Problematic Tapwater
Contents:
- Phosphate from the tap
by krandall/world.std.com (Tue, 07 Dec 1999)
by krandall/world.std.com
Date: Tue, 07 Dec 1999
Alex Holeczy wrote:
>The question I have is: What to do if the source for your water change
>water has Phosphate it in already? My tap water has a Phosphate level of
>around 0.2 ppm. Would running the water through an in-line filter
>containing a Phosphate remover like PhosGuard be effective in
>significantly reducing the Phosphate levels? How big would the filter
>need to be and how slow would the flow rate need to be to make it worth
>running through the filter?
_MANY_ European aquarists deal with this much or more phosphate in the tap
water. The trick is to get the plants in your tank growing fast and well.
Once that is done, tha amount of phosphate added during a 20% water change
will be quicly assimilated by the plants. They'll look upon it as a
"pick-me-up" more than anything else!
Our town is now adding organophosphate to the tap water to prevent
corrosion of the pipes. I dreaded the day that this would happen, as I
knew that many towns in the area had already started. We've had it for a
year now, and I have had _no_ algae problems in established tanks during
that time. I did have a little more algae in my 125G during start up this
summer than I usually have in a new tank. But a little persistence, and
the algae cleared up within about 8 weeks, and has not returned.
I think you have to _think_ about phosphate in the tap water, and be even
more careful during start up, and avoid situations where you might have to
change large amounts of water at once. But in terms of normal sized water
changes in an otherwise healthy, well managed planted tank, I don't think
that small amounts are an issue.
Karen
The Krib
Plumbing and Filtration
The Krib