High Phosphates

[AUSTZEOHEAD]

Hello All ZeoHeads from Australia,

I'm having problems with my phosphates. The levels where at 0.09 and now today sitting at 0.14. All done on a Hanna Colormeter. My NSW has levels of 0.04 and my RO water measures 0.01.

Could my Zeorocks need replacing (just over 5 weeks old, due to change out this weekend). I'm dosing Zeostart daily at 0.6ML a day. Filter is 3 hours on / 3 off. I feed lightly (3 times a week and only 3 fish in a 125G tank). My NO3 are low at 1MG/L.

I was thinking of adding phosban for a period just to get the phosphatesto a lower level and then i will remove it. Will this be a problem to the system. My corals are darkening up and i put it down to the increasing phosphates.

Thanks for all of your input.

Cheers
Che

[Diesel3443]

Yep I can almost gaurentee its the rocks. Once they are exhausted either nutrients are released or they cannot process any more nutrients(not sure which one really). I know in my media becomes exhausted I start to get some micro algae growing---then I change the media and poof is gone

edit: dont use the phosban your levels will come down

[AUSTZEOHEAD]

Thanks for the advice,

Will change the rocks out again and see how the levels go.

Thanks
Che

[fkadir]

Maybe you can increase the zeostart doses to 1ml/day in 2 equal doses of 0.5ml? zeostart does help with the reduction of PO4 and NO3.

Flow thru the reactor is correct at 400L/hr for every L of zeoliths you are using?

[wasp]

Aussiebro I have seen advice given in high nutrient systems to change at 4 weeks.
Not sure what your history is, but it seems a little odd to go from 0.09 to 0.14 with your light feeding regime.
Just wonder if the system was high nutrient for a while, allowing buildup in the rock etc, and now you're dealing with leachate that will take a while to get rid of.
But if Po4 is moving the wrong direction, at that level you can dose a relatively high amount of start, and a rock change sure will not hurt. When my Po4 has been high I've found a bit extra start just gets it straight down again, but the rocks do need to be still viable (not used up).

[zcom]

Leaching was a big problem for me for a few months after starting. Then, one week, poof, they were gone. Took a while to deplete.

The colorimeter in that case is a great way to keep track of the phosphate level and adjust dosing/zeolite replacement accordingly, to keep the trend toward lower phosphates. At some point relatively soon (what's another month?) the pooled phosphates will be gone, and you'll be dealing primarily with phosphates still entering through feeding, etc.

Arthur

[wasp]

I'd agree with that 100%
Just monitoring, adjusting rocks and dosing as required, and persistance, will get you through.

[AUSTZEOHEAD]

Thanks for the info.

i have changed out my zeorocks last night and will up my dosing of start to 1ML a day. I will monitor the PO4 closely (so much easier with a colour meter). Once the PO4 come down, i will dose at the maintenance rate.

Thanks again for all your input.

Che

[Todd March]

Che, if your NSW measures .04ppm, I would consider this a problem! Not to mention your RO water at .01ppm...! With these high levels being input into the tank daily, I don't even know if ZEOvit can keep up...?

And where the heck is your NSW being harvested at that it measures so high for P04?! This would indicate pollution to me. NSW has very, very low P04 levels.

I never like to see P04 over .03ppm, and one of the only ways I have been able to keep P04 really low, regardless of Phosban or ZEOvit, is to make sure that my ASW or NSW has 0ppm P04, and that my RO/DI water is completely P04 free as well (0 TDS)...

I would seriously condsider a RO/DI unit that can give you 0ppm TDS, and then making your own ASW with a salt known to have a P04-free rep (and even then test it!)...

I think by constantly adding P04 via your NSW and RO water, you are fighting a hard battle and making ZEO work that much harder. Something to consider...

P.S. by following this advice, and having my ZEOvit reactor on a 3 hr on/off interval, P04 is undetecable with Salifert low end for me, and algae grows in very limited numbers in my tank...

[Aged Salt]

Todd, your post reminds me of a Wasp's[Alastair] NSW situation. His NSW also has a higher P04 content than his Zeo-tank waters. Amazing but true. It's the ZEOvit working it's magicMaybe Alastair can jump in with some of the details Bob

[Todd March]

Yeah, I'd like to hear more about that... Sounds like pollution to me. We have had the same problem(s) with Catalina NSW here in California, that is harvested in Long Beach harbor...! Some people have even tested it for high levels of copper and iron...!

In comparison, the Scripps Institute down the coast harvest further out along the California coast, and has tested 0ppm for P04, copper, iron, etc... But, alas, the Scripps water is much harder to get (though you can get it for FREE right at the Institute outside of San Diego)...

[AUSTZEOHEAD]

Thanks for all the input, i never wanted to hear this, but I'm glad that i do.

I get my water delivered from an aquaculture facility who collects the water from the mouth of Fremantle Harbour (which is the main port on the West Coast of Australia). This port does have heavy shipping movements from time to time especially with the US Fleet calling it home away from home.

We are very limited to what artifical salt i can buy.

I have the choice of Redsea, Coral Life, Instant Ocean and Pro Doc.

What are people recomendations on the above. I hear that IO has a very good reputation.

Not sure why my RO water is 0.01, as i have just changed all the membranes etc, i will retest this one.

Cheers

[Big E]

Todd,-----a few comments/?,
Fwiw, I have always had 0 reading with the Salifert low range kit on my system. The Hanna meter reads .02-.03. If you have access to a photometer might be interesting to see where you're at.

A fellow reefer on Zeo has a reading of .02 on his RO water & his system is also reading .02. We checked this with multiple tests. Just some interesting info.

How are you relating TDS to phosphates? I'm not sure a 0 TDS reading will mean zero phosphates. I would assume a 0 TDS helps but not sure that means no phosphates in the makeup water.

[wasp]

Just to chip in again on that Po4 level in the NSW, I'm the guy Bob mentioned, I use NSW, although the Po4 is considerably lower than the 0.04ppm you have Aussiebro, I'm sure there is something wrong with their collection technique.
But yes it's true, my tank runs a much lower Po4 than the NSW that goes into it, so the zeovit obviously pulls it. However, I'd try doing something about that NSW, maybe even collect it yourself, it will certainly not be helping. Good thing Todd picked up on it.
Top off water can be a bigger problem though, just because you may use quite a lot of it, constantly adding it as it evaporates, but leaves the Po4 behind in your tank.

For any system, zeovit or not, it ends up simple maths. If Po4 in is greater than Po4 out, you will have a problem. So any way to reduce what goes in will help.

[zcom]

The Hanna always seems to have 0.02 as its low reading for me, no matter the source. I occassionally get 0.01 or a few times even 0.00, but 0.02 seems to be its "default" low setting, at least for me. Weird.

Arthur