GFO's: PhosBan vs. rowaPhos

[GMFett]

Hello everyone.

I have been using Two Little Fishes PhosBan in my Deltec reactor for quite some time now with good results. I am curious if anyone out there has used both PhosBan and rowaPhos. Could you provide me with any comparison other than price. I know they are both granulated ferric oxide phosphate and silicate removal media but are they chemically different in any way?

Thanks-

Marcus

 

[zoozimmy]

wow

 

[vitz]

imo, rowaphos is the best po4 remover out there-iirc, there is a difference in the 'purity' or 'wash level' of the media-i believe that most of the po4 removers are actually recycled from a different industry (going by memory of a talk by a rep from rowa, heh)

 

[20 20]

I'm interested in this topic also, mainly due to the percieved cost of Rowaphos. But I've just tried to figure out the 'cost per gallon' to treat a tank, it appears that based upon the recommended usage, Rowaphos is cheaper. Is that correct, or did I just screw up my calculations?

 

[Der_Iron_Chef]

In my understanding, they are chemically similar. It's the shape of the media that makes them different. PHOSaR has a different shape, which they claim makes it more effective.

I've used both, and have experienced that both do the same job. But what do I know?!

 

[GMFett]

Well I just bought the 5 kg bucket of rowaphos for the low price of $250. It is the best VALUE although not the lowest cost. If you buy it in smaller quantities it is quite expensive.

It is a different color than Phosban which is interesting. I ran 30 gallons of salt water through it into a trash can. Talk about some BROWN water! Seems to fluidize nicely in the reactor and i'll let you know about the phosphate levels in a few days.

 

[luckyfish]

Keep us posted.

 

[pjf]

Here's a comparison of Phosban and Rowaphos:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2004/review.htm

Here's an article dealing with GFO's:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php

This article mentions PHOSaR:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php