planted tank

Question
what about phosphates how do they get so high and how can i control that? everything else thank you
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Followup To

Question -
i have a 55 gal tank with a black ghost knife and an african knife planted with corkscrew val, wisteria and dwarf sag. am having a problem with phosphates. how do they get so high? also i am using r/o water. was using r/o right by kent and now bought some equilebrium by sea chem for my alkalinity to be stable, should i use these together?  i read that you need a descent level ofalkalinity to keep ph stable? any help would be appreciated  thanks

Answer -
Hello,

Yes, it is ok to use two chemicals together that are both used to mainatin water quality.

About pH- since alkalinity is consdidered to be relative with high pH, it is important to control alkalinity in order to maintain stable pH.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Stephanie

Answer
Hello,

Sorry I missed that! I must have been reading too quickly. :)

Phosphates can be introduced to your aquarium in many ways. The most common are through you tap water, you fish food, any aquarium salt you add, Ph or KH altering chemicals, your carbon and even the dying of plant matter (including algae).

The best way to control them is to eliminate what is causing them, but this can be hard. First off you should try testing your tap water before adding it to your aquarium. If it has a high level of phosphates, consider adding distilled water to your aquarium instead.

If you add aquarium salt to your aquarium, discontinue or greatly reduce the amount you add until you get phosphates back under control.

If you are using any pH or KH altering chemcals, discontinue the use of these. It could be the product you are using to control your alkalinity. If your alkalinity is dangerous, then try another product to help it that may not increase the levels of phosphates. If the alkalinity is safe enough that you do not need to use the products, then you should discontinue its use.

If you see any dead plants, remove them immediately. Also try and clean away any algae that you see growing on the glass of your aquarium.

Check the analysis of your fish food. If it has high amounts of phosphates, try switching to a phosphate free food.

Hopefully something here will help control your phosphates.

Regards,
Stephanie