Phosphates @ 1 ppm

For the past two and a half weeks my phosphates have been around 1 ppms. The funny thing is I don't have any algae in my DT. My refugium is getting a real dark red to black looking algae inside there with bubbles. My calcium is around 490 and mag is around 1500. I have not performed any water changes since my tank started but did come home to 3 approximately 20 gallon floods. Ammonia, Nitrite is 0 ppm and nitrate is around 5. Also weird is my calcium and mag has jumped and lowered during this 2 week span and I haven't dosed anything. I know this is weird and only things like this happen to me. What am I to do. All fish are looking happy.

 

Sounds like maybe some cruddy test kits?

If all is healthy and there is no algae outbreak (especially with 1PPM reading) - might be your kits.

What brand/how old are they?

 

Here are pics of refugium.





Your advice is greatly appreciated.

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They were tested with hanna and sailfert. Both came back with same results.

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Wow - I'd say ur test kits are good then !
That def looks like a cyano outbreak in your sump tho . . .
I am not sure why you would read that high on Phosphates and have no algae outbreak.

I'll have to defer on this one . . .

 

jeeze 1ppm isnt really that high, I'd only worry if I see anything above 3-5ppm. as for the algae in your sump- this is prob. why you have nothing in your tank- is your skimmer working correctly? are you running a dsb in your sump? is something dead in your sump?

btw:

these really have little effect on most types of negitive algae growth.

 

I'd do something about getting both nitrates and phosphates down to 0. Phosphate is a funny thing. It is very tightly cycled by existing algae. I had a serious case of HA and definitely had PO4 but kept getting 0 readings. Measured with several different photometers so I know it was accurate. weekly water changes, big fuge, putting in a seriously oversized protein skimmer for my system, cutting back feedings and light cycle helped bet mine under control. Also started running rowaphos changing every 3 weeks.

If you are showing any reading for po4 that means you have quite a bit in your tank. Take the samples for testing from right next to your algae and you may see quite a larger reading.

algae is another funny thing. you can have a tank for years without issue and then all of a sudden you get massive outbreaks. Only thing that makes sense to me is that stuff builds up over time and then hits some threshold where it becomes a problem. I'd be trying to get your levels down to 0 so you're not slowly building up over time and have a big issue down the road. Algae is no fun and the hardest thing to beat in this hobby IMO. Been fighting it for 4 years. Should have cooked my rock when I first started having the issue.

 

I would do the simple thing- empty the sump, clean it out and begin anew. see if that solves the problem- perhaps the sump is the problem.

 

20 gallon floods! What overflowed? your sump? What'd you replace that water with. Ca and Mg increase could've come from the replacement water if you used new saltwater. PO4 is low but nitrates are 5. Algae will still grow in those circumstances,it's hardy and wants to live. At least it's in your fuge where it's supposed to and not in the DT. Not sure what exactly your concern is?

 

yea Nismo, I really dont understand what his real concern is. Bubble algae is a detriment but I would only worry if it started in my DT. Then I would simply clean the sump and start over. As for the floods- geeze I guess we would have to see the set up he has to help discern the cause.