Fe based phosphate removers

[tcollins]

I just read that a phosphate reactor running a Fe based product be removed from the tank if you intend to keep clams and have never heard this before. I had a clam previously but not since I went BB and added the phosban reactor. Was thinking about getting one or two and now I'm wondering if I can/should. Does anyone have a link to read on this or can explain the reason why? Thanks!

 

[johnnybravo234]

I know people who have clams and run phosban. They also use a lot of carbon and skim aggressively.

 

[tcollins]

I just read this on the first page in the New Maxima Clam, Paranoid thread and a4twenty posted this comment. Rather than hijack the thread I thought I'd post it seperately.

 

[ezcompany]

gfo has been correlated to pinched mantle disease. not a proven fact but it has happened to many people. (including me) upon removal of the gfo and carbon addition, pm has resided. again though, noone has anecdotal evidence.

 

[a4twenty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12013925#post12013925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ezcompany
gfo has been correlated to pinched mantle disease. not a proven fact but it has happened to many people. (including me) upon removal of the gfo and carbon addition, pm has resided. again though, noone has anecdotal evidence.

and me too


sorry for the confusion, i was only suggesting removing the Fe based media as a possible treatment for PM that has worked for some of us in the past. Fe based phosphate removers can definitely be used with clams and can even be used when a clam has previously shown the symptoms of PM but the effluent has to be run through another reactor containing carbon to remove the iron from the water.

it is thought that clams can sometimes carry the protozoa that causes PM without any negative side effects ( dormant ). also it is thought that Fe can irritate or otherwise cause a flare up in a PM carrier that can be fatal to the clam. as EZ has said, there is no scientific proof of this theory but many of us have had success with it.

hope this clears the subject up for you

 

[tcollins]

a4twenty,

Thanks for the clarification. I'm going to read up on PM before getting another clam. I thought it may because of the lowered phospate numbers in tanks that run it and the need for a certain amount for the clam to successfully use it in making food from their zoo. TC

 

[DrDNA]

I run GFO on a tank with about a dozen clams and have been doing so for several months. Haven't seen any problems yet, but would certainly pull the GFO out if I started seeing any PM-like symptoms. I don't run carbon but do skim and use ozone to keep the ORP around 425-450.

 

[tcollins]

I asked Clams Direct about this and they also run GFO but put it through a 1 mil filter sock and then through carbon before going back into the system. They believe the iron residue causes certain protazoa (sp?) to become affected and could contribute to PM. Interesting stuff you read in RC.

 

[DrDNA]

Alternatively, maybe I have been lucky with GFO and PM because I just don't have the pathogen in my system. All but three of my clams have come from clamsdirect, and Barry claims he QT's all his clams for PM.