hey, Tom

Hi Gary, Thanks Scott.

Regeration is still working for me with brs Hc gfo. I'm not real fancy in my k.i.s.s method. Others use reactors and very precise measures and timing. If I went that far I'd probably talk myself out of regerating it at all.
I still run regerated, sometimes along with some fresh gfo continuously, but don't use very much now ;the vodka and vinegar dosing and the bacteria that use them are well settled after 3.5 years and get most of the inorganic phosphate. I use about 450 grams of gfo for 600gallons and only change it every 5 to 6 weeks. PO4 stays under .05ppm consistently. I still test it every day, getting my money's worth out of the hanah meter.

I'll probably always use some gfo for very low range PO4. The iron it puts in can't hurt and may be useful. I also like the fact that it grabs some silicate and free metals.
 
GFO's solubility is considered low but is still significant :

GFO is not completely insoluble. The solubility of iron hydroxide in natural seawater is small, but still significant (0.02 - 2 ppb), although it is largely controlled by the availability of organic ligands.

per Randy Farely from:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.htm

Iron is complicated as Fe 2+ and 3+. It is useful to many organisms in transporting other ions since it exchanges electrons readily. Most notable is it's role in hemoglobin and oxygen transport and transfer but it facilitates movement in organisms too.
Idications are macroalgaes benefit significantly, diatoms too and possibly zooxanthelae and others.

There certainly easier ways to dose bio available iron than gfo but as a by product it's useful

These articles have more :

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/chem.htm

While much is not known and iron is complicated in terms of bio availability it's pretty clear that it's harmless as it is rapidly bound and that some is needed by a variety of organisms. With organic carbon dosing I'm a little concerned about depletion via bacterial activity and changes is the organic mix so anything dissolving from the gfo is useful,,imo.

Caveat, the fines should be rinsed out to avoid dosing them as they may cloud the water and irrtate corals ,perhaps forming precipitation sites fro calcium carbonate in less than desireable places.
 

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