why so much phosphate in my water???

[neupane00]

i am seeing a LOT of phosphate in my water. its at 0.5. i hear that many flakes have phosphate. i have been feeding tetra marine flakes to my clowns. and also hikari frozen brine shrimp. do both of them have lot of phosphate ? is so, what should i feed them that has minimum phosphate. (live food is not an option for me). btw, i am running protein skimmer.

 

[meowzer]

You should get some frozen mysis, and maybe a saltwater variety pack...nobody likes to eat the same thing day after day...lol
Drop the flakes...maybe give a teeny pinch once a week....also when you feed...how much are you feeding? ANd with frozen, you could also rinse it first...that should help.
What are you using for your water? Have you tested that too??

 

[katsafados]

Get phosphate remover filter media! Also if you dont want to feed live food, why not feed frozen? Frozen mysis shrimp and brine once in a while. Are you dosing your tank with anything? Purple up increases phosphates! If you dont get them down you'll have a algae problem soon!

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by neupane00
http:///forum/post/3075819
i am seeing a LOT of phosphate in my water. its at 0.5. i hear that many flakes have phosphate. i have been feeding tetra marine flakes to my clowns. and also hikari frozen brine shrimp. do both of them have lot of phosphate ? is so, what should i feed them that has minimum phosphate. (live food is not an option for me). btw, i am running protein skimmer.

0.5 is not all that high. Anything under 1.0 is pretty good.
Frozen shrimp is loaded with phosphates, here is how to remedy that...
Defrost your brine shrimp in a cup of RO water. Take a fishnet over the sink and pour he defrosted shrimp into the net, then rinse with a glass or cup of RO water. Feed your fish by putting the net in the water and swishing it around to release the food.

 

[neupane00]

only frozen shrimp has phosphate... what about other kinds of frozen food?

 

[neupane00]

Originally Posted by Katsafados
http:///forum/post/3075822
Get phosphate remover filter media! Also if you dont want to feed live food, why not feed frozen? Frozen mysis shrimp and brine once in a while. Are you dosing your tank with anything? Purple up increases phosphates! If you dont get them down you'll have a algae problem soon!
wait u said just once a week? feed just once a week or daily? i have been feeding once daily. is that bad? and i have been feeding frozen brine shrimp few times a week and flakes few times a week.

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by neupane00
http:///forum/post/3075835
only frozen shrimp has phosphate... what about other kinds of frozen food?
It is probably best to get in the habit of rinsing all your frozen foods....and also have you tested your source water?

 

[locoyo386]

Originally Posted by neupane00
http:///forum/post/3075835
only frozen shrimp has phosphate... what about other kinds of frozen food?
Hi there,
All foods have phosphate in them. When the fish eats all the food it will break down into different organic matter and one of those is phosphate. There is no way around having it. Your best bet is to filter the phosphate out. They sell pad filters for it, not sure how well they work. Also Turf Filter gets rid off the phosphates and nitrates, and from what I have read they work great.

 

[katsafados]

Originally Posted by neupane00
http:///forum/post/3075836
wait u said just once a week? feed just once a week or daily? i have been feeding once daily. is that bad? and i have been feeding frozen brine shrimp few times a week and flakes few times a week.
No you read it wrong lol, I said feed brine shrimp only ONCE IN A WHILE since I've been told they are more of a snack for fish rather than good food.

 

[neupane00]

so what does the daily diet for clown consist of. if not flakes , and not brine shrimp. then whats their staple?

 

[meowzer]

mysis is good....marine cuisine...emerald entree....

 

[locoyo386]

Originally Posted by neupane00
http:///forum/post/3076345
so what does the daily diet for clown consist of. if not flakes , and not brine shrimp. then whats their staple?
Hi there,
You could feed them flakes but people prefer pallets because they supposed to have less phosphates. You could feed them frozen mysis poeple like to rinse them out to get the eccess "stuff" off of them.

 

[ophiura]

But I want to add, truthfully and honestly, most people have no clue what their phosphate level is. They have a fine tank with no particular issues.
Being so focused on these values can take the joy out of the hobby (unless you enjoy water chemistry). Do regular water changes, learn to watch the behavior of your animals. Check your parameters but don't go crazy about them.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by ophiura
http:///forum/post/3077271
But I want to add, truthfully and honestly, most people have no clue what their phosphate level is. They have a fine tank with no particular issues.
Being so focused on these values can take the joy out of the hobby (unless you enjoy water chemistry). Do regular water changes, learn to watch the behavior of your animals. Check your parameters but don't go crazy about them.

LOL!!! I kept a tank for years, as long as everything looked healthy I never worried about it. Then I discovered tests... have been going crazy trying to get everything perfect...Thank you for probably the best advice for how to enjoy my tank.

 

[ophiura]

LOL.
Most of us go to public aquaria and think they are the experts and the tanks must be perfect. I have some experience in this as I was a water quality person - 30+ systems checked every day.
But the reality is, unless they are using natural seawater and pumping it through, they have very high nitrate and phosphate readings. They are just limited in water change capabilities and have high fish loads.
And things look good to us. Things probably are good. It is not as good as the ocean, but it seems many animals adapt well regardless. People have destroyed their tanks by going crazy and doing drastic things based on a water test.