Phosphate Reactors Bad?

How long have you been running the phosban & how much is in the reactor? Also have you tested for PO4? It is iron based so, yes, it won't leech back in.

 

Could it be possible that this is what happened to my monti cap? For years it was growing great and then a few weeks after setting up a TFL reactor with rowaphos my monti developed white spots and then I could not stop the spread of it, and now I have just 2 tiny frags of what was once a magnificent red monti. My water params checked out good and my bulbs were 3 months old.

 

I have been running the phosban since start up of my tank about seven months. Everything has been fine. When I started up the tank I used a whole container of phosban in the reactor for the 40 gall capacity system. After cleaning a month ago I replaced the phosban and put a third of the container in it instead of the whole thing. I have been reading that mag level needs to be tested which I havn't been doing or supplementing. Maybe a low mag level is to blame. And I do test PO4 and it is 0.

 

maybe if you had high phos to begin with and lower to fast also if you use to much media

 

A container of Phosban is like for a 150 gallon tank and even then it should be reduced to half that amount for the first several weeks to a few months to acclimate things.
For my 100G SPS reef I started with 3 heaping tablespoons and worked up from there. Start with half or less the recommended dosage to begin with or you will have problems.

 

You guys are scaring me - my tank looks good but I did use the recommended amount of phosguard in my reactor - about 200ml for about 50 gallons... started using sunday - my phosphates have dropped to almost 0.05 from .5 ... noted some white edges around filamentous type problem algae I have now ... corals look good though I noted my fuzzy shrooms and ric shrank a bit.

Phosguard last for 4 days it says... need I worry at this point as it has been 4 days?

matt

 

Phosguard is an aluminum based product not a ferric iron product so will release contaminants when it nears exhaustion. This is one big reason its not very popular. Both the aluminum and ferric products came out of the drinking water industry where many many lab and field test reports are available. Testing has shown the aluminum products do have a higher affinity for arsenic, phosphates, silicates and vanadium in the very beginning but taper off quickly, thus the 4 days you speak of. They are also less effective at higher pH such as in a reef system unlike ferric products that prefer higher pH. Ferric products do not release contaminants when exhausted which is a big bonus. The newer pelletized and high strength ferric products do work better according to test data and are probably worth the extra expense over normal GFO products.

 

I used it because I notice results with it in my experiences unlike phosban - at least visually - I also do not get the tea-colored leaching I was getting with phospban.

I thought I read on the label phosguard won't leach - but you are giving me reasons to confirm that or remove at least until I am comfortable with its use.

 

Four days is crazy short to be able to run the stuff before it will leech. The GFO I'm using states 4-8 weeks depending on load, and even then it won't leech.

I also went down from .2 phosphates to 0 in the span of 2 weeks with the (normal, not high-capacity or performance or whatever) GFO, so I don't see any performance problems with it. No tea coloration either, once I got the flow dialed in properly to only have the GFO tumble on the surface and not any deeper.

 

I have had great luck/experience with Chemi Pure Elite. It combines a PO4 lowering media + carbon. My PO4 levels are non-existent and the water is sparkling clear. I stuff the 11.74oz bag into my reactor and I'd say it lasts a little over a month, have had no issues with it.

Boyd Chemi-Pure Elite - 11.74 oz. - Filter Media - Chemical Media at BigalsOnline