Phosphates Read Zero

djlen

djlen

Fish?.......What Fish?
Aug 19, 2002
3,515
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Somerdale, New Jersey USA
I bought a Hagen Phosphates Test Kit and did a test this morning and it came up clear as a bell which according to the chart is 0 ppm. Now the question is, should I be adding any back into the tank(Fleet Enema) or should I wait 'til my water change on Saturday?
Len
 
Diljen-- I presume you mean both your tap and your tank? If so, I'd start dosing. I don't use the enema stuff so I'm not sure how much you add. I think the target is .5 ppm.

I have this situation and I dose about .2 ppm every other day.. I've never seen much excess at the end of the week before I do a water change. I put about .3 ppm in at the water change since my tap water is totally devoid of phosphate.
 
I have not tested my tap water yet. I just came off my black out of the tank to rid it of BB Algae(which by the way worked!!). During that time, in a 4 day period, I did 3 60% water changes. The last one was on Mon. I would think that if there were any Phosphates in my tap water I'd get a least SOME reading on the test kit. HOWEVER, I'm off right now to check the tap water.
The results........momentarily.........
Len
 
Zero,Zip,Nada!!!

I'm getting a Zero reading.....this is terrific......apparently my tap water is also devoid of them as well.
It's called Fleet Enema(yuk) and it's 100% Sodium Phosphate. I put 3 drops in on Mon. after my last water change(per Tom Barr).
I'll give it another dose this afternoon. Then wait til Sat. to dose again.....what do you think?
Len
 
Heehee... Just don't know how strong the stuff is. I'd think in an hour or so you should at least get a positive reading for the test kit.
 
2 mins.

I'd think in an hour or so you should at least get a positive reading...
Click to expand...
The test kit says you will get a reading in 2 mins. I waited about 10 mins. Should I wait longer?
By the way, the Fleet enema is 19g Monobasic Sodium and 7g Dibasic Sodium...no other ingredients. And an embarrassment to buy at the Pharmacy, but dirt cheap.
Len
 
Oh, ok I didn't interpret it that way. Thank you. And thanks for the tip on the Fleet stuff, yuk. I'll have to look for it, but the bottle I got will probably last for months. The dosage is very small and the stuff is cheap.
Len
 
Ok, I put two drops of Sodium Phosphate in each tank(55 gal. & 40 gal.) and am still getting a Zero reading on my Phosphate test kit. Can someone tell me how to proceed from here? Should I add more or leave it alone?
Len
 
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