GFO question

[Neoz]

I'm setting up my dual reactor from BRS. The instructions say "for HC GFO start with 1 tablespoon per 8 gallons of water." Now I figure I have roughly 200 gallons of water in my system. Think it might be a little more but prefer to go with 200 gallons.

I thought I read somewere on here to start with a small amount? If so what would you recommended to be a good starting point?

 

[toddmh]

always a good idea to gradually ramp up any changes in your waters chemistry..

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

if you have sensitive corals (such as Acropora) you might want to halve the recommended amount of GFO and see how it goes... otherwise it should be fine to use the recommended amount.

 

[smogl00]

I agree with Gary. Half is a good starting point. I used the recommended amount all at once when I added a GFO the first time and that even shocked corals that are usually considered to be less sensitive.

 

[tmz]

The usual manufacturer's recommendation is to start with 2 grams per gallon. 1 tbspn per 8 gallons is about the same as that. I'd start at half or 1 gram per gallon,ca./1 tablespoon per 8gallons.

Depending on how much phosphate is in your water , you may want to go higher.
If PO4 is low the gfo can last over a month. If it's high, it could be exhausted in a d?.

How are you testing for PO4.

 

[Piazzon12]

I usually only ever use ~1/4cup at a time on my 120. At the recommended dose, you'd use 1.5 cups, which seems excessive, and very expensive

 

[tmz]

Just for clarity ; one 8oz cup is about 229 grams(28.6 grams per ounce). I use about 1.25 grams per gallon of brs HC gfo and change it every 6 weeks.
BTW GFO can be regenerated for extra milage after soaking/rinsing with vinegar and/or sodium hydroxide. Some have used it with reported success for 10 regenrations.

 

[Neoz]

I'm using BRS HC Gfo as well. Testing using Saliert kit. It actually wasn't too high but do see some algea breakout here and there. My test came out 0.25ppm.

So when should I test again for PO4? Wait 3 days and see or will the reactor take effect a lot sooner? For what its worth I ended up using 20 tablespoons.

 

[tmz]

I'd check it after a day.

 

[Gravesj1s]

tmz-

Do you need to neutralize the acids after the vinegar soak? Is that the point of using sodium hydroxide-Graves

 

[ggdowski]

Good question on the vinegar soak.
I'm curious about that answer as well.

 

[tmz]

tmz-

Do you need to neutralize the acids after the vinegar soak? Is that the point of using sodium hydroxide-Graves

I think it would do that, yes. But the Na OH soak doesn't seem to be necessary since any extra acid will be a small amount and will quickly neutralize in the tank water. Some are using just NaOH sodium hydroxide; some just vinegar,and; some both. Either the vinegar soak of the sodium hydroxide soak will also remove calcium carbonate which tends to accumulate on gfo and significantly limits it's useful life.

FWIW, I just used the vinegar soak on some 5 week used HC gfo from brs. That gfo is harder than most with less dust. It cleaned up quite well visibly without any dissolution of the gfo itself. I will be using it in the near future. Seems like a good way to save some $.

Here's a thread on gfo regenration,fyi:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1734717

 

[Gravesj1s]

I think it would do that, yes. But the Na OH soak doesn't seem to be necessary since any extra acid will be a small amount and will quickly neutralize in the tank water. Some are using just NaOH sodium hydroxide; some just vinegar,and; some both. Either the vinegar soak of the sodium hydroxide soak will also remove calcium carbonate which tends to accumulate on gfo and significantly limits it's useful life.

FWIW, I just used the vinegar soak on some 5 week used HC gfo from brs. That gfo is harder than most with less dust. It cleaned up quite well visibly without any dissolution of the gfo itself. I will be using it in the near future. Seems like a good way to save some $.

Here's a thread on gfo regenration,fyi:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1734717

Very interesting read to say the least,thank you.
Im hosting a poker game tonight (wish me luck) I'd like to continue a little more later.
-Graves

 

[Gravesj1s]

Wel,l I lost at poker and I dont want to talk about it anymore.

-tmz,
So do you have a protocol you'd recommend as far as vinegar?I was thinking of distilled white vinegar 5% solution @ 3:1 GFO./ 2 days. Also, vinegar not being stable to the atomoshere,do you see this being an issue if not done in a sealed vessel?I realize jsut purchasing a small plastic tote with lid would solve the problem but I was just curious.thanks,
-Graves

 

[tmz]

I just used 5% vinegar in a plastic coffee can at about 3 or 4x volume of gfo. Didn't bother to cover it. Stirred it a few times during the day.Soaked overnight. Soaked for several hours in ro water Stirred it a few times. Drained off the water and let the gfo dry on a bed of paper towels. I'll just put it in a plastic container now and use it on my next change out.

 

[Neoz]

Tom have you done any studies on using regenerated GFO? I would be curious about a few things. The first and foremost being how long does the regenerated GFO last compared to the first time use? I know there are many contributing factors but just curious if its like 1/2 the time or a little better?

Since I installed my Reactor and using BRS HC GFO I happy to say my Algae is almost non existent. Of course I manually ripped out most of it and am doing weekly water changes. Either way the tank looks much better! Thanks for the help everyone..

 

[pascal32]

Newbie Question - I just set up a phosban reactor with 250ml of RowaPhos (about 4-5 " in the 150 unit). rinsed with about 2 gallons till the brown color stopped. I think my flow rate is about 18G/hour

Was I running at risk doing that all at once? The tank is a 72.

The hair algae has stopped growing on the glass - but the sandbed is still green where the light hits. tallest hair algae is about 1/4" none on the rocks.

thanks!

 

[Gravesj1s]

Tom have you done any studies on using regenerated GFO? I would be curious about a few things. The first and foremost being how long does the regenerated GFO last compared to the first time use? I know there are many contributing factors but just curious if its like 1/2 the time or a little better?

Since I installed my Reactor and using BRS HC GFO I happy to say my Algae is almost non existent. Of course I manually ripped out most of it and am doing weekly water changes. Either way the tank looks much better! Thanks for the help everyone..

Hi, -Neoz,
I dont want to even try to answer for tmz,also I dont want to hijack this thread.
It would be very simple to do a test using a ph kit and a po4 kit if your interested.-Graves

 

[Neoz]

Yeah I plan on running a test when I actually try it. Was just curious if Tom had already ran some tests. Because if the life expectancy is only 2 weeks or something then I'm not sure its worth it is it?

 

[Gravesj1s]

Yeah I plan on running a test when I actually try it. Was just curious if Tom had already ran some tests. Because if the life expectancy is only 2 weeks or something then I'm not sure its worth it is it?

Hi,Neoz-
I'm not sure what percent would be regenerated either.I have seen some report 200ppm from the vinegar/gfo solution. That seems pretty impressive.

I think the form of GFO would have to be taken into account though.(i.e.the type tmz is using is harder and has less dust)The type I purchased is in pellet form and extremely dusty but has the higest binding capacity according to BRS site.However it "may" more easily disassociate a phosphate bond.
-Graves