FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I tested my tap water last year for phosphates when I had a bad case of hair algae. Back then it was zero.

I just tested my tank and got about a 1.5 reading. In the past it always read just under 0.5, maybe 0.25.

I tested my tap water and it was over 1.0, but not quite 1.5. It was hard to tell.

What options do I have. I know I can install an RO unit and I don't want to get into that right now. I'll look into that when I move into a more permanent situation.

What else can I do?

I currently have added a phosphate absorbing pad in my tank. It is a fuzzy, light green thing about 1/8-1/4 thick. I have it in the filter.

I've just answered your post about nitra zorb where I said I installed RO.

I also didn't want to install RO filter as my "situation" is not permanent either. I didn't want to invest a lot of money in something that I will leave behind once we move out of this flat, but finally I decided that I need one.

What I did was to buy a cheap reverse osmosis system on ebay, something that produces up to 50 gpd a day. I then bought a connector to the garden tap, and I got myself a cheap RO system which is enough for what I'm using it (water changes. I'm not spoiled, unlike my fish). That way I saved myself the need for complicated plumbing and I can take it with me when I do move out of this flat.

A cheapo R/O filter: £50 ($94?)
A garden tap connector: £3 ($5?)
Not having experiment with products that are supposed to lower your nitrates, phosphates, silicates, etc., solving all your nitrate and phosphate problems, and saving money on water conditioners: Priceless.

PS: And I think that my cories and rams are also much happier now as the water they swim in are no longer as hard as they used to be, but perhaps their grins are only in my imagination.

Last edited by untitled at 02-Feb-2005 08:10

I could be moving as early as spring. I'd like to try some alternatives for now. I do have a phosphate reducing pad in there and the phosphates have lowered a little overnight. That particular pad was cheap and I can get more.

In fact, this is what I have. The owner of a nearby fish store that specializes in SW suggested it for my FW tank.

http://www.ereeftank.com/cart/catalog/HBH_Phosphate_Poly_Filter_Pad_cuttofit_p_282.html

Last edited by Cory_Di at 02-Feb-2005 10:55

Di,

The municipal water utilities will occassionally add a food grade phosphoric acid to the water to stabilize chemistry. It is generally short-lived and is response to a particular problem. Just for information.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Great, Bob - I'll keep checking every now and then to see if it comes down. In the meanwhile, I'm leaving that phosphate removal "cut to fit" pad in the filter.