Life Of Phosphate Remover?

[ben1987]

Anyone know how long it should last? Its the stuff that looks like coffee and is apparently 'extra long life'

 

[garybuk]

Anyone know how long it should last? Its the stuff that looks like coffee and is apparently 'extra long life'

Some larst days to weeks to months depands how much phosphate you got in the tank! some just take it away but some keep it away

 

[Crazy fishes]

I use rowaphos and when that is saturated it changes from loose granules to a more compact block. The trouble is there is so many brands and it depends on phosphate levels in the tank, whether you fluidize the media etc. One way to tell is to leave the media in the tank and measure the phosphate levels when they start to rise you know it is time to change.

Hope this helps

Regards

 

[Ter]

Hey ben...

I figure Ur talking about GFH or granular ferric hydroxide... when to change Ur po4 binder has always been sort of trail and error... Detecting when the po4 levels are going up using standard tests is useless bad algae with start using po4 before its detectable with most test kits except (Phosphate Photometer)…

My approach has always been watching my tank, algae, corals, color of the sand bed or glass buildup… after awhile it’s all routine

good luck
Ter

 

[ben1987]

TMC brand. Looks like its time to change then,
cheers all

 

[garybuk]

TMC brand. Looks like its time to change then,
cheers all

is it in a tea bag type one or white balls?

 

[ben1987]

tea bag stuff mate. looks a bit like coffee. Going to price up a reactor it hink as i do feed lots of frozen. SO if its going to cost me £15 a tub of the stuff it will work out better in the long run i suppose

 

[garybuk]

tea bag stuff mate. looks a bit like coffee. Going to price up a reactor it hink as i do feed lots of frozen. SO if its going to cost me £15 a tub of the stuff it will work out better in the long run i suppose

ahh my mates got that one its ment to keep it low the other white ball ones get rid of it way faster!

but the tea bag one is ment to be a few months so my lfs says

 

[SkiFletch]

The brown stuff is GFO (granular ferric oxide) and the white stuff is a special chemical ceramic media. GFO works a little slower but has a much higher absorption capacity. It also can NOT release PO4 back into the water column if/when it becomes saturated. The white chemical ceramics work FAST but once full can let phosphates back into the water. If choosing between the two, GFO is DEFINITELY a better option for longterm use

 

[ben1987]

Cool, thanks Ski

 

[garybuk]

OOOO Never New That

 

[Crazy fishes]

Rowa phos looks like coffee granules...... Does that mean that Rowa Phos is granular ferric oxide??

Regards

 

[SkiFletch]

Correct. Anything that looks like coffe grounds (or tiny little perfectly shaped balls the same color) is GFO. And interestingly enough, I hear that almost all GFO sold for phosphate removal is made in the same factory in Germany. So it doesn't matter if you buy Phosban, Rowaphos, or generic GFO, it's literally the same stuff