Phosphate is a compound of phosphorus that comes from uneaten Food, waste, decomposing plants, and fish organics. It is considered essential for saltwater and reef tanks. And the optimal value of Phosphate for a reef tank is 0.05 ppm-mg/l
The importance of controlling aquarium phosphate is immense. Any time phosphate can be decreased or increased due to improper maintenance. Over and over, volatile phosphates can be lethargic for your aquarium creatures.
Keep in mind that Low Phosphate in the reef tank Interrupts the growth and coloration of the corals. On the other hand, too much can increase the chance of algae blooms and a poor environment. Keep it neutral.
How to raise Phosphate in reef tanks?
You can raise Phosphate in the reef tank by increasing feeding, dosing phosphorus supplements, providing formula two Food, adding fish, meal them frequently, removing protein skimmer, etc.
With these ways, you can raise the Phosphate in your reef aquarium.
The following step you can also perform to raise Phosphate in the reef tank:
Reduce Water Changes: Sometimes, we change water only to keep the tank water clean. Though keeping the tank clean is also essential, however, If you need to raise Phosphate in the reef tank, you can reduce the amount of water for clean up.
Removing a small amount of water from your reef tank allows you to keep beneficial organics and Phosphate remaining for your tank creatures.
However, following this step, be sure are testing the phosphate levels frequently as you never want the raising of Phosphate to become over-controlling that harms your fish, coral, snail, or other creatures.
Add Tap Water: Sometimes tap water contains Phosphate. If everything is fine, you can tap water to enhance the Phosphate of your reef tank. But, be sure you are all known about aquarium water composition and check whether it will be suitable for your aquarium.
If you are new to aquarium keeping, I recommend you not to use tap water in your tank as it might need more treatments for using the aquarium.
Stop Cleaning: It sounds worse, really? However, rocks, gravel, sand, decorations, and filter media have beneficial bacteria and phosphate objects inside the tank’s glass. During the cleaning, Phosphate is also removed.
So, when you need to increase Phosphate, you can stop cleaning your tank for some time.
Use liquid Chemicals: There are liquid chemicals available for rising Phosphate in the reef aquarium at the fish store. You can buy from Amazon through this link
Before using these types of chemicals, be sure you are using this with the following precaution that comes with the product. Start from a low dose, as adding too much can harm your fish or corals.
Use Flake Foods: Flake food is a primary source of Phosphate. You can increase the frequency and amount of the Food to increase Phosphate in the aquarium. Also, keep any uneaten food for a few days to grow Phosphate.
Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flake Food you can use as a best phosphate raiser
Change Food: in flake foods, Phosphate is used as a preservative. Do your research and identify which brand offers high Phosphate for your reef aquarium.
Keep Debris for a While: Debris is a source of Phosphate and nitrates in an aquarium. You can keep Debris for a while until your phosphate level grows.
Keep Filter Uncleaned: Uncleaned filter has Debris, and the Debris ultimately helps grow Phosphate. Your filter media contains the source of Phosphate. So, you can keep your filter uncleaned for a few days to develop Phosphate.
Note: keep in mind that an uncleaned filter may cause an unhygienic environment in the aquarium.
Add Fish: Fish poops and organics help raise the phosphate source in the saltwater aquarium or reef tanks. When you need to increase Phosphate, you can add more fish depending on your filter capacity.
Is there any way to raise Phosphate without raising nitrates?
It is nearly impossible to raise Phosphate in an aquarium without raising nitrates. The relationship between nitrates and Phosphate is around 16-1 part for increasing. When the Phosphate increased by 1 part, at the same time, the nitrates increased by 16 parts.
If you want to raise Phosphate, you can use a commercial additive as it has a big role in increasing Phosphate without odoring your tank.
Here is an important suggestion for you when you use tap water or do overfeed, be sure you are testing the water more frequently as it can take your tank out of control. If you are new to aquariums, I recommend you avoid this method.
What is a good phosphate level in the reef tank?
A reef tank not older than 2 to 3 years essentially needs to keep phosphate levels low but not 0.00 to avoid any unexpected problems. For a reef tank, a good phosphate level ranging from 0.02 to 0.05 ppm is acceptable.
Any amount of Phosphate above 0.05 ppm (parts per million) is considered a threat to the reef aquarium.
In the reef, tank phosphate is required to grow corals properly. Corals need a low amount of Phosphate to be healthy and maintain actual growth.
Any tank with SPS (small stony polyp) corals needs to have a phosphate level below 0.05 ppm. And for LPS (large stony polyp), corals should have below 0.03 ppm of Phosphate.
Will high phosphates kill fish?
Aquarium fish are sensitive, and any drastic fluctuation of Phosphate can be harmful to your fish. Even high Phosphate can kill your fish overnight. While Phosphate is considered essential for reef and saltwater tanks, it should be under control as it can reduce the oxygen from the water.
Which ultimately leads the aquarium creature to horrendous health problems and death.
Besides this, high Phosphate in the aquarium makes algae bloom and creates green algae that change the water’s pH. As a result, your aquarium will look dirty, and fish will fall into health threats.
