Phosphate levels never change

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OctoPunk

I am having problems getting rid of phosphates. No matter what I do, they always read .08ppm using the Red Sea Test kit. I tried the API kit to see what it would give me and it showed .25!!!! over and over again. So yea im gonna just chuck the API kit, it sucks. Anyway I tried looking at the readings under daylight, incandescent, fluorescent, led, etc.... all slightly different, but the general consensus seems to be around .08! I have asked others to see what they think when they look at the readings and it is always .08ppm.
I know this is a small amount, but I would like it as 0. More than that though I am concerned that this test kit may not be accurate enough to differentiate between .08 and 0. even though there is a .04 on the kits card, I just don't see how you can make that distinction. the colors are too similar. At this point your all probably just thinking this guy is color blind or is indecisive, but like i said i tried like 10 different people to see what they thought and they all said .08ppm
I really wanted to get to 0 as I am beginning to see remnants of cyanobacteria forming and my nitrates are at 2, lol. I added 2 x bags Chemi-Pure Elite (which contains GFO) and places them in the bubble trap so the water would have to travel thru the bags to get to the return. I also placed a media bag of Purigen on top. I waited a few weeks, and then tested again....it came out the same!!!!! 0.08. I then Added a crap load of macro algae, chaeto, calurpa, and dragons breath. waited a few weeks and bam!....same thing, .08ppm. [smilie=angry.gif].
I'm at a loss. Guess maybe I am just being anal, I am going to try a reactor when I gather enough scratch together but that cannot be the only solution. I could try another testing kit i suppose or take it to the LFS to be tested but I'm pretty sure I'll get the same reading or close. all other parameters are perfect, I brought the nitrates down to 2ppm from 10ppm so I know what I'm doing it having a positive effect, I just can't tell if the test kits are the problem or if there is actually and unmovable source of phosphates in there. I have checked literally everything else and i cannot think of what it could be. This is a brand new setup for gods sake. I just started stocking it the beginning of January.
 
FYI I run a skimmer (that works very well) for mechanical filtration. and I have trimmed the algae several times to remove nutrients and even replaced the entire thing at one point.
The lighting schedule is 8 hours of 2x12k & 2xactinic t5ho's
4 hours of Actinic LEDS for dusk and sunrise.
100lbs of live rock
80lbs of live sand
55 gallon display
20 gallon long sump/fuge
fuge has DSB, live rock, and MacroAlgae
total flow is about 1400gph
Dose mag, ca, trace, buffer daily
moved feeding from once a day to once every other day.
feed corals lightly once a week, maybe
 
.08 is a great level, I have found no research that demonstrates corals benefit from ultra low levels of nutrients, I find my corals look much better when my phosphates and nitrates are not zero, I have a 120G with 5 fish so nutrients are always too low for my corals to be really colorful.
 
Phosphate can leach out from rocks and take a while to get down (we're talking months here) if getting to undetectable levels is your goal. I run a GFO reactor and macro to keep mine in check so that I can feed more heavily [smilie=smile.gif]
 
Ya'll prolly right, I'm just being anal. I was also just concerned that the test kit never fluctuated at all. it was consistently the same ppm even though I am changing the chemistry of the water.
 
different question:
PH is another one I am having trouble with. It is always reading 7.8 in the day. I will add buffer and then the next day the ALk is up but the PH is still 7.8! I want the ph to be between 8 to 8.4 and it wont stick. even when i manage to get a different reading on the test kit. like for example one day i will get 8 then the next its back down to 7.8 and stays that way for a while. Does anyone have any advice when it comes to maintaining a stable ph above 8?
 
Most would agree with me that you do not need to worry about PH unless it gets below 7.6 or even lower. If you are able to keep your Alk between 8-10 with as little swing as possible then your PH will normally stay pretty stable unless there are other external factors driving it down. Primarily with PH you are looking for stability. Mine hovers between 8.1 and 8.18 all day. A friend of mines tank hovers between 7.6 and 7.8 and he has a ton of fish and a bunch of SPS that look great.
Remember stability is key in every thing you test. If it is staying put at 7.8 then your animals and corals are adjusted to that in a very short time. If is goes from 7.8 to 8.2 to 8.0 to 8.5 to 7.6....... then your gonna have problems because your system isn't stable.
Same with your phosphate. If with water changes and macro you are keeping it stable and low then you are ok. I would shoot for a little lower than .08, but that is not the end of the world. I like mine .03 or less. Others will tell you that you have to have 0, or that they don't test for it and never have and never will. It depends on a lot of factors such as what are you trying to accomplish with this tank, corals you want to keep, and overall bioload of your system.
Sorry kinda rambled on there, but hope that helps.
 
I agree with Charles. Stability is key and do not bother trying to chase a specific pH as long as it remains relatively stable.
 
You might want to read my article about water quality here: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/302-Maintaining-Good-Water-Quality
 
I'm not sure if you're one of the guys who posted the same question on Reef Central, but if not it's important you realize this.

A large batch of Red Sea kits is now showing .08 phosphate levels even when levels are lower or nonexistent. This can be confirmed by measuring with other methods or even measuring 0 TDS RO/DI water. It's a known problem and the company has said they are investigating.

In other words, your phosphate probably isn't really stuck at .08. It's your kit.

The fact that you say the key words "Red Sea" and ".08" is a big tip off! :)
 
Octopunk,

I see you are in Flower Mound. I also live in Flower Mound and will be glad to test your phosphates using my Hanna Meter (it is very accurate). Shoot me a PM if your interested.

A phosphate level of 0.08 is really not that bad, I currently am shooting for a phosphate level of 0.05-0.08 and I have the complete opposite issue as you. I am trying hard to get mine up!

Are you having hair Algae issues and thats why you are trying get get rid of phosphates? If so post some pics of the hair algae. I fought this stuff for over a year until I realized what I had was Bryopsis. For a year I had 0 phosphates and 0 Nitrates but still had the Algae. Once I realized I actually had Bryopsis I went a different route and got rid of it.
 
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