po4 in RO/DI water

[Lance]

I was wondering what the reading should be in DI water as I thought it should be pure water and nothing in it. Will po4 pass through this and if it does where should I check to make sure it is not getting through. I have a reading of 0 with a TDS meter and now I have checked for po4 and I am getting a reading of .08. Not too happy as I have lost a big beautiful nem, lots of zoas and a few other sps corals as my po4 is, let’s just say it is way too high.

 

[melev]

Yes, elevated PO4 can pass through all the filters, as can elevated ammonia or chloramine. You can add additional DI, run GAC after the DI, or add Prime to the DI water prior to use.

 

[Lance]

That is what I am afraid of now that I have not been testing from there as I was adding prime but still getting a po4 reading of .08 and my tank is at .48-.49. Guess this is a hard lesson to learn to test from begining to end and make sure everything is in check beofre it goes into the tank and even in the tank.

 

[Guest]

@Marc wrote:

you guys suresure prime removes phosphates?

would an old ro membrane cause phosphates to go through?

 

[bimmerzs]

Since a properly functioning ro/di unit removes phosphates, one that has old filters can cause damage to the membrane if chlorine, phosphates etc get thru. I think elevated chlorine or chloramines could possibly get by the carbon filters and damage the membrane enough that it allows the P04 molecule to get past. I think Wylie may have bumped up their level's recently, I just got home from Austin and I am seeing some issues as well.

Regards,

 

[Eckolancer]

My ro system does not use the di. But before filtering my p04 is at almost 1. After filtering it sits at almost untraceable. I keep my water in a 35 gallon trash can with filter running for a couple days in the dark to help bring the p04 down even more. Although i have brought my p04 down a lot cutting back on feeding. I used to feed 1-2 times a day now only a small amount everyday skipping a few days a month.

 

[ss95003]

I have checked mine before and it read zero. I still add a double dose of prime just to make sure. it's cheap enough and it say you can double up for high levels.

 

[Lance]

Read the bottle of prime and all it states is that it removes Chlorine, Ammonia and detoxifies Nitrite and Nitrate and provides Slime coat. Nothing about Phosphates. What would be the best bet at getting this under control before I lose any more animals?? Phos Buster Pro?? Water change of 30% from water not tainted with po4?

 

[dfwminis]

For quick removal, Kent marine phos sponge has worked for me. It has to be thrown out in a day I believe or will leach back into the water.

 

[Guest]

Lance you can buy phos free at leslies pool supply you mix it with ro/do water and add alittle to your skimmer it will bind to the phosphates and skim out but you need to monitor your alk as it can drop.


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[Lance]

@kuyatwo wrote:

Would the mixture be the same as the directions are on the bottle? Also will it need to be monitored with the water when it is added to the tank from now on or just when I put it in the tank for the first time?

 

[DFW]

Some people say that dripping lime water precipitates phosphates out of solution as calcium phosphate. Then your alk won't drop anyway. I cannot verify that this always works, or how fast that it works.

David

 

[Guest]

@Lance6270 wrote:

Would the mixture be the same as the directions are on the bottle? Also will it need to be monitored with the water when it is added to the tank from now on or just when I put it in the tank for the first time?"]
I don't mix that much like 1 ml phos free to 10ml water and just slowly dose into skimmer. I only dose when I see phosphates so one dosage is enough. I don't have any alk issues if you continually have to dose day after day to knock down the phosphates I would watch the alk after 24 hours


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[melev]

Phosphate Rx (Blue Life) is what I've been using to remove PO4. It works great, overnight. One dose would bring yours down to zero.

 

[jnmarshall]

I've used Phospaht-E from Brightwell with good success but that was in the tank. It turns the water cloudy and allows your mechanical filter to remove the elements. As it's for use in the aquarium I don't know how well it will work in a water tank. This is alarming that the rodi filters aren't removing it! Now I have to go check mine.