using and was practiclly 0.0ppm. As for salt I use instant ocean. Not sure of the brand of food used but I know it says low phosphate on it. I also use homemade mix of shrimp, crab, and scallops.

 

[chrgerondavins]

Originally Posted by RoyalGamma
http:///forum/post/2498255
Using tap water( I have well water)....tested for phosphates before using and was practiclly 0.0ppm. As for salt I use instant ocean. Not sure of the brand of food used but I know it says low phosphate on it. I also use homemade mix of shrimp, crab, and scallops.
you're going to want to use NO phosphate food, "low" doesn't mean anything, low to them may be high to anyone else. Also over-feeding can cause this if there's phosphate in the food.
and well water is a very bad idea, you're going to have diatoms and algae and all kinds of stuff growing out the wazoo. if you can't buy an Ro unit, you should probably buy RO water. Whether or not the phosphates are comming from there im not sure, but definately stop using food with any measurable phosphate and same with your water.
Instant Ocean i think is good.

 

[royalgamma]

been using well water with this tank since it started up and no major algee outbreaks...small one at the start but thats normal with new tanks( I BROKE DOWN A 44 GALLON SO MOST STUFF FROM THERE WENT IN HERE) my worst problem i have keeping up with is coarline on the glass....

s...well for now i think im just done with corals and stuff....high phosphates won't really affect my fish will it?...how about my hermit crabs and peppermint shrimp?

 

[fishermon]

I also say go with ro water.
A reactor w/some phosphate & silicate absorber will help also. I use a phosban reactor. I also use ro water and I have no phosphate issues.
I always had phosphate issues before I started doing both.