Help!! High Phosphate problem!!

[Susan]

I have a 46 gallon reef/fish tank that I'm having high phosphate problems
with. Currently is 2+ppm and of course I have cyanobacteria red algae and
hair algae growing :(. I'm planning on doing some water changing but was
wandering as I tested my RO water and it alone has a little phosphate in it
at .1ppm. Should I do a change with distilled water? My current filtration
system is with a Fluval 304 and a Skilter Filter. (I know the Skilter
Filter is a low end for skimming but at least for now it's pulling some junk
out) I have wet/dry filter with a sump and built in skimmer on order and
suppose to arrive on Monday. I am using phosguard and purigen in my filter
system with no luck at all. Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this
lowered quickly or have any ideas?

Thanks in advance--Susan :)

[Margolis]

what are you adding to your ro water to remineralize it and condition it for
ph? A lot of commercial products contain phosphates and should not be used.

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[Marc Levenson]

You could put 1/2lb of Kent's Phosphate Sponge in your
canister filter for exactly 48 hours, then replace it with
the other 1/2lb for another 48 hours. At that point your
PO4 should have come down from 2.0 to .2ppm

You shouldn't have any PO4 coming out of your RO water. Do
you own an RO/DI or are you buying it elsewhere?

Some foods contain phosphates, including flake food.

Marc


Susan wrote:

> I have a 46 gallon reef/fish tank that I'm having high phosphate problems
> with. Currently is 2+ppm and of course I have cyanobacteria red algae and
> hair algae growing :(. I'm planning on doing some water changing but was
> wandering as I tested my RO water and it alone has a little phosphate in it
> at .1ppm. Should I do a change with distilled water? My current filtration
> system is with a Fluval 304 and a Skilter Filter. (I know the Skilter
> Filter is a low end for skimming but at least for now it's pulling some junk
> out) I have wet/dry filter with a sump and built in skimmer on order and
> suppose to arrive on Monday. I am using phosguard and purigen in my filter
> system with no luck at all. Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this
> lowered quickly or have any ideas?
>
> Thanks in advance--Susan :)
>
>

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Margolis]

disregard most of what I said. I thought I was still in a freshwater group
when I read this ;o0

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[Susan]

Thanks for the info. I did check my RO water and I'm getting .1ppm of
phosphates and at least 5.0 nitrates. Shouldn't my RO system be giving me 0
of these? What stinks is I have a plumber come in and manage the RO system
and I have these readings. I called someone to look at the system and they
should be here tomorrow. Doesn't help if I'm already adding phosphates and
nitrates into my tank. Off to my LFS for some water today.

Susan:)
"Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
...
> You could put 1/2lb of Kent's Phosphate Sponge in your canister filter for
> exactly 48 hours, then replace it with the other 1/2lb for another 48
> hours. At that point your PO4 should have come down from 2.0 to .2ppm
>
> You shouldn't have any PO4 coming out of your RO water. Do you own an
> RO/DI or are you buying it elsewhere?
>
> Some foods contain phosphates, including flake food.
>
> Marc
>
>
> Susan wrote:
>
>> I have a 46 gallon reef/fish tank that I'm having high phosphate problems
>> with. Currently is 2+ppm and of course I have cyanobacteria red algae
>> and hair algae growing :(. I'm planning on doing some water changing but
>> was wandering as I tested my RO water and it alone has a little phosphate
>> in it at .1ppm. Should I do a change with distilled water? My current
>> filtration system is with a Fluval 304 and a Skilter Filter. (I know the
>> Skilter Filter is a low end for skimming but at least for now it's
>> pulling some junk out) I have wet/dry filter with a sump and built in
>> skimmer on order and suppose to arrive on Monday. I am using phosguard
>> and purigen in my filter system with no luck at all. Anybody have any
>> suggestions on how to get this lowered quickly or have any ideas?
>>
>> Thanks in advance--Susan :)
>
> --
> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>

[Charles Spitzer]

measure your input to the r/o. it doesn't produce 0% readings. it can only
remove 90-95% of certain things in your water, which isn't 100%. if you want
100%, you have to use an ro/di system.

"Susan" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks for the info. I did check my RO water and I'm getting .1ppm of
> phosphates and at least 5.0 nitrates. Shouldn't my RO system be giving me
> 0 of these? What stinks is I have a plumber come in and manage the RO
> system and I have these readings. I called someone to look at the system
> and they should be here tomorrow. Doesn't help if I'm already adding
> phosphates and nitrates into my tank. Off to my LFS for some water today.
>
> Susan:)
> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
> ...
>> You could put 1/2lb of Kent's Phosphate Sponge in your canister filter
>> for exactly 48 hours, then replace it with the other 1/2lb for another 48
>> hours. At that point your PO4 should have come down from 2.0 to .2ppm
>>
>> You shouldn't have any PO4 coming out of your RO water. Do you own an
>> RO/DI or are you buying it elsewhere?
>>
>> Some foods contain phosphates, including flake food.
>>
>> Marc
>>
>>
>> Susan wrote:
>>
>>> I have a 46 gallon reef/fish tank that I'm having high phosphate
>>> problems with. Currently is 2+ppm and of course I have cyanobacteria
>>> red algae and hair algae growing :(. I'm planning on doing some water
>>> changing but was wandering as I tested my RO water and it alone has a
>>> little phosphate in it at .1ppm. Should I do a change with distilled
>>> water? My current filtration system is with a Fluval 304 and a Skilter
>>> Filter. (I know the Skilter Filter is a low end for skimming but at
>>> least for now it's pulling some junk out) I have wet/dry filter with a
>>> sump and built in skimmer on order and suppose to arrive on Monday. I am
>>> using phosguard and purigen in my filter system with no luck at all.
>>> Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this lowered quickly or have
>>> any ideas?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance--Susan :)
>>
>> --
>> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
>> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
>> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>>
>
>

[Susan]

I checked the incoming water. Looks like the reading is the same :( Sounds
like maybe something not right with the RO??

