[das04j]

WARNING SCIENCE CONTENT:Activated carbon, the water you use and the food you feed are normally the causes of phosphates. If you are using RO/DI then it shouldn't be there. A way to test is to use a TDS on the RO/DI water, if it reads ZERO then that is not the problem. Secondly, if you are using activated carbon, 90% of the time THIS IS YOUR SOURCE. Activated carbon is chemically "activated" by the manufacturer spraying phosphoric acid on the carbon to increase the surface area (makes it more porous). This intern leaches phosphates into the water because the residual phosphoric acid dissociates with contact with water ( loses its acidity and becomes ionic). Lastly the foods you feed have phosphates in it. Believe it or not but phosphates are essential to all that is living. Phosphates are required for the production of ADP and ATP. These are molecules that breakdown the carbohydrate to produce energy in the animal. So it is necessary to make sure that all the food eaten. Therefore the conclusion of this lecture is that phosphates are going leach into tank water almost regardlessly unless you make sure all food is eaten, you are using good water, and your are not using activated carbon. IMO i like to use carbon so in order to make sure my phosphates are in check i test regularly and i run a phos reactor.