Lowering PO4

[ptr13]

Just wondering guys why my PO4 levels are still at .1,run a GFO and a vertex 280 in sump skimmer,my fish load is a bit on the heavy side about 25 to 30 fishes in a 225 gallon tank but with a 58 gal oceanic plenum and a sump housing the GFO and skimmer which is 40 gallons,saw a drop in my PO4 in a couple days. It was at a higher level which suprised me but for some reason,it dropped,also dose vodka and it has been week 7 or 8 so at 5.5 ml now per day. And if I drop the nitrates and P04,would it increase the growth of my sps?

[Fishamatank]

Originally Posted by ptr13

Just wondering guys why my PO4 levels are still at .1,run a GFO and a vertex 280 in sump skimmer,my fish load is a bit on the heavy side about 25 to 30 fishes in a 225 gallon tank but with a 58 gal oceanic plenum and a sump housing the GFO and skimmer which is 40 gallons,saw a drop in my PO4 in a couple days. It was at a higher level which suprised me but for some reason,it dropped,also dose vodka and it has been week 7 or 8 so at 5.5 ml now per day. And if I drop the nitrates and P04,would it increase the growth of my sps?

Yes, dropping the po4 will increase growth rate. You can add more GFO, adding chaeto will help as well.

[ptr13]

Thanks for your quick response,I have just one BRS reactor for GFO,should I add another one? I do have cheato,caulerpa in my fuge and the tank is still in an early stage at 5 months old so do you see any changes with the plenum in place,I know it is suppose to get better with age like wine The parameters look good so far,1.025,ph at 8.2,mg at 1460,alk at 9.6 and Ca at 460,started to dose two part again since I dont run a reactor.

[bertoni]

That's a lot of phosphate, so you might need to change the GFO more frequently. A bigger reactor might not be necessary. I'd try measuring the tank water and then a sample of the water out of the reactor. When the two levels are the same, the media needs to be replaced. How much media is in the reactor?