Help with correct dosing of Rowaphos

[jmarzullo]

Lots of confusion on my part and lots of contradictory info. I don't have a direct reading on my phosphte levels yet. Suffice it to say that it's high and I am fighting bryopsis. I have a total of 125 gallons including fuge and just bought a 1 kg jar of rowaphos. Assuming I don't have a digital scale, what is the correct dosage for this stuff in something measurable, like teaspoons?? I plan on cutting the suggested in half for the first round.

 

[stuccodude]

unless i am misinterperating your question you dont add the rowophos to your tank like that, you put it in a phos reactor and let water pass through it but the flow of water passing through it must be gradual, not fast. i heard people will put it in a nylon type sock and put in a area to flow through it but myself would be concerned that too much flow went through it and when that happens it releases toxins. good luck to answer your ? i run about 2 cups in a reactor and after 1 year of posphates the rowo works.

 

[Kip]

start off with low amounts and work your way up so that you dont bleach your corals

i run only 15 teas changed monthly on a 450gTSV system, but i am only controlling po4 levels for acros. if i had algae, i would have to run more

you can always add more as needed, but once you strip and bleach your tank its hard to go back

also rinse it in a few gallons of RO/DI water (until the rinsate is clear)

and lastly... run it in a fluidized media reactor of sorts (phosban, kent, precision marine, etc, etc) you want the media to dance, not be completely suspended

hope this helps

 

[jmarzullo]

Thanks Kip

Thanks Kip

That helps. How did you arrive at 15 tsp?

 

[Kip]

its the sweet point for my system... every system is different

in a heavy algae, heavy fish load, heavy feeding system ... you could need quite a bit more

i started with 5 teas and worked my way up... 15 teas will keep my ortho at 0ppm per colorimeter.... i also dont use anymore than that because the filter pads in the reactor get clogged with debris before the media is completely exhausted... preserving the media while cleaning the filter pads is a PITA so i stick with 15teas and just toss it instead of wasting more

 

[Kip]

another cool trick i learned from JBNY here is to put carbon at the top of the po4 chamber... helps against escaping GFO residue as well as adds GAC filtration... here is a pic

and if you dont rinse your media... this is what only 15teas of GFO will put into your tank (rinsate from newly added GFO)

 

[Kip]

another trick is to use a whole house filter from Lowes/HomeDepot on the outlet side of your po4 reactor... pictured here... has a 5um filter (which was too fine)... but 10um works well... they are cheap and i swap them out each time i do a GFO media change

 

[jmarzullo]

KIP

KIP

Dude, you're awesome. I'm actually going to use a Rena canister as I have it now. I know fluidized is better but the flow rate should be slow enough and I can accomplish these filtering issues with it as well.