Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes Farley
Phosphate is known to inhibit the precipitation of calcium carbonate from seawater 2 4 The presence of phosphate in the water also decreases calcification in corals such as Pocillopora damicornis 5 and entire patch reefs 6 This inhibition is likely related to the presence of phosphate in the extracytoplasmic calcifying fluid ECF where