Munkyaquatix Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Hey everyone..so I’ve been battling staghorn/black beard algae for awhile now.I’m still dialing my ferts (easy green/easy root tabs).but I recently got a phosphate test by api and my phosphate is between 5 and 10 ppm in my planted tanks(those are the ones we tested) so my question what is the best way to lower phosphates to like 1 ppm without having to buy a chemical or a phosphate filter pad because I run sponge filters on my tanks.More water changes? (I do 1 weekly on my tanks) deeper gravel vac (with out disrupting the root tabs? ) or feed every other day?(I also have fry in my tanks and don’t want them getting eaten lol). Any advice would be awesome thanks everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNerdyFish Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 test your tap water for phosphate too you can also look up marks shrimp tanks peroxide treatment but tread carefully because you can wipe out tanks if not measured properly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 What was your nitrate and phosphate levels before you started dosing with easy green? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munkyaquatix Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 @ererer so honestly I couldn’t tell you what the nitrate and phosphate was before we started dosing easy green.but what we did recently was test our African cichlid tanks which have no plants or anything like that and phosphate was still 5ppm.So what we’re doing is waiting for the tapwater to I guess you can say become stale in a cup before we test it Because that’s what the Internet said to do LOL so hopefully either today or tomorrow we can test that tap we have sitting in the cup and find out what it’s like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric R Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I'm not sure that "aging" your water before testing for phosphate will make a difference. It shouldn't change the dissolved phosphate levels. It would change the ph, as gasses equalize between the water and the air in the room, and certain chemicals in the water that can will off gas, like chlorine. However, I'm not a chemist, so I could be wrong! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munkyaquatix Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 @ererer chemist or not that makes a lot of sense thank you for your advice it’s much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes L. Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Wow, I would love to have phosphates in my water. I have the opposite issue....I can't keep phosphates in my tank. My plants utilize it as fast as I dose, and I literally dose phosphates in my tank every 48 hours. One solution is to add plants that are phosphate hogs like bolbitis, anubias, java fern, java moss, bucephalandra or subswassertang. I have all 6 in my tank which explains why phosphates disappear so quickly. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaAggie Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 @Wes L. what do you use to dose phosphate? Mine is also low Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Seachem flourish phosphorus is what I use. I also have to add potassium to my tank as my java fern and anubias suck it all up and my poor little banana plants are the first to show signs of potassium deficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes L. Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 @AquaAggieI use the same as mentioned above....Seachem flourish phosphorus. @Will BillyThat's interesting your tank is lacking both phosphorous and potassium also....it's the same for me. I also dose potassium ever 48 hours as well. I've seen other comments here regarding the same thing. I wonder if phosphates and potassium go hand in hand? It seems if a tank is lacking one then it's also lacking the other. Although maybe that's just the nature of all epiphytes both terrestrial and aquatic? Orchids require both high phosphorus and potassium to bloom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Billy Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 34 minutes ago, Wes L. said: @Will BillyThat's interesting your tank is lacking both phosphorous and potassium also....it's the same for me. That is an interesting observation. That might explain why Seachem phosphorous has a small amount of potassium listed in the ingredients too. My java fern and anubias are growing like gang busters while my poor banana plants seem to starve. It took quite a bit of head scratching to figure out i was lacking in both, as well as a slight magnesium deficiency to boot i solved with some generic non scented epsom salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koi Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) 47 minutes ago, Will Billy said: That might explain why Seachem phosphorous has a small amount of potassium listed in the ingredients too. It probably has something to do with the ingredients. I'm guessing its either potassium phosphate or monopotassium phosphate. I think it comes down to the price of buying one ingredient for large scale production more so than them purposely putting two ingredients together. But maybe I'm just being very cynical... Edited March 7, 2021 by Koi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaAggie Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 (edited) Well the most common forms of phosphate is potassium phosphate or calcium phosphate Edited March 8, 2021 by AquaAggie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now