It appears to be F200 from ALCOA which we do not sell because the Angstrom size of the pores is too small for it to remove phosphates for any length of time. Phosphate typically has a 52 Angstrom size.
Hot Tips: How do you control your nitrates and phosphates?
I rely mostly on my skimmer (pulls out the gunk that builds up nitrates) and water changes for the nitrates.
Phosphates - Phosphates come from two sources - decaying matter such as fish food, and from the water source itself. Testing your tap water for phosphates will let you know if you have a problem with your water source.
Phosphates: Reducing and lowering PO4 is the one single most effective way of controlling most of the algae we do not want. Phosphate is found everywhere in nature.
Phosphates and nitrates are excellent sources of food for algae. Algae spores can even enter the aquarium through the air, or with new fish as they're added to the community.
Phosphates are a nutrient source that contributes to aggressive algae blooms in your aquarium. Although phosphate has no direct effect on fish, it does feed algae, and this can starve the water of oxygen which in turn can kill your fish.
I found Phosphates: > 5,0 ppm and Nitrates: > 150 ppm.
6. Although a friend who was a newcomer to the hobby asked me in January 2003 how he should set up his Malawi community tank, when I was invited to his place to see the result, ...
Phosphates enter the aquarium mostly through water changes using tap water, but also through food and leaching carbon. Next to chlorine some communities also add phosphates to the tap water.
c) Precipitates phosphates (PO4-) for you, which reduces green hair algae growth.
1 ppm phosphates and nitrates readings as previously discussed. Then came the feeding routine.
In some places, water contains elevated concentrations of phosphates (1 ppm or more). High phosphate has been linked to algae problems, and a comprehensive algae control strategy may require removing phosphates.
Trying to keep the water as free of metals, phosphates and other contaminants will also help. Large weekly water changes are probably the order of the day.
This can remove free floating algae, but will also remove phosphates and Nitrates that contribute to algae growth.
Make sure that the tank receives no direct sunlight.
There are absorbents available, such as Seachem's PhosGuard (6) and Kent's Phosphate Sponge (7), which will remove phosphates and silicates from water. There are others, but I have no personal experience with them.
Keep nitrates and phosphates as low as possible, and siphon out detritus. Keep herbivores in the tank. Snails (as many as 1 for every 2-3 gallons) will eat turf algae, and hair algae before it gets long.
Unfortunately, this has had the bad side-effect of creating rather high levels of phosphates in tap water. We have tested levels of over 0.50 parts per million in our tap water. Our test kits only measure up to 0.
Phosphates can be supplied via monopotassium phosphate or Fleet Enema. The target range for phosphate is .5-1 ppm or approx. 1/10th nitrate levels.
Potassium can be added via potassium sulfate (K2SO4) or potassium chloride(No-Salt).
If your tap water is not naturally high in nitrates or phosphates, then your tank may be overcrowded or you may be overfeeding. Your fish should generally be fed 2-3 times a day with each feeding lasting a couple of minutes.
I was constantly fighting a brown slime algae problem in my reef tank for months despite having no detectable levels of nitrates or phosphates in the system and vigorous surface agitation to keep oxygen levels high and carbon dioxide levels low.
What is your tap water reading for phosphates? You can purchase phosphate testing kits from a good LFS or the internet. Ideally, phosphate levels should be low to nil but some areas have readings in excess of 5ppm.
- Phosphates, nitrates and sulphate which is commonly found in tap water. If you have been using tap water for your water changes, you are adding to the problem! Use only reverse-osmosis water with your saltwater fish tank.
Solutions to hair algae: ...
Filtering capabilities: Mangroves can help lower nitrates and phosphates in the aquarium. If you are including mangroves in your aquarium as part of your filtering system, it is best to set up a separate mangrove filter.
Combined biological and mechanical filtration systems are now common; these are designed to remove potentially dangerous build up of nitrogenous wastes and phosphates dissolved in the water, as well as particulate matter.
One way to figure out how much to use is to start off slowly and measure the levels of nitrates and phosphates to see if your plants use up what you put in.
While the filter is running properly, these degrade aerobically into compounds like nitrates and phosphates which may be algae stimulants and fish growth inhibitors, but at least are not generally toxic.
Nitrate (NO3) and phosphates (PO4) should be kept at undetectable levels at all times in tanks where macro algae are preferred. Once the phosphate levels creep above 1 ppm, hair algae may start to dominate.
Copper, ammonia, and phosphates also threaten the stability of your tank’s environment. Chemical filtration utilizes chemically enhanced products to treat the water. Activated carbon is the leading medium used.
Macro nutrients are substances that are required in relatively large amounts such as nitrates, phosphates, and sulfates. These nutrients usually occur naturally in the aquarium from tap water and fish.
Tap water that originates from wells can be plagued with many other potential undesirable elements, such as phosphates, nitrates, extremely high metal levels (ex.- iron) and many other organic and inorganic compounds.
Plants need their phosphorus in the form of phosphates. They do not need large amounts of it, so generally you do not need to worry about a deficiency of it in the water, however a surplus can be a problem.
For example, charcoal of poor quality, or that's never changed will tend to leach phosphates, silicates, or other pollutants into the aquarium water that will lower water quality, and harbor the growth of undesirable algae in the reef.
Nitrogen, contained in nitrates.
Phosphorus, contained in phosphates.
Potassium, which is a component of other salts.
A few other substances are also needed, sometimes in very small quantities: ...
All living matter is high in phosphates. The leaching of phosphate from GAC is known to be high initially and to decrease over time. This problem can be mitigated significantly by presoaking your activated carbon for a few weeks before use.
Tap water likely will include chloramines, copper, chlorine, metal, phosphates, and sometimes will include TCE. (Trichloroethylene) ...
They will not treat the root cause of algae problems - too much sunlight or the wrong spectrum of lighting, too many nutrients from overfeeding, phosphates or silicates in water or high nitrates - and could cause more complications by overloading ...
Most refugiums contain plants and macro algae such as mangroves, chaetomorpha, halimeda, ulva lettuce algae, kelp, shaving brush plant, etc. The plants and marco algae feed on the nitrates and phosphates produced in the main tank.
Ceratopteris thalictroides is an excellent choice for a new aquarium where it will help remove excess nitrates and phosphates. Like C. cornuta it also propagates very easily by separating plantlets that have formed on the edges of the leaves.
 See also: Phosphate, Water, Aquarium, Fish, Nitrate
  
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