Ferrous Sulphate FeSO4

[nakazoru]

I took a sample of the SW while treating...

Wow it is brown...

 

[nakazoru]

I think I need help from Dr Randy....

This is actual Lab grade FeSO4 used.

It says 98% pure, while those sold at Home deport are maybe 30% pure... I may have overdose to treat the 7G.

I used a teaspoon as shown in the pix

How much do I need?
While I 0.3 to 0.5 mg/l of phosphate, I dose close to half a teaspoon. Since 0.4 mol Fe/ mol P, I really think I overdose. Can anyone confirm it.

If I really do overdose, What can I do to prevent the Fe unused from getting back to the system. While it is not harmful, but if it oxidise with my system, it may turn the LR/Sand brown and removing is may be tough. Can I run carbon to remove?

Thanks.

 

[nakazoru]

Finally, after some 8-9 hours. The final water is pass thru a canister filled with juz mechanical filter.

The pix here show after 1 hr of mechanical filtration.

The SW is prestine.

I tested the water parameters:

PH: 7.9 drop of 0.1PH (My tank is @ 8PH)
DKH: 7dkh (No Change)
PO4: <0.01 to 0.05 (B4 is 0.3-0.5)

I found out later at another site that the unused FeSO4 will also percipitate as FeOH so little Fe will remain in water but Sulpate does. I hope this is true.

I shall return the water to my tank.

Cheers

 

[isjg]

I was going to do something like this but using Lanthanum compounds rather than FeSo4. Lanthanum Carbonate or Chloride are good phosphate binders and have been used in the pool industry and even in medicine for some time.
I did some tests recently on some old tank change water with a very high phosphate level of 3ppm. I don't have a skimmer so water changes are the main export. I used Lanthanum Carbonate which you can get cheap at a pool supplies place. Around US$10 per litre here. I didn't know how much to dose so tried 20mm in 500mm of water and it got the 3ppm down to 0.25-0.5ppm in just a few minutes. Testing the water after all the precipitate settled out saw the phosphate at 0. The only problem was a drop in pH and alk but the water being old change water probably wasn't adequately buffered plus I probably over dosed.
Like the FeSo4, you'd need to mechanically filter after dosing.

 

[nakazoru]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7973813#post7973813 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by isjg
I was going to do something like this but using Lanthanum compounds rather than FeSo4. Lanthanum Carbonate or Chloride are good phosphate binders and have been used in the pool industry and even in medicine for some time.
I did some tests recently on some old tank change water with a very high phosphate level of 3ppm. I don't have a skimmer so water changes are the main export. I used Lanthanum Carbonate which you can get cheap at a pool supplies place. Around US$10 per litre here. I didn't know how much to dose so tried 20mm in 500mm of water and it got the 3ppm down to 0.25-0.5ppm in just a few minutes. Testing the water after all the precipitate settled out saw the phosphate at 0. The only problem was a drop in pH and alk but the water being old change water probably wasn't adequately buffered plus I probably over dosed.
Like the FeSo4, you'd need to mechanically filter after dosing.

Good to see someone looking at alternative binder and looking into science behind all this. Since we are not chemically incline, overdose always pose a concern.

Ideally I will like to keep PH fluatuation at +-0.1PH, while ALK/dkh unchange. Another concern is LS/coral reaction to it.

I have already return the water back to the system, the corals are first to exhibit joy by opening bigger

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

yes, some commercial aquarium products may be lanthanum as well. I hate it because it competes with my pharmaceutical phosphate binder Renagel, but I do not know the concerns that it may cause in a reef aquarium.

It says 98% pure, while those sold at Home deport are maybe 30% pure...

Using anything but fairly pure iron compounds risks toxic metal impurities (like copper, etc).

I found out later at another site that the unused FeSO4 will also percipitate as FeOH so little Fe will remain in water but Sulpate does. I hope this is true.

I shall return the water to my tank.


The alkalinity and pH will drop since the iron is taking up hydroxide. How much depends on how much you use.

 

[AYZ]

Hi everyone,

can FeSO4 be added in to the reef as iron supplement, if so how much to dose?
maybe some links on other post. Can not find much info on forum.

thanks

 

[bertoni]

Saltwater tanks require a chelated iron supplement, basically speaking. Ferrous sulfate won't work. I can locate a DIY formula, if you're interested, or you could locate a ferrous gluconate product. I think Fergon is an example.

 

[Dan_P]

The iron will quickly oxidize from ferrous to ferric and precipitate out. If iron is chelated it might stay around awhile but it is not an effective way to remove phosphate. The chemistry of iron in freshwater is different.

Kalkwaser precipitates calcium phosphate. It does not release it.

How much GFO are you using that it is a cost issue? Are you using it in a reactor?

 

[AYZ]

Saltwater tanks require a chelated iron supplement, basically speaking. Ferrous sulfate won't work. I can locate a DIY formula, if you're interested, or you could locate a ferrous gluconate product. I think Fergon is an example.

Thank you for help. The DIY formula would be good.

 

[bertoni]

This article gives a formula:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/8/chemistry

I selected a dose of about 0.1 to 0.3 mL of a solution containing 5 g of iron (as 25 g of ferrous sulfate heptahydrate) in 250 mL of water containing 50.7 g of sodium citrate dihydrate.

You'd just need to locate some sodium citrate. Amazon sells at least one product of this type.