MantaFan Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 So I've got a nice brown hair algae breakout in my tank as part of the expected cycle. I'm running GFO and working on getting my phosphates down. Right now the tank is reading 0.07, but I know that's a meaningless number with all the algae growth. I tested my RODI water just to make sure I wasn't making things worse, and my Hanna meter reads 0.05. That sounds high for 4-stage filtered water. My filter media is still good and young too. Is that high or normal? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Your RODI water should be reading 0.00. You are either getting bypass on your DI resin or your getting contamination on your salt mix or from your storage containers. Is your DI resin still blue or is it yellow? Stop doing water changes until you get your source water sorted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaFan Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've got a coralife DI filter so it's green... The resin is 70% green and the rest black. I've been suspecting a bypass in the actual reactor because it doesn't flow up through the resin like you would expect. I guess I'll start there. Regardless, thanks for confirming. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Did you test your tap water? It's possible you have very high levels coming in to your system. But for what it's worth from my experiences and from what I've read I do not worry with much higher phosphate levels. Read PeeperKeeper's thread "Coloring Up". Her system has problems with using up phosphates faster then it's being introduced. FYI, the average across almost a thousand reefs is .13 mg/l and Kingman Atoll, considered to be one of the most pristine reefs in the world, tests at .10 mg/l Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaFan Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks Tim... In the short term, I want to starve the algae and stop feeding it. In the long term, I've got a few small SPS that are brownish and I want to experiment with PO4 and colors. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wryknow Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think that .05 is within the error range of the Hanna checkers too. You may have had a finger print smudge or bit of contaminant in the water that would skew the results .05. Low level phophates are going to happen in any new system as the rock and sand leach a bit. Stick with the GFO and you'll win the battle pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'm with wryknow, employ GFO and monitor your levels in your tank. Make sure your prefilters are replaced every 6 months, membrane every 3-5 years, and just watch for the color change on your DI (I typically replace mine every 6-12 months). If you have a TDS meter hooked up, it's helpful to monitor your RO/DI water. IMO, PO4 level is everything for acro coloration, assuming it's getting adequate flow and light. If your acros are browning out, lower the PO4 and you'll be surprised at how quickly they start coloring up. I aim for 0.03 ppm myself. I understand that PO4 levels may vary in nature as Tim pointed out but as a counterpoint, most of those corals are also getting blasted by natural sunlight that peaks at 6,000 k. I don't necessarily want that yellow of a tank nor do I want the coloration that is seen in nature comparative to the colors of acros we have established in reef tanks. We've come a long way in such a short amount of time regarding SPS tanks. The SPS tanks of former years were lit with yellow 6,500k metal halide bulbs and everything was a shade of yellow in the tank. Now, we have every color under the sun for SPS coloration and we're using more 14,000 k to 20,000 k spectrum bulbs. We've also stripped the phosphates and nitrates and found better colors to show from it. Now, with the advancement of technology, we find ourselves overstripping the nutrients in our tanks. As our skimmers become more efficient, different methods of carbon dosing are employed, and new products seemingly coming out daily to help us remove nutrients, we find ourselves overdoing the process of removing nutrients. In that, the trend is now moving back towards less antiseptically clean SPS tanks (your barebottom tanks and overly skimmed tanks) to more nutrient rich but heavily exported systems. Feed a lot, and remove a lot too... just don't overtstrip the nutrients! I still believe 0.03 ppm of phosphate is a good number to aim for regarding SPS coloration... we don't need 0 ppm of phosphate anymore. I used to be a believer of 0 nitrates too but found better colors around 5ppm these days. I think you are correct in assuming your algae in the tank is biasing your actual phosphate level. I would employ the GFO until the algae stops growing in your system and recedes and then start monitoring your phosphate levels after that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaFan Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks Ty... I saw in another post that you've calculated a specific GFO volume and replacement routine for your tank... Is that driven solely by PO4 levels? Seems like a real challenge to estimate given phosphate input variables, skimming inconsistencies, etc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 It levels itself out once your routine is set. Basically, if you feed consistently and do water changes consistently, you'll be able to direct your amount of GFO usage accordingly as most variables associated with the export and import of phosphates will be more stable. Yes, it is driven purely by PO4 levels. I wouldn't expend the effort to try to calculate numbers regarding your import and export of phosphates. Just monitor your tank levels and adjust GFO accordingly. Again, it helps when all your processes are consistent (feeding/water changes/etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHALAKO Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Our reef systems are macrocosms of microcosms and algae are a relatively simple part; I would also check and increase the Mg levels and attack all problems with more than single variabled solutions. You could also temper the light for a while and note the decrease in both amounts and growth of the algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I'm a little confused. His question was about having 0.05 in his source water. This is my opinion is bad. The reason is because his RODI system should be stripping the water. Having any indicator of phosphates in your source water isn't good. It's a clear indicator that his RODI system is malfunctioning. I have extreme levels of KH and normal levels of chlorine and chloramines in my source water but my RODI sytem strips them out. I burn through a can of DI resin every 150 gallons or so because of the chloramines and co2 content of the incoming water. But I can test for p04 and it will always comes up 0. While the Hanna has tolerance I have noticed the closer you are to actual 0 the meter will consistently read 0 with multiple tests using the c1-c2 method. The phosphates in the tank is another story and I agree with Ty. I try to get them up to 0.03-0.05. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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