Gozer_1

So, I've been battling some alga for quite awhile and have always linked it to the phosphate present in my tank. I've had my suspicions but never put it to the test. Well today I got out my Phosphate test kit and did some "testing". I used purified water and each product I add to my tank testing them one by one. Here's a grade list of the products I use based on their result. I didn't do it precisely enough for actual numbers to mean anything. I use a similar amount of product and water for each test.

Seachem Reef Salt - A+
Seachem Reef Complete - A+
Seachem Reef Plus - A
Seachem Reef Trace - A-
Kent Marine ChromaPlex - A-
San Fransico Bay Frozen Brine - B
Ocean Nutrition Reef Flakes - c
Two Fishies ZooPlan - C-
San Fransico Bay Emerald Entree - F

I didn't test the following because they were not suspect.
Seachem Carbonate
CoralLife Purple Up

I will never use another cube of Emerald Entree and will have to back off the ZoPlan and Flakes. They weren't to bad really. I never use them heavily anyway. Emerald Entree has been a primary food source though. It's a nice blend of a lot of foods but the outrageous phosphate level isn't worth it.

Mike

Wow - thanks Gozer. This is very interesting. I also have used and use the Emerald Entree cubes and Ocean Nutrition Flakes.

I don't put the whole cube into the tank. I let it defrost first and then hold the bowl at an angle and spoon out the solids while letting the juices flow to the other side of the bowl.

Assuming you're discontinuing the use of the emerald entree - it'd be cool to hear back in a couple of weeks to see if you've noticed any sign of improvement on the algae front.

How did you test the flake foods? I'd like to try this too.

Thanks,
Mike

Gozer_1

I put somewhat equal amounts of each product in 1.5 oz of pure water. Then I stirred it vigorously untill the product was dissolved. The flakes took the longest and were not completely dissolved but the water was nice and cloudy. The Emerald Entree was unrinsed as thats how I'd been using it till recently reading about others technique. The last few servings have been rinsed but I'm going to go with out it at all for awhile to see if it helps. It was by far the highest reading. I was dissapointed with the ZoPlan. I think I'm gonna give it a second test. It's a little orange to begin with. It may not be as bad as I thought originally. I may try rinsed Emerald Entree as well. The flakes were expected though the can says "Low Phosphorous". Fed at a minimum they wouldn't make a huge impact. Nor the ZoPlan unless fed at the labeled rate. I believe my problem was directly linked to the unrinsed Entree. Guess we'll see in a couple weeks. I just did some MAJOR cleaning and algae removal as well as added some phosphate remover. I'll definitely report back with any news.

susitna-flower

So good to know. It is such a pleasure to have smart interested folks to learn from.

Merry Christmas

sgould

Interesting...Thanks, Gozer!

Gozer_1

Well I did a couple more tests today. I retested the ZoPlan and found it to be as bad or worse than I thought. I also tried rinsed Emerald Entree. I put the same size chunk in a net and ran pure water through it till it was thawed and mostly solids remained. The rinse helped but not much. I'd give it a C- but only because it's Christmas. One thing to realize is that all of these tests are much higher concentrations than it would be in the full tank volume. I just think it helps to see what adds the most overall. Rinsed Brine was a winner aslo. A solid B+ or better.

Gozer_1

Just thought I'd update. It's been about a week with no Emerald Entree and I did a test before yesterdays water change. The phosphate level has faded from existance. I got my first 0 phosphate reading ever. I have a little bit of phosphate remover in the canister but it'll be removed today. I've been using it regularly for quite awhile and still had phosphate readings. I continued regular use of the ZoPlan. EVERYONE loves it. My clown eats it right out of the coral feeder dropper as does the Banded Shrimp. The only thing I discontinued was the Emerald Entree. So far I think I can say th Entree was a big source of my problem. Next weekend I'll do a test before that change to see if it stays down with out the PhosGuard. If it does then I'll definitely never put another shread of Entree in this tank. I still like it for the freshwater though. It's a great way for me to trick the Oscar into eating some veggies. lol

Gozer_1

Week 2 no Emerald Entree and 1 week no SeaGel or PhosGuard. The prechange Phosphate reading was 0.15. That's not a lot but I want 0. Post water change it read 0.08. Down a little but will just come back due to what I'm adding. These numbers are quite a bit better since discontinuing the Emerald Entree. If I can use a little PhosGuard and have the problem go away, then I'm happy. I'm pretty sure the main source now is the ZoPlan. I'm going to try something else after it runs out. May try a bottle of some live plankton. One thing to note is I couldn't get my regular salt mix (SeaChem Reef Salt) so I had to use Instant Ocean. Small difference though as I believe Instant Ocean is a fair quality mix. Doubt it contains any Phosphate. For now I'll just pick up some PhosGuard to remove what's there. Feels good to have a little better control of this nuisance. The Caulerpa hsa slowed to barely growing. YAY The hair is still putting up a fight but I lost a grazer so I'm down on hair cleaners. I also have a slowly building population of flatworms. YUCK. Fix one thing and find another. lol Such is life.