Phospate Question...

[NutMutt]

Hey good people,


How deadly -if at all- are phospate levels? I have been told in the past that phospate is not at all a prob -even at high levels. On the other hand, I have been told phospate is "the secret killer of fish" that most people are no aware of.

I guess just like anything else, it can be harmful at high levels. But I am trying to identify what is "too high". My tap water already comes at la evel of 1 PPM of phospate as it is. They add phospate to into our minicipal waterpipes around here to help keep them from rusting faster than normal. Should I really be making the effort to try and drop it down to zero? And it seems like the pH products tend to shoot up the phospate levels when adding to raise/lower the pH or harden the water.

I will take this time, while we are on the subject, to inform y'all that I had a great exerience using "Phos-Zorb" from API Labs. It dropped my phospate levels in 3 days to almost zero compared to another product (don't have the name ATM) that took over a week with no results at all! Plus, it cost almost 3 times less than the other product. w00t !!!

Anyways, please speak away people. Because this Q has been racking my brains for almost 2 months now. Thanks...


Regards,
nutty "from across the pond"

 

[Underwurlde]

Hmmm, interesting question.

I can't really add much here, other than to say that 1-2ppm levels of Phosphate are usually aimed for in planted tanks. The levels are low enough such that phosphate itself is not usually directly added as it is usually found in reasonable levels in tap water, or added indirectly as a result of adding other chemicals (used for feeding plants). I can only guess that the levels of Phosphate should be kept comparitively low (1-2ppm) because any higher I think tends to induce algae and will thus indirectly have an effect on the environmental balance in the tank. As to 'dangerous levels' I am unsure of, but if I was measuring (accurately) a P level of 1ppm, I'd be more than happy (as I have a planted tank). But regardless, I am pretty sure that at these levels your fish will be fine.

Also I was unaware that phospahte has any relation to pH - I am thinking that the presence of P is conicidental to the chemicals used to balance pH & is not actually related to pH.... but I could be miles off here. I am not a great fan of 'fiddling' with pH - only need if using RO water and the such like.

Hope we get some good feedback on this....

Andy

 

[NutMutt]

I can only guess that the levels of Phosphate should be kept comparitively low (1-2ppm) because any higher I think tends to induce algae and will thus indirectly have an effect on the environmental balance in the tank.

Thanks Andy,

Yeah, when I first dicovered I had a high level of phospate (it was 10+ at the time), algae blooms started to grow and I was clueless of where they came from. LOL We had swept the stairway the night before and I was certain it was dust that had settled to the bottom. Because the stairs were relatively close and it was the only thing I could come up with. Hehe

 

[George Farmer]

There's no evidence to prove PO4 is toxic. I've spawned wild-caught Microrasbora nana in my tap water that has >5ppm PO4.

High PO4 does not cause algae in a heavily planted tank with good growth BTW. This is a fact, trust me.

 

[Underwurlde]

^^^ @GF, agreed 100%. My point in hand was (P) in isolation re:algae.

Andy

 

[NutMutt]

Yeah, I have no live plants. All plastic, ewwww. Heh. Well, I just started 2 months ago, sooooooooo. =)

 

[Underwurlde]

The single biggest 'cause' of algae will be excessive lighting of course.

Just thought I'd mention that....

 

[andywg]

Depends on what you keep.

Phosphate will prevent growth of many SPS corals and other sensitive marine invertebrates.

 

[George Farmer]

Depends on what you keep.

Phosphate will prevent growth of many SPS corals and other sensitive marine invertebrates.

Good point. My comments refer to FW planted only.