PO4 is at a 5! ughhh

OK - so... tested my butt off trying to figure out where all the po4 is coming from.
BEFORE today's WC it was at 5!
The RO tested 0. 8)
RO & salt mix (Reef Crystals) tested .25
After 30% WC it's at 2.
I do feed frozen. I do not rinse.
And YES, I do overfeed! :
Could just the frozen food raise it that high?
I AM in FL... maybe it leaches up into the tank! ;D
What can I do to get the po4 down?
How do you rinse/strain frozen food mush? What a PITA!!! Seriously? :-/
Is there an easier way?
What about some phos-ban tossed in a sack? Better options?
I want my corals to BOOM & they aren't boomin...

 

The first thing I would do is get a second test result either from a fellow reefer, or a LSF.
The reason I say this is a 30% water change with 0 PO4 would drop your tank from 5 to 3.5 . You say that your water change mix was 0.25 and you managed to get your tank down to 2 - it doesn't add up!

 

hmmmm I shall take a sample in then! See what the LFS says.
thanks!
gotta get more RO for the FW today anyhow.

 

Totally agreed.

To add to that, even 0.25 is too high. Should be 0.03 or lower. Your tank should be smothered in GHA and/or cyano with your levels. Also never heard of anyone having problems with high PO4 in Reef Crystals.

 

If you can, buy a reactor and run some bio pellets. That should help you out. LR can leach phosphates as well.

 

Definitely rinse your frozen food as it is a great source of PO4. GFO or biopellets used in a reactor can help keep the level in check. Feeding less will help also.

 

You use RO for FW? I just dechlorinate. But then again my city water is just about perfect as far as I can tell

 

Also,do you turkey baste your rocks before a water change to remove and stir up trapped detritus so your wc's and filtration can help pull it out?

 

That the trouble,you can't tell and have no means of testing even a small fraction of whats in tap water.Tap water in a reef,even de-chlorinated is just setting the stage for headaches and failures.

Edit-my apologizes,I overlooked where you were refering to freshwater tanks.

 

Not 1 stitch of GHA or cyano algea. Knock on wood! Tank is super clean since day 1. ;D
That's good news! I'm thinking it could be my po4 test!
Not making it to LFS today tho - we both have horrid headaches. :-/
Tomorrow definitely tho!
Thanks for everyone's input!
Very much appreciated!