Phosphates

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by rshillshooter81, Apr 5, 2012.

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  1. rshillshooter81

    rshillshooter81 Astrea Snail

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    Hi,

    I got my hanna checkers today and my Phosphates level is at .026 then I retested it 3 hours later and it was at .35 after the lights went out for about 2 hours in the tank.

    All of my other levels are in check, I don't dose anything the tank is about 2 1/2 months old everyone seems happy in the tank.

    I then tested the RO water that i buy and it has a 0.07....

    My skimmer is working great , i'm not sure how to resolve this.

    PH 8.2, SAL 1.025, CAL is 450 on the dot, MAG is 1300, 12 dkH runs around 77-78F.

    I was buying water with salt already mixed in at the LFS then I bought my own salt (BrightWell Aquatics NeoMarine Salt Mix).

    I used my API kit and it looked to be between 0 and .25? (first and second box).

    shouldn't RO water contain no Phosphates ?
     
    rshillshooter81, Apr 5, 2012
    rshillshooter81, Apr 5, 2012
    #1

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  2. HeiHei29er

    HeiHei29er Gigas Clam

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    That depends...

    Do you also have the DI canister?

    RO membranes work on a % rejection basis. A good one will be in the 96-98% range on total conductivity. So, if you have phosphate in the feed water, you will also have some phosphate (2-3% of the feed water level) in the product water. That's why most people recommend a DI canister to polish the RO water if you want to get to "zero" conductivity.
     
    HeiHei29er, Apr 5, 2012
    HeiHei29er, Apr 5, 2012
    #2
  3. ingtar_shinowa

    ingtar_shinowa Giant Squid

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    there is a .04 margin of err but I think you may be testing inconsistantly.
     
    ingtar_shinowa, Apr 5, 2012
    ingtar_shinowa, Apr 5, 2012
    #3
  4. Bustopher

    Bustopher Skunk Shrimp

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    You are not going to get accurate results testing RO/DI water.
     
    Bustopher, Apr 5, 2012
    Bustopher, Apr 5, 2012
    #4
  5. NanaReefer

    NanaReefer Fu Manchu Lion Fish

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    Po4 in your tank could be coming from a number of things. Food and your water source being the main culprits. Also some salts carry more then others.
    Simply get yourself one of the many Po4 removers found out here. A good GFO type reactor or even Chemipure Elite will do well.
     
    NanaReefer, Apr 6, 2012
    NanaReefer, Apr 6, 2012
    #5
  6. RickM

    RickM Astrea Snail

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    Was your first test 0.26 or .026? My hanna checker doesn't read a third decimal point.
     
    RickM, Apr 6, 2012
    RickM, Apr 6, 2012
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  7. rshillshooter81

    rshillshooter81 Astrea Snail

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    .26 sorry :)

    my API kit says around 0 to .25
     
    rshillshooter81, Apr 6, 2012
    rshillshooter81, Apr 6, 2012
    #7
  8. rshillshooter81

    rshillshooter81 Astrea Snail

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    I added two 6.5 bags of Chemi Pure Elite, Purigen 100ML Bags and some Eheim filter floss to each of my media baskets , one of each in each basket as I have two.

    They have only been in there a few days. I am wondering if we are over feeding the MYSSIS SHRIMPS. I have 2 clowns and a golby and I was putting in 1 cube each day lol
     
    rshillshooter81, Apr 6, 2012
    rshillshooter81, Apr 6, 2012
    #8
  9. RickM

    RickM Astrea Snail

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    You should be able to cut back to feeding to every other day. Is this a fish or reef? Those are high readings for a reef, not sure what is normal for fish only. Either way your phosphate remover will be exhausted within a few days.
     
    RickM, Apr 8, 2012
    RickM, Apr 8, 2012
    #9
  10. NanaReefer

    NanaReefer Fu Manchu Lion Fish

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    It's always helpful to rinse any and all froze foods before feeding :)
     
    NanaReefer, Apr 8, 2012
    NanaReefer, Apr 8, 2012
    #10
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