Keep in minde what NSW levels can be as low as .005ppm. i dont care what paramter we are talking about, if you have a parameter that 1000-2000 times higher than NSW levels your going to have problems. If his phoshpates are really that high then there is no mystery for me as to why his fish are dying.
Ian made a good point about the carbon. Although the carbon shouldnt leach out, it will become a nitrate/phosphate factory if not changed regularly. Unfortunately most people are clueless about how quickly carbon looses its effectiveness and how often it should be changed. Depeding on the system, a carbon reactor/bag could be doing more harm than good in as little as 4 weeks. All of the organics(fish food/waste/etc) with trace amounts of phoshpates begin to accumulate and can cause real problems especially in a reactor where there is little hope of consumption from your CUC or bacteria.
Bret - :TWOCENTS if you get any positive reading on a phosphate test kit you should probably take action. Hobby grade test kits for PO4 are notorious for being inaccurate no matter the brand. I use a salifert test kit and double the resolution and i still get a reading of 0 although i know i have some phoshpates. Unlike the mythical 0ppm nitrate level, i truly believe that everyone can/should test at 0ppm for PO4 with very little effort.
hay fishguy take the HJack somewhere else. im getting confused as to who the post are directed to. i don’t mind a few questions but this isn’t the post for trying to disect why this guys tank is doomed.
i try to change my carbon every month or less. i just changed mine on the 4th.
i think a month is perfect. you could probably get a little more life out of depending on the amount used and the sytem but i would stick with what your doing.
keep in mind, the carbon isnt going to do much in the way of reducing your PO4 levels. If your not able to plumb a fuge then go with a small GFO reactor. Its amazing how quickly it will reduce your PO4.
[quote=“bz350, post:23, topic:1309”]
hay fishguy take the HJack somewhere else. im getting confused as to who the post are directed to. i don’t mind a few questions but this isn’t the post for trying to disect why this guys tank is doomed.[/quote]
wow… ok. sorry there guy.
thanks for the responses guys. any more questions, i will start a new thread… and remember… Saint:)
