Something strange is going on....

[Jon]

The kit that I bought, which was the one the store recommended is phosphate our.. so that’s better. My phosphates are .24. I put my rowa phos back in and also the carbon. Any other suggestions? Is it time to dose nitrates ? If so what’s the preferred method?

 

[Jon]

One more thing... That Hanna nitrate kit is “quite involved”. Thank god for you tube.

 

[Jon]

Ooooppppsss. I made an error the first time I did my phosphate test kit. I did not have the lid on it. After doing the conversion my phosphates are .18 ppm.

 

[Jon]

This is after doing another test. The phosphates were .62 ppm which concerts to .18 ppm

 

[Foxchase]

The kit that I bought, which was the one the store recommended is phosphate our.. so that’s better. My phosphates are .24. I put my rowa phos back in and also the carbon. Any other suggestions? Is it time to dose nitrates ? If so what’s the preferred method?

The phosphate ULR checker doesn't need to be converted. Do you have the phosphate one or the phosphorus?

 

[Jon]

It’s the phosphate ulr ppm checker. So they are high.

 

[Jon]

So I guess I will start doing 20 gallon water changes weekly till I get them to an acceptable level.

 

[ericrodriguez]

Phosphate?

if its Phosphorus ULR, thats in ppb so need to convert to ppm which converts to .24ppm (still high but notas bad as .77)

Mine says ppm

 

[Jon]

To make things interesting I just tested my ro water and it’s reading .13 ppm. That seems high for water that should be stripped clean. My tds meter reads 0 as I make it.

 

[Foxchase]

Mine says ppm

Because You have the phosphate checker. You don't need to convert it. That's the actual reading as you would test it

 

[Foxchase]

It’s the phosphate ulr ppm checker. So they are high.

Yea the phosphate one doesn't need to be converted. How big is your tank?

 

[Jon]

Yea the phosphate one doesn't need to be converted. How big is your tank?

I have 65 gallon tank and a 29 gallon sump. Approximately 80 gallons of water

 

[Jon]

After testing my ro water I read that those tests are not always accurate with just fresh water. So I tested a recent batch of salt water mix made on Monday and it’s reading .29ppm. That’s high... what is it more likely coming from the salt mix or my RO unit? Like I said before my tds meter is reading 0 and the filters to the RO unit are only two months old.

 

[iTzJu]

which salt brand do you use? are you using an RO system or RO/DI system?

 

[Jon]

I use brightwell salt and have an liquigen 75 gpd fuve stage ro/di unit. The whole unit is about two months old.

 

[Jon]

I also have a TDS meter on my rodi unit and a aquatic life smart buddie booster pump as well. My tds meter currently reads 240 after the first three prefilters and 0 after the resin filter.

 

[iTzJu]

I use brightwell salt and have an liquigen 75 gpd fuve stage ro/di unit. The whole unit is about two months old.

hmm, that's interesting, its not uncommon for some PO4 to show up on with RODI water, could be leaching from your container or something but at .29 that's a bit too high. where are you storing your RODI water?

 

[Jon]

Clear plastic 5 gallon jugs. I rinse them out after each use as well.

 

[Jon]

I don’t know if this makes a difference. But, I usually make 20 gallon batches of salt water In a brute trash can. I use a mag 9 pump and let it mix for roughly 24 hours. I use ten gallons for a water change that day and the other ten gallons is stored for one week in clear 5 gallon plastic jugs.

 

[iTzJu]

yeah, I'm not really sure. the DI should usually take out and remaining PO4 in the water and it seems like you have quality containers so I'm not really sure where the po4 would be introduced. if it was trace amounts of PO4 I would think nothing of it but a fresh batch at .29 is weird to me.