My Reef Tank Test Results.

[1234-fishy-freind]

I tested my reef tank water today and hear are the resutls.

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 40
Ph - 8
Phosphate - 0.1
Calcium - 530
Magnesium - 1450

I know that my water isnt great, but it isnt bad either. Some of them do need changing (like the nitrate, it is too high for a reef I think, and the phosphate could due to be lower).

So if you got these test results in your reef tank, what would you try to sort out and how would you go about doing it?


thanks

 

[n3ont3tra]

I would do water changes to lower the nitrate.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yep agreed, maybe one big water change then a few smaller ones over the next couple of days to help lower the nitrate and some chemical filtration targetting nitrate and phosphate.

 

[1234-fishy-freind]

I will do the water changes.

Any of you used any phosphate removers that worked well that you would recommend?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, there's the tried and true Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) sold under the brand names of Phosban or Rowaphos. Works for sure, poses no risk to reef aquaria and is well proven. I personally have recently been using Lanthanum Chloride which was originally developed for use in swimming pools to control agae blooms there. It's sold under the brand name of Brightwell Aquatics Phosphat-E liquid phosphate remover. You can also buy the pool chemical Lanthanum Chloride from a local pool supply store, but of course purity will be unknown. Lanthanum binds free phosphate directly to produce an insoluble lanthanum phosphate salt which is a very fine salt. It acts QUICKLY and should be removed via mechanical filtration. Pros of lanthanum include ease of use, speed of action, and it's way more cost-effective than GFO. Cons include it's still relatively unknown what any longterm effects are, it does decrease carbonate (alkalinity) slightly, and the speed with which it clogs up mechanical filtration does require frequent cleanings.

I personally have been using Lanthanum for the past week and am REALLY impressed with it. My algae growth is WAY down with just 0.1mL doses per day (after an initial larger dose). All in all i'm happy with it in the short term. Hopefully I'll continue to be so in the long term