good article on Rowaphos

I have heard from a number of people that Rowaphos works much better than normal GFO. Is this just perception and not reality?
 
Rowaphos is the only one I have used so I can not say it is the best, but it did wonders for my tank. I have a 150 gallon tank that I have had up since maybe September. In this tank I have 150 watt phoenix 14000k bulbs at both ends and a 250 watt phoenix bulb in the middle. I had never ran MH's before, so I was not real sure on what my algae was going be like. The algae covered the back glass, over flows, tunze power heads and was even growing hair algae on some of my rocks. I put in a phosban reactor 150 (two little fishes) and about two inches of Rowaphos with a small very small power head going to it and with in four to six days all the algae was gone. I have since added maybe four more inches of rowaphos. When it needs replacing I do the same, two inches for a week and then a few more inches.
 
I found this quote from the theaquariumsolution.com article amusing, "Remember that the Berlin Technical University showed RowaPhos to be the most effective commercial phosphate remover that they tested"

my emphasis.

Not to mention that any site that considers themselves THE aquarium solution raises my hackles.

jglackin, I haven't seen any scientific proof that Rowaphos works better than any other GFO.

wampus, no disrespect meant, but "my tank never looked better" is essentially no proof. Maybe the plastic in the reactor killed the algae.

-R
 
IIRC, there were NO other brands of GFO in that Berlin University test, which I have read. The comparators were other types of materials, such as aluminum-containing binders.


I have heard from a number of people that Rowaphos works much better than normal GFO. Is this just perception and not reality?

The general consensus from hundreds of posts that I have read on various brands of GFO is that Rowaphos in not generally regarded as appreciably better, especially considering the high cost.
 
What are some of the less expensive brands of GFO? Is it available in bulk?

There are many brands with differences.
Dr. Foster and Smith sells their in house brand. Some are large particles that many prefer in certain uses. Warner Marine, for example.

For non name brand "bulk", Bulk reef Supply sells some here:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Phosphate-Remover-(GFO)/c8/index.html?osCsid=aa6f1f5ccc7851e7892dbf4c65dffc41
 
Ok... so now I've read the article on that site and the one on bulkreefsupply.com. How much GFO should be placed in a reactor per gallon? Both sites seem to have different amounts to be used.... At the moment I'm running about 2" in a phosban reactor for 60 gallons total water volume.

If I can get a way with more, I'd like to. I've to a few SMALL patches of GHA I'd like to totally wipe out.
 
I would not try to overdo it, as it is not without risk of harming organisms, possibly by dropping phosphate too far. Starting slow and working up to larger doses if needed is a much better plan. :)
 
There are a number of phosphate kits to check your levels. There is also an electronic device from Hannah that some say is accurate and some say is not accurate. Sometimes, however; you can obtain false readings in the low range because the algaes are soaking up the p04 as fast as it is released. levels for reef aquaria are ideal when less than 0.03 ppm. Natural levels are really low at something like .005 ppm. If you have higher than desired levels then try and lower them slowly. Here is where I learned the information.


Reef Aquarium Water Parameters
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php
 
I started with the brand name stuff but switched to the bulk product when i became aware of it and find them both equally effective. Just make sure you choose the right size for your set up.
 
Stick with what's working and don't change. It takes time and money to experiment to safe a little money, and in some cases you end up spending more in the process, and possibly going back to the original brand. I've only ever tried Rowasphos and it did wonders for me, eliminating pest algae and keeping the system in balance.

Other than the "no name" bulk brands, are other brands really much cheaper? I find the other so-call cheaper brand to be marginally cheaper and in some cases the same or even more expensive. This is why Rowasphos is staying with me for now. Mind you, I am only a part time user, one month on and one month off with just a couple inches in the reactor. I get wicked results using it this way. I tried it full time and it just makes corals looking a little pale. Maybe it's just my system, who knows??
 
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One month on, one month off....so basically you build up phosphates and then shock your system by pulling them out only to let them build up again? You might want to rethink this, and keep your tank stable. Stable is always a true key in reefkeeping.
 
GFO is very effective at reducing phoshates and whatever else we may not be aware of, so good that it can leave the system "nutrients poor". From my observation, the Rowasphos strips my water to the point where I can only use it periodically otherwise my corals begin to starve. IMO, you do need a bit of the "bad stuff" to keep thing healthy and looking looking good...that's my take on a balance system. The ups and downs are natural, just as long it's not for long periods of time.
 
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