Susan
"Charles Spitzer" > wrote in message
...
> measure your input to the r/o. it doesn't produce 0% readings. it can only
> remove 90-95% of certain things in your water, which isn't 100%. if you
> want 100%, you have to use an ro/di system.
>
> "Susan" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Thanks for the info. I did check my RO water and I'm getting .1ppm of
>> phosphates and at least 5.0 nitrates. Shouldn't my RO system be giving me
>> 0 of these? What stinks is I have a plumber come in and manage the RO
>> system and I have these readings. I called someone to look at the system
>> and they should be here tomorrow. Doesn't help if I'm already adding
>> phosphates and nitrates into my tank. Off to my LFS for some water
>> today.
>>
>> Susan:)
>> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> You could put 1/2lb of Kent's Phosphate Sponge in your canister filter
>>> for exactly 48 hours, then replace it with the other 1/2lb for another
>>> 48 hours. At that point your PO4 should have come down from 2.0 to
>>> .2ppm
>>>
>>> You shouldn't have any PO4 coming out of your RO water. Do you own an
>>> RO/DI or are you buying it elsewhere?
>>>
>>> Some foods contain phosphates, including flake food.
>>>
>>> Marc
>>>
>>>
>>> Susan wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have a 46 gallon reef/fish tank that I'm having high phosphate
>>>> problems with. Currently is 2+ppm and of course I have cyanobacteria
>>>> red algae and hair algae growing :(. I'm planning on doing some water
>>>> changing but was wandering as I tested my RO water and it alone has a
>>>> little phosphate in it at .1ppm. Should I do a change with distilled
>>>> water? My current filtration system is with a Fluval 304 and a Skilter
>>>> Filter. (I know the Skilter Filter is a low end for skimming but at
>>>> least for now it's pulling some junk out) I have wet/dry filter with a
>>>> sump and built in skimmer on order and suppose to arrive on Monday. I
>>>> am using phosguard and purigen in my filter system with no luck at all.
>>>> Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this lowered quickly or have
>>>> any ideas?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks in advance--Susan :)
>>>
>>> --
>>> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
>>> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
>>> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

[Charles Spitzer]

if your readings are the same on both sides of the ro, then yes. torn
membrane maybe?

"Susan" > wrote in message
...
>I checked the incoming water. Looks like the reading is the same :(
>Sounds like maybe something not right with the RO??
>
> Susan
> "Charles Spitzer" > wrote in message
> ...
>> measure your input to the r/o. it doesn't produce 0% readings. it can
>> only remove 90-95% of certain things in your water, which isn't 100%. if
>> you want 100%, you have to use an ro/di system.
>>
>> "Susan" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Thanks for the info. I did check my RO water and I'm getting .1ppm of
>>> phosphates and at least 5.0 nitrates. Shouldn't my RO system be giving
>>> me 0 of these? What stinks is I have a plumber come in and manage the
>>> RO system and I have these readings. I called someone to look at the
>>> system and they should be here tomorrow. Doesn't help if I'm already
>>> adding phosphates and nitrates into my tank. Off to my LFS for some
>>> water today.
>>>
>>> Susan:)
>>> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> You could put 1/2lb of Kent's Phosphate Sponge in your canister filter
>>>> for exactly 48 hours, then replace it with the other 1/2lb for another
>>>> 48 hours. At that point your PO4 should have come down from 2.0 to
>>>> .2ppm
>>>>
>>>> You shouldn't have any PO4 coming out of your RO water. Do you own an
>>>> RO/DI or are you buying it elsewhere?
>>>>
>>>> Some foods contain phosphates, including flake food.
>>>>
>>>> Marc
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Susan wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I have a 46 gallon reef/fish tank that I'm having high phosphate
>>>>> problems with. Currently is 2+ppm and of course I have cyanobacteria
>>>>> red algae and hair algae growing :(. I'm planning on doing some water
>>>>> changing but was wandering as I tested my RO water and it alone has a
>>>>> little phosphate in it at .1ppm. Should I do a change with distilled
>>>>> water? My current filtration system is with a Fluval 304 and a Skilter
>>>>> Filter. (I know the Skilter Filter is a low end for skimming but at
>>>>> least for now it's pulling some junk out) I have wet/dry filter with a
>>>>> sump and built in skimmer on order and suppose to arrive on Monday. I
>>>>> am using phosguard and purigen in my filter system with no luck at
>>>>> all. Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this lowered quickly
>>>>> or have any ideas?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks in advance--Susan :)
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
>>>> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
>>>> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>