Phosphates

[Roan Art]

Hum, hrm, my phosphates are off the chart in my 36g. . .blargh, okay, I haven't tested my tap water as yet, but I KNOW I over feed in this tank. Regardless of my faux pas, IF:

1. I do my normal 50% waterchange today
2. I vacuum the flourite thoroughly
3. I do not overfeed the fishies (hungry GOOD, bloated BAD!)
4. I test my tap water and assuming it's not an unreasonable amount

How long would it take for the phosphate levels to drop?

One more question: Salifert makes a kit for testing DOC, but someone here mentioned that you can't test for DOC (or something of that sort).

Can you test for DOC with a kit and is it viable?

Roan

 

[liv2padl]

someone here mentioned that you can't test for DOC (or something of that sort).

that was me. yes, there is a test kit for DOC but it's not very accurate ... and it's extremely difficult to distinguish between the color development of 1 drop vs. 2 drops vs. 3 drops. moreover, why bother when simply testing for NO3 (which is both easy AND accurate) and keeping this parameter below 10 ppm will concurrently keep your DOC's low.

 

[Sully]

hey, liv2padl--see ya in 10 days or so. lol.

 

[knashash]

Well if your phosphates are high coming straight out of that tap and your tank is NOT planted, then your phosphate levels probobly wont drop very much at all, because there is nothing consuming them. If your tank is planted you should see a gradual drop in Phosphate levels.

 

[Roan Art]

Well if your phosphates are high coming straight out of that tap and your tank is NOT planted, then your phosphate levels probobly wont drop very much at all, because there is nothing consuming them. If your tank is planted you should see a gradual drop in Phosphate levels.

I'm going to test my tap water soon as I get home from the LPS. Need to grab a ceramic heater for the top of my herp cage.

Yes, tank is planted. I forgot to mention that, of course.

Roan

 

[RTR]

For removal by water changes based on percentages changed, see:

http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/water/waterchangemath.html

But this will be influenced by source water levels of course.