Lanthanum Chloride, is it all same?

[cvrle1]

I am in the process of getting dry rock ready for use. I already did bleach bath, and plan on doing lanthanum chloride as well (dont want to mess with acid). Question I have is, are all lanthanum chloride products the same? SeaKlear, Phos Free, Phos Buster, Phosphat-e and so on. Some have concentrated version as well. Is one better than the other? Price difference between all is large enough that I would rather use something cheaper if end result and time needed will be same.

Thanks for the help

 

[slief]

Nope. Not all the same. Some are more concentrated than others. If you are using the LaCl to remove phosphate from your rocks, get the Seaklear stuff. In the long run, that will be the cheapest as it’s much more concentrated. Just get the commercial stuff and not the Seaklear CR. The stuff packaged for the aquarium industry is heavily diluted.

This is what I use and what I recommend. It’s not cheap but a little goes a long way so it will last a LONG time. That said, for a small tank, it may not be practical.
https://www.amazon.com/SeaKlear-90207-Commercial-Phosphate-Accessories/dp/B00CMQZZJ6/r

 

[mcgyvr]

Why people go through all this crap for dry rock is asinine to me

 

[cvrle1]

Why people go through all this crap for dry rock is asinine to me

I bought this rock used from someone else that had it sitting in the garbage bag. It was used before in his tank, and had green algae, hair algae and who knows what else tat i didnt see. I want to make sure I kill everything on it, as most of the rock was out of the water for a while. Sine there is die off, I want to use LC to eliminate as much phosphate as possible before I use it for my tank.

I am not in a hurry, as my tank isnt setup yet, so want to make sure I give myself best chance of success. Overkill perhaps, but other than time and bit of $ it doesnt cost anything else.

Nope. Not all the same. Some are more concentrated than others. If you are using the LaCl to remove phosphate from your rocks, get the Seaklear stuff. In the long run, that will be the cheapest as it’s much more concentrated. Just get the commercial stuff and not the Seaklear CR. The stuff packaged for the aquarium industry is heavily diluted.

This is what I use and what I recommend. It’s not cheap but a little goes a long way so it will last a LONG time. That said, for a small tank, it may not be practical.
https://www.amazon.com/SeaKlear-902...g, but wanted to see if it would be overkill.

 

[Uncle99]

Doesn't the LC produce a flocculent as the phosphate binds and this flocculent is removed by running through a fine sock?

Lots of use in a set up tank, but I Am not sure how it's used or beneficial to GHA on rock outside of the tank.

If anyone can help me understand that I would be thankful

 

[slief]

Doesn’t the LC produce a flocculent as the phosphate binds and this flocculent is removed by running through a fine sock?

Lots of use in a set up tank, but I Am not sure how it’s used or beneficial to GHA on rock outside of the tank.

If anyone can help me understand that I would be thankful

It does and I when I dose into my tank, I dose into a 10 micron filter sock and use an IV bag to control the dosing rate. And as I am sure you are away, the sock is used to catch that precipitate so you can export it from the system or from the curing bin.

For “cooking” rock which is a term used for removing the phosphates from the rock before you put them in the tank (NOT a term used for boiling or baking them), You place the rock in a tub with water and dose slowly into a protein skimmer or use a pump to circulate the water and run it through a 10 micron sock and drip directly into the sock. The LaCl should always be heavily diluted in RODI water. Rocks can very often have a lot of phosphates embedded in them which leach out of the rocks over time. So cooking them as part of the curing process outside the main system (but in saltwater) will deplete one of the nutrients that GHA feeds on and allow you to put “cleaner” rocks with less embedded nutrients into the system.

Here is a video of how I use it in my tank.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pg01FIN4n-w" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Uncle99]

Thank you, makes sense now.
Interesting approach