"I have just purchased a new test kit and now have numbers that are on
the scale at least.
Alkalinity around 80 ppm
Total hardness around 120 ppm."
Those numbers don't seem so high. Read this:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/khgh.html
A quoted section:
"Water hardness follows these guidelines:
0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard
higher : liquid rock (Lake Malawi and Los Angeles, CA)"
"What is the primary concern with phospates? Is it just because algae
really enjoy them. I have several cory cats and sharks to do the
cleanup of the algae."
Yeah, algae can get going faster than the cleanup crew can help. When
I used Discus Buffer way back when, Black Brush Algae (BBA) ran
rampant. Dunno how long your tank has been set up, but I wouldn't do
it that way.
You may also want to read through this:
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/CO2/alkalinity.html since a high amount
of PO4 can mess with the alkalinity reading. Are those numbers above
from the tank or from the tap?
TW
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