My phosphate levels in my 55 gallon tank are 3.5ppm. Is this bad or is this just mean that algae will grow faster? how dangerous is phosphate?:huh:
high phosphate levels
- Thread starter Pallen81
- Start date
well it would be good for plants. i wouldnt worry much about it. you can add a lot more of phosphate with out being dangerous.
If the phosphates are too high in the water it can cause many forms of algae which will suffocate the plants if it gets out of hand. I would try to control the phosphates. Did you test your water source? It may have a high level of phosphates. If so when you are doing a water change it may be compounding the problem when it comes to the phosphates and the perpetual war on algae.
Marinemom
Marinemom
my tap water has a 0.5 ppm phosphate reading. I don't have any live plants because I have silver dollars and they would gladly mow down any plants. I do have algae growing that I have to scrub every few weeks to keep from getting bad. however, I don't mind cleaning and doing that.
i just bought an RO/DI unit because I'm setting up a saltwater tank. Supposed to clean my tap water 98%-99% clean. no more phosphates, no nitrates! don't want those readings in that tank!
i just bought an RO/DI unit because I'm setting up a saltwater tank. Supposed to clean my tap water 98%-99% clean. no more phosphates, no nitrates! don't want those readings in that tank!
RO water is great for a salt setup but as far as the freshwater tanks go I would only use half RO water and half tap water. In the freshwater system the water actually needs a lot of what is already there and RO water is just too pure even for sensitive fish like discus and angels.
Just some thoughts.
Marinemom
Just some thoughts.
Marinemom
How often are you doing a water change? And how large. You should be able to keep those phosphates below 1ppm easily with decent weekly water changes. It may take a few in a row right now to get them down as low as tap water.
Well you can try adding some RO to your change water. No more than 50% I woudl say, but that may really help keep those phosphate low.
Try a google search on high phosphate levels and vertebrates (sp?)
Try a google search on high phosphate levels and vertebrates (sp?)