GFO alternatives

S

Spatler

New member
Hi guys,

I'm after some advice.....

I really detest using GFO. From the rinsing to the mess I make when I clean the reactor out to the trouble I get in when it stains anything it comes into contact with when it's wet.

Are there any alternatives I could use where I dose?

I don't want to go the nopox route as I currently harness siporax in my sump with my deltec skimmer. I do not use any form of algae bed filtration due to the siporax and don't really fancy running it in a reactor. More water on the floor when I change it :)

I don't really want to go the full zeo method.

I did think about harnessing a kalkwasser stirrer to precipitate the phosphates from my tank. I currently run a calcium reactor for my supplementation.

Any thoughts or ideas?
 
Yeah whats wrong with liquid carbon (nopox/vinegar/vodka) dosing?
Its very easy, doesn't require a reactor at all and is effective at reducing both nitrates and phosphates.. Just a dosing pump or manual dosing via syringe..

Of course I'd have to ask why you have a phosphate problem in the first place to attempt to get at the root of the problem...
 
The use of Siporax does not preclude use of other phosphate or nitrate control. All forms of phosphate control remain on the table while using Siporax.

GFO would be the most typical one that most people would utilize that targets PO4 solely. Lanthanum Chloride also targets PO4 exclusively, well that and alkalinity, but is not nearly as easy to use as GFO.

Here is a real world example using Siporax with other nutrient control measures. I have an 80 frag tank that has 2 reactors hooked to it in series. The first reactor is filled with layers of 25 mm Siporax. This feeds into the second reactor that has stacked Siporax arranged in tubes. Each Siporax tube contains Sulfur preens. The theory of this arrangement is that the first chamber of Siporax will deplete the oxygen and reduce a portion of the NO3. The second chamber of Sulfur/Siporax tubes will deal with the rest.

This tank also has an Aquamaxx reactor with a small amount of All-in-One biopellets that circulate about 12 hours a day.

So my use of Siporax does not exclude me from using both Sulfur denitration and biopellets in combination with the Siporax. Tests of the water a few moments ago were 2.5 ppm NO3 and 0.03 PO4.

Dennis
 
I have virtually undetectable nitrates but my phosphates have increased. I want to keep them in check and would rather not carbon dose.

Thanks for the input so far. Appreciated.
 
Spatler said:
I have virtually undetectable nitrates but my phosphates have increased. I want to keep them in check and would rather not carbon dose.

Thanks for the input so far. Appreciated.
Click to expand...

Phosguard or lanthanum chloride are about the only other options
 
Spatler said:
I want to keep them in check and would rather not carbon dose.

Thanks for the input so far. Appreciated.
Click to expand...

Why? You have a great skimmer, that's all you really need to carbon dose.

Other than that like Potatohead says you would be limited, can use Foz Down ( lanthanum chloride )works really well if that's the way you want to go.
 
I use Lantheumn Chloride, dripped at about 1 drop per 2 seconds..mixed at 3ml per 1000 liters of ro/di water. It does affect ALK, but I monitor it and adjust as necessary.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Spatler said:
I have virtually undetectable nitrates but my phosphates have increased. I want to keep them in check and would rather not carbon dose.
Click to expand...

define "increased"?
Some level of phosphate is actually good/needed..same with nitrates.. they are actually beneficial nutrients needed by all marine life..
Are you having problems related to this phosphate level?

But I'm really not sure what "easy button" you are looking for here..
GFO is pretty darn easy.. carbon dosing is even easier.. and you don't want to do either of those for some reason so you are basically out of options..
Biopellets also requires a reactor and more work..

The "best" solution is to prevent the reason your phosphate is increasing though.. More than likely caused by overfeeding or the type of food you are using..
So I'd look at simply adjusting your feeding to keep the phosphates under control.. Then no equipment or extra process is required... ;)
 
Shocked no one has suggested you use an Algae Turf Scrubber yet. Natural reduction of nutrients is always the better way IMO. My secondary to that would be carbon dosing. GFO third, some other chemical a distant 4th...but that is just my 0.02.
 
Horace said:
Shocked no one has suggested you use an Algae Turf Scrubber yet. Natural reduction of nutrients is always the better way IMO. My secondary to that would be carbon dosing. GFO third, some other chemical a distant 4th...but that is just my 0.02.
Click to expand...

They mentioned they do not run any sort of algae blah blah already.. Something about because they have magical siporax or something.. ;)

And if GFO is "too much hassle" then a turf scrubber certainly is too much work for them...
 
mcgyvr said:
They mentioned they do not run any sort of algae blah blah already.. Something about because they have magical siporax or something.. ;)

And if GFO is "too much hassle" then a turf scrubber certainly is too much work for them...
Click to expand...

I dont think it gets any easier than GFO. The reasons I would not go with GFO have nothing to do with how hard it is.

Throwing a bag of gfo in your sump is about as easy as any maint task gets.
 
You can use aluminum based phosphate binders. You need to rinse them clean, but they work very well. Don't let them tumble, either. The dust can be a problem over time.

Water changes can help with phosphates. So can changing out your sand if it is older.
 
Horace said:
Shocked no one has suggested you use an Algae Turf Scrubber yet. Natural reduction of nutrients is always the better way IMO. My secondary to that would be carbon dosing. GFO third, some other chemical a distant 4th...but that is just my 0.02.
Click to expand...

He mentioned not wanting to reduce N03 at the same time. I'd do carbon dosing along with heavier feeding if I had the problem.
 
How effective is carbon dosing at reducing phosphate? I'd like to remove my gfo and move to just dosing carbon. My nitrates are at 2 my phosphate .02 with gfo.
 
Bill Nye said:
How effective is carbon dosing at reducing phosphate? I'd like to remove my gfo and move to just dosing carbon. My nitrates are at 2 my phosphate .02 with gfo.
Click to expand...



You need NO3, PO4 and organic carbon for it to work properly. Some folks run out of NO3 before PO4 reaches their desired level and need to dose some NO3 to continue reducing PO4.

Basically, it's a three way balance that can be effectively utilized to control nutrient levels.
 
I recently upgraded my tank. A possible reason why they have increased. Feeding regime has stayed the same as it always has over the past 10 years of keeping a reef.

To be honest I am a little out of touch with all the new lotions and potions that are available.

I prefer to remove rather than add if possible.

With regards to lazyness I am purely trying to see if after all this time there might be an easier way to do things. If there isnt then I will put the GFO reactor back on. Im used to the tank being balanced.

Siporax in my case has certainly helped with this respect in my opinion. We all have preferences with how we run a successful aquarium and so far this has been mine.

I wondered if there was now a bacterial approach to removing phosphates.

Thanks for the input.
 
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