Any idea if one can run RowaPhos 24/7 and if there is any harm in that? My PO been running at 0 for the longest time and I run RowaPhos round the clock. Not sure if that is the reason my SPS been looking dull despite decent growth. LPS, shrooms do look great. Not sure how one should use RowaPhos?
How to use RowaPhos
- Thread starter bucfan
- Start date
I have a Next Reef shorty reactor and fill it 1/2 way. I have a 100G tank. Nitrate is 10.
When your test kit reads zero, it really means that the phosphate level is below detection limit. Using a lot of Rowaphos in this situation would bring the small amount of phosphate to even lower levels but a smaller amount not so much.
You can try backing off on the amount jn the reactor while monitoring phosphate. When/if phosphate becomes measurable again, increase the amount of Rowaphos a little to bring phosphate to "zero again. You might find that your system is using more phosphate than when you started using Rowaphos.
Ok I think I understand. How often should I test for PO to see a trend?
I have a fish only tank and I measure phosphate once a week to decide if I need to switch out the old GFO. If you are not anxious that phosphate levels might creep up above zero, measure every two weeks.
What you are looking to do is to determine the minimum amount of Rowaphos that will keep your phosphate level creeping up just above zero every 2-4 weeks. I picked 2-4 weeks arbitrarily based on how often I would want to switch out the used Rowaphos.
When you add fresh Rowaphos, the phosphate level drops fairly quickly and then slowly rises until the Rowaphos is exhausted and you measure phosphate as above zero. That initial plunge in phosphate level when you add fresh Rowaphos is what you are looking to reduce by using less Rowaphos. Of course, that means Rowaphos will become exhausted sooner.
I hope this helps.
I have a newly setup tank which started with phosphate levels of around 10ppm
This is slowly dropping after a few weeks to around 4ppm with just basic water changes.
I just had a 250ml tub of Rowaphos delivered (which is a lot as the tank is only 58L)
So... how much should i add? and how long should I anticipate it taking to drop 4ppm to around 0ppm.
AND Am i likely to need more than the recommended dose as some phosphate will be bound to my live rock?
Not got a major algae problem as yet but im concerned about coral growth from the few frags i've added.
This is slowly dropping after a few weeks to around 4ppm with just basic water changes.
I just had a 250ml tub of Rowaphos delivered (which is a lot as the tank is only 58L)
So... how much should i add? and how long should I anticipate it taking to drop 4ppm to around 0ppm.
AND Am i likely to need more than the recommended dose as some phosphate will be bound to my live rock?
Not got a major algae problem as yet but im concerned about coral growth from the few frags i've added.
Rowaphos adsorbs about 25 g of phosphate per kilogram. Not sure about the weight to volume conversion but let's say they are about the same, 1 g = 1 mL. 250 mL is a fourth of a kilogram, so, that will adsorb about 6 grams of phosphate. Your 58 L system has a 4 ppm or 4 mg/ L phosphate. That works out to a total of 58 x 4 = 232 mg. If you use (0.232 g/6g ) x 250 mL or 10 mL of Rowaphos, you will adsorb all the phosphate.
Of course these are only approximations, but you can get a rough sense for a starting point. Also, the phosphate level can drop very quickly, in as little as 24-48 hours when it is in a reactor. So be careful about dropping it too quickly if you have coral. Use less to reduce the phosphate level in steps.
My PO was running at 0 so I took RowaPhos offline. In 2 days my acans/LPS looked a bit more colorful and opened up. SPS did not and I did not expect them to change that quickly. I measured my PO after 4 days and it was up to 0.18. I have only 2 larger sized fish in a 100G tank. I don't feed heavy and have a ULNS tank. So not sure where all that PO is coming from. I restarted a new batch on RowaPhos but used 1/3 what I did before. Going to monitor PO every other day to see where it ends up. Will also watch the LPS to see how they react. Looks like it's going to be tough finding the happy medium or I am not doing something right.
I use a Hanna meter. Feed once daily about a cube of frozen. Feed corals twice a week.
I asked because the rate of rise of the phosphate level seems too fast unless somthing died and/or you are overfeeding which you are not.
An addition thought. Is the number you are quoting for phosphate the Hanna reading or the reading coverted to phosphate?
