Lowering Phosphates

What is the best way to lower phosphates in your tank? I have tried RowaPhos and TLF Phosban in a Phosban Reactor, but they still are kinda high.

I use strictly RO water with 0 TDS reading for ATO and all water changes too.

Is there anything else I can do? What have others done to lower phosphates? Maybe I should bump up water changes to every 2 weeks for a while!?!?

 

ru sure the test kit is accurate? What your doing should be enough unless you have phosphates leaking internally from your live rock or suh. Have you tried macroalgae?

 

How long did you run the rowaphos and phosban?

I don't know about those two, but GFO is supposed to work over a long period of time to reduce phosphates, and they're based on the same concept.

 

I was using the API test kits for a while and getting like .5.....now I bought the Hanna Meter and got .96

I recently added 2 more koralia's and a plastic frag rack...could those cause/give problems?

What kind of macroalgea would I need? Is there a recommended one for lowering phosphates?

 

I think I ran the RowaPhos in a Phosban 150 for a couple of months and then switched to Phosban and have been running that for a couple months now. I have 2 phosban 150 reactors one has the phosban now and one has seachem carbon in it.

I also have seachem purigen in a filter bag in the sump.

 

mangroves do a good job at lowering phosphates.

 

I have like a dozen in my fuge already growing like crazy.

 

What are you using to feed? A lot of dried foods have phosphate in them, as do frozen foods. I strain my frozen mysis, running RO water over it, before putting it in the tank.

Are you nitrates high too? Over feeding could be an issue if they are.

How recently did you add the other two Koralias? I was running two K4's in my 110 for a while, and it wasn't enough flow, so I imagine that having only two of them in a 135 gallon might have caused a flow issue. If you added them really recently, it could just take a while for the Phosban reactors to start lowering your phos.

I switched my K4's for two Vortech MP40W's, and flow is no longer an issue, to say the least.

 

I feed dried seaweed and frozen cubes. My nitrates are 0....I only feed 2-3 times per week.

I added the new koralia's about 2 weeks ago....so now I have 4 in there.

I really need to get different food....but thats another story.

 

Are you using RO only or RO/DI? Do you know if your water utility feeds orthophosphates or polyphosphates to their distribution system for corrosion control?
Phosphates may not show up well on a TDS meter since they are weakly ionized and RO only may not be effective at removing them completely. RO/DI is your best choice for a water source and any GFO product like Phosban and others should remove all traces from the reef if used properly and kept freshened up every few weeks.