Yet Another Debate...

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
I am having an issue getting my po4 down to an acceptable levels.. so far I have tried GFO, regular water changes ( did slack off a bit, my ro unit had to be disconnected)
my softies and fish are all doing great..no signs of GHA...
I would like to add a few sps, nothing fancy; monti cap, birdsnest and maybe a few others..
I will be adding an ATO within the week and I was going to try to use Lanthanum Chloride.. because this is something new for me it takes me a bit to wrap my head around it..
Do anyone else use this and what brand do you use and were do you get it..
or what do you use to control your po4...
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
Start out...

Which tank?
What is your po4 at?
How much gfo are you using?
When did it go in and/or been changed?


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it is the 75g mixed tank..
my po4 is off the chart, currently using nyos test kits..
I added gfo to the reactor roughly a month ago and changed it out on Monday.
I was using approx., 2 cups and when I changed it out used less.. maybe 2" in the bottom of the reactor..
When I test the water it from the outlet of the reactor..
I did test my fresh water and the readings are zero..
I do plan on setting up an ATO this week for that tank..
The softies and fish in the tank are all doing great..

HELP, HELP, HELP...
 

Luke.

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Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Location
Kitchener
IMG_1688.PNG


I get mine from living aquarium but I'm sure you can order online somewhere or call a close by fish store ? I use the med size and I put aabout a cup in a filter very fine small mesh bag and change every 3 months , I'll be honest I don't check my phos I use to but no luck with getting results back.
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
thanks Luke, I was going to try and find the liquid.. when the ato is set up its going to be a water depot 5g jug..and then drip into the sump...
 

TORX

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Nov 27, 2010
Location
Blenheim, Ontario
Website
www.thefragtank.ca
Agreed @AdInfinitum, for the most part, they are the same.

2 cups of GFO in a reactor should have stripped that pretty quickly in a 75, or at least brought it down to testable levels. It doesnt look like Nyos has a way to test high range like RedSea does. It would be nice to have an actual number to work with.

I would suggest a 50% water change, then test. Use 2 cups of GFO and be sure that it is tumbling properly. If it doesnt drop, then there is something else going on, or the rock is so saturated with po4 that it is leaching as quickly as you are removing it.
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
thanks Mark.. when I first put it in the tank it was tumbling nicely.. I don't have 2 cups left from the bag that I bought...
I did find Thrive at petsnPonds today..
could it be a bad batch of gfo...
 

TORX

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Nov 27, 2010
Location
Blenheim, Ontario
Website
www.thefragtank.ca
No such thing as a bad batch of gfo, unless it is used lol.

I would pass on the lanthanum if you can, if not used 100% perfectly, it can do some bad stuff to your tank. I did use it for a bit, dosed directly into my skimmer inlet, it worked, but not nearly as good as GFO does.

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heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
well did a BIG water change today,, 75g tank and 55g sump.. did 50g change.. I am going to wait until the morning and retest for po4, my fingers are crossed that the levels change...
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
I am at a loss... did my big water change yesterday, clean the tank really well.. I waited until this morning to test and SOB its still off the charts...I am so fed up...
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
when I said off the chart the colour is a lot darker than the highest reading.. I am using Nyos test kits.. they are new, checked the expiry date.. I know that there is a possibility that it could be bad... I have tried to eliminate things.. tested my water in the storage barrel and the reading was zero so with that I am thinking that the kit is ok..
this tank has been running for 1.5 yrs, now I am leaning toward that it could be in the rock..down side is, there are corals on every piece so replacing is not an option..
Everything that is in the tank ( softies and leathers) is doing wonderful, growing and good extensions on my zoa's and palys.. another thing that makes me think it could be the rock is that I have absolutely NO algae growing in the tank...
If you have any suggestions, I am all ears...
I have ordered some Thrive and I will adding that to the tank via an ATO on a very slow drip...
 

heath

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Location
Woodstock, Ontario
my nitrates are just a tad high,, 25ppm.. the test recommends that it should be 20ppm... how much would that affect the po4...
just tested for them..
 
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