Phosphate in tap water

[karen99]

I am pretty new to setting up a real planted aquarium. I've been reading and it seems as if one of the most important things in keeping algae down is to have phosphorus as the limiting nutrient. One site I found recommended levels of less than 0.5mg/L. Well, I managed to find a report for our tap water and it lists ortho-phosphate at around 1.79mg/L (it's added to tapwater to prevent corrosion in lead pipes).
Is there any way to get around this? I have wellwater too, but have NO idea what's in it so I'm not sure if it is suitable. And I really can't afford to be buying gallons of purified water for water changes.

 

[daveedka]

Phosphate can and will contribute to algae, but not as much as most people try to claim. If you balance your other fertilizer levels to the amount of Phosphate you get from tap, you'll be fine. In most cases Notrogen is the more prevalent cuplrit for algae. PO4 just catches a lot of blame. My tap is above 1 ppm most of the time and above 2 ppm occasionally. I have no algae issue related to phosphates in my tanks. I have to add phosphate most weeks to keep up with plant consumption.
dave

 

[djlen]

I agree completely with daveedka.
You really don't want to limit anything. You want to bring your other macros up to balance the P you are getting from your tap.
How heavily stocked (fish and plants) is your tank, and what types of each? Also, what is your level of light?

Len

 

[Roan Art]

Agree with Len and Dave. My P04 is *always* 2+ off the chart from the tap, After a week in my tank it's about 1.0.

No algae problems. Little bit of hair algae but just a tad.

Roan

 

[RTR]

That PO4-limitation theory has fallen by the wayside. It was a useful technique when we knew a lot less about aquatic plants, their lighting, and their nutrient requirements. Today that is the equivalent of using gas lights in the house. The current best practice IMHO is the Estimative Index as proposed by Tom Barr: http://www.barrreport.com/

You can browse the public areas for a good idea of current planted tank handling.

 

[Captain Hook]

Wow, I think you're lucky to have that in your tap water. Mine is very low so I have to add it separately. Less work for you!

 

[karen99]

Thanks. I was worried that with the high phosphate I was doomed to algae.

The tank's still only in the planning stages, no fish or plants yet. It will probably be medium lighting (around 3 watts/g).