phosphate question

[Anthony.Luciano710]

0.13 ppm is a pretty good phosphate level for a new tank right. i know once its established its supposed to below 0.02 ppm but i just rebuilt is and stirred up the sand like crazy on purpose to get rid of all the bad stuff when i recycle and i took out all the rocks and put them in a new aquascape. but is 0.13 ppm a fairly good level for phosphates. ill get some gfo or phosban but i cant right now. maybe next week or something and ill change the water to give it a head start.

 

[fishman1069]

You'll be fine with that reading for now. It might even go up as you go thru your cycle. Just let everything do what its gotta do and when your done cycling you can worry about GFO and stuff like that.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

ok yea im just scared because when i turn on those high powered leds i dont wanna walk in the room and see a green tank like the first time i set it up lol. so ill just keep low lighting. the nitrogen cycle is done because when i rebuilt it i kept everything submerged with heaters and power heads because i put raw shrimp in and im not getting any ammonia or nitrite reading after a week only nitrate so im just waiting longer to play it safe and keep everyone from yelling at me because i know if i put a fish in too soon no matter how low the levels are they will start screaming at me lol.

You'll be fine with that reading for now. It might even go up as you go thru your cycle. Just let everything do what its gotta do and when your done cycling you can worry about GFO and stuff like that.

 

[fishman1069]

LOL I think you should be ready for at least a small CUC if your levels are down like that. And you can set up the GFO reactor too get a jump on the phosphates being your pretty much done with the begging of your cycle. You are still gonna go the the tank uglies like diatoms and cyno but since you are taking it slow you should be fine.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

i changed some water and waited about 12 hours and now it says 0.01. thats real good right?

 

[Jzhou]

What are you using to measure Phosphate. The test kits aren't really the most accurate things in the world. I suggest going to BRS and getting a hanna meter if you do not already have one.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

yea im using the hanna meter and it says 0.01

What are you using to measure Phosphate. The test kits aren't really the most accurate things in the world. I suggest going to BRS and getting a hanna meter if you do not already have one.

 

[Arati]

.01 is good.

 

[Jzhou]

good man.

 

[Arati]

I used to test mine, but its been awhile. go easy with phosban type products. some people have great luck with them. other have problems..

I used phosban for along time. I used to get these wierd green cycano out breaks in my sump. A fellow reffer told me he had a similar experience with phosban. I took it down (reactor) down and never had the problem again.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

yea i wasnt a big fan of phosban either but everyone told me its good. what about gfo from brs or smart reef gfo which is easier to get for me.

I used to test mine, but its been awhile. go easy with phosban type products. some people have great luck with them. other have problems..

I used phosban for along time. I used to get these wierd green cycano out breaks in my sump. A fellow reffer told me he had a similar experience with phosban. I took it down (reactor) down and never had the problem again.

 

[jrobbins]

all the gfo is pretty much the same if ya ask me. as for the reactors, i love them but they do trap a lot of gunk. if you dont clean them out pretty regularly they probably wind up doing more harm then good.

clean them out = clean the sponges and also change the media pretty frequently so it doesnt get all clogged up with detritus.

 

[Anthony.Luciano710]

oh yea i just figured out what CUC means. i do have some snails and like 1 hermit crab. i want to get like more hermit crabs to eat all the extra stuff off the sand. oh and do you know which types of snail go under to sift the sand because i made a deep sand bed 5 inches in DT and about 7 in the fuge. im a really bif fan on DSB but i need some stuff to turn it over but all my snails are like stupid they go to the top above the water line and will not move until i throw it to the bottom. i have some good cierths but there way to small and i never see them go under the sand.

LOL I think you should be ready for at least a small CUC if your levels are down like that. And you can set up the GFO reactor too get a jump on the phosphates being your pretty much done with the begging of your cycle. You are still gonna go the the tank uglies like diatoms and cyno but since you are taking it slow you should be fine.

 

[Jkedra]

Yeah its about time you get a CUC...your tank is up and running again and everything is back to normal.

 

[Jzhou]

get 6 super naurisus snails. They reproduce pretty fast, barring they aren't killed by hermits.