.08 phosphates

additional

if you dont rinse that cannister filter out fully, and regularly, then that could be a significant source of your nitrate issue

put an image up of your tank, it possible you do not need the bio media in the cannister
I run a sumpless 75 gallon with HOB - look mum no hands/ no filter - all the biological work is done on the rock/ sand etc


Steve

 

Thanks Steve! So going on week 3 if my nitrates or phosphates are still reading the same I will add some GFO to the canister.

 

you know I did that for a week and it was taking my water twice as long to clear up I cleaned the tank and since there was no where to place the carbon I hooked it back up. lol Just worried about ruining all that I have invested in. Thats my biggest fear

 

Steve thats my other problem, no sand, I was told to get crushed coral because i initially intended on keeping fish only until I fell inlove with corals and the hobby.

 

well can you state tank size and the canister you are running, I might be able to help you a great deal- In one of my SW tanks I am running a 45 gallon tall with a small sump, a dedicated canister (no filter's tho) - I can send you pic's on the basics- you might be very happy with the results- as I am. I even started a thread concerning this very set up.

let me know- glad to help.

 

Heh, yea- but there is a work around- an easy one. I have run a skimmerless set up too, in the past, but in a few years your rock will have a massive die off (old tank syndrome), and this nukes the tank. IMHE

BTW, unless your running an air stone- but....that's another story.

 

I have a cascade 700 if I remember correctly. Yeah show me your set up. I am looking at another 5 to 8 months before I start to change my whole set up to a bigger tank with a sump, bigger skimmer, etc.

 

Do you have algae? What test kit are you using?

In addition to what others have said, for the most part phosphate test kits don't work. A reading of .08 in reality could be anywhere from 0 to .25 with most kits. There are a few test kits that are better, but still could not likely differentiate .08 from .04 for example. In other words an error of +/- .04 for a home test kit is exceptional, but few if any are this good and they are more expensive. Algae is a better indicator most of the time.

 

yeah some red/purple hair on two spots that has stopped growing and some brown that grows on the back glass. I use red sea for the phosphate test kit.

 

No, the red sea is not accurate, but it doesn't matter, if you have algae, there is phosphate. Unfortunately these are the only remotely affordable PO4 test kits that I know of that can get close to the accuracy needed (although still not perfect).

Hach PO-19
Hach - Phosphorus, Orthophosphate (reactive) Test Kit, Model PO-19, Color Disc, 100 tests

Hanna PO4 or better phosphorous checker (although the phosphorous is more sensitive, but you need to convert phosphorous to phosphate. multiply the results by 3.066 / 1000)
Hanna Instruments Checker HC

Merck PO4
D&D Merck Phosphate Test Kit