Hana phosphate meter

[180rftank]

Just purchased one of the digital phosphate meters from MD. My question is this. I do the test, and the digital display reads 0.03. Is that interpreted as 3 parts per million, or .03 parts per million??? The instructions are unclear as to how to read the results.

[SantaMonica]

.03 ppm

Is accurate to within .04, so actual P could be anywhere from "0" to .07

[iggy]

Blank your meter with DO/DI and test packet OR fresh salt and packet.

0.03 is the same as non detect with this method.

[180rftank]

This mornings phosphate reading is the same .03...Lost a clam that I've had for 10+years, kind of a bummer. Also, a lot of red algae that is starting to grow very long on the rocks, sand bed, etc. Should I do anything? Water change, feed less. I've cleaned both sm100's 2x now. I clean them every 7 days with a fair amount of algae on both of them. I do alternate cleaning, meaning I clean one, then 4 - 5 days later I clean the other one. On a positive note, most SPS corals are showing good growth and polyp extension. The monti's that I moved are now recovering quickly as well with good color returning.

[SantaMonica]

If it's about 10 days between cleanings for a screen, it's ok if it's not dark. When the green hair grows out to touch the window, it will really be filtering strong. The window will keep it from getting too thick.

Sounds like phosphate is coming of of the rocks and sand. Probably so if the phosphate in the water is less than it used to be in the old tank.