Lanthanum chloride

maxxII said:
It is not suggested to drip the diluted LC mix directly into the protein skimmer as the flocculent is very sticky and tough to dislodge thereby jamming up the skimmer.
Click to expand...

While it may work just as well as reacting before the skimmer, I personally choose not to do so, because BRS reactors are cheap and pretty space efficient. And while I do feel confident that I pull most reacted LC before it reaches my skimmer, I do find that my skimmer gets "dirtier" faster. This leads me to believe that either I am not getting it all, OR unreacted LC is reaching the skimmer.

The added benefit there is that there is TONS on phosphates that will likely guarantee a next to immediate bond.

Well worth the vinegar bath every so often.

maxxII said:
If the flocculent is so obnoxious to skimmers and can possibly cause tank hazing, by bonding to glass.....
Click to expand...

If reacted or un-reacted LC does make your tank, IMP there is no doubt that this could cause long term hazing issues, but the haze will be scraped off and then make its way through your tank and all the inhabitants (that which hasn't already!)
maxxII said:
Is anyone concerned about the flocculent bonding to the overflow drain pipes?
Click to expand...

I could definitely see the potential for a long term issue. Unless you have a 5 micron filter sock inline at all times, there is always a chance that long term buildup could sluff off into your tank. I had not thought of this angle in the past. All the more reason to keep it away from your tank as much as possible i guess!
 
My tank is idling in the dark for now. I was dosing a very dilute solution through a 7" sock into the sump by the skimmer pump. I have seen the haze caused by overdosing- not thick like coralline but hard for sure.. As the phosphate levels diminish, it is easier to overdose; ie the solution will go right through the sock before the reaction occurs. We can really only capture the precipitate, not the solution (with the equipment we have).
The bigger issue than the haze is that the LC is then present in the DT and can harm the inhabitants.
 
That concern makes sense.......
Which further explains Gary's desire to mix in his overflow box to give it access to the most water possible and then give it the length of the drain plumbing to get mixed and bond with free phosphate....

But I don't have his length of drain plumbing, and due to my own inability to confine my "aquarium" to one single display, setting up a filter sock at my drain end is problematic.

It would be easier for me make a reactor like Insomniac2K2's and dose slowly & diluted into a 5 micron filter sock, and then into the skimmer....

But I'm not wanting to put my livestock through more unnecessary stress if possible.
GFO is keeping my PO4 levels steady at .1 according to a Hanna Phos Checker, (Not the Ultra Low Phosphorus Checker)....

I have Pukani rock in the tank that is in all probability leaching PO4 into the water column.
 
I just noticed that you listed 5ml/1L commercial strength Seaklear for concentration.

I just want to note that my concentration is much lower than that with my reactor setup. I run 20ml per gallon of SeaKlear CR (66% diluted).

maxxII said:
Since I originally posted in this thread, I've read all 46 pages...

To summarize as I understand things:

In using LC to reduce the level of PO4 in the system, it is preferable to drip a diluted dose (5mls/1L of the SeaKlear Commercial Strength) into the /overflow box/drain so as to maximize the water contact and pick up as much free/available PO4 as possible. This flocculent of PO4/LC is harmful to fish gills and filter feeders therefore mechanical filtering via 5-10 micron sock is desired, with the mechanical filter being placed as close to the Skimmer intake as possible, so as to remove any additional flocculent that escapes, or any LC that does not bond with any PO4, (which would go on to create flocculent downstream that could possibly end up in the DT, harming fish and filter feeders.

It is not suggested to drip the diluted LC mix directly into the protein skimmer as the flocculent is very sticky and tough to dislodge thereby jamming up the skimmer.

If the flocculent is so obnoxious to skimmers and can possibly cause tank hazing, by bonding to glass.....

Is anyone concerned about the flocculent bonding to the overflow drain pipes?
If not, why not?
I've seen the last couple of pages regarding the reaction chamber debate....but with my current set up's design/space limitations, building a set up like insomniak2k2 is probably going to be the easiest method for me to employ LC as a PO4 reducing method.

Is it worth trying in that manner, or not?

Thanks for the time and responses guys.
Click to expand...
 
I have some dry rock that I want to dose LC with. The rock is in a 5 gallon bucket. How much LC with RODI do I mix it with? The mixing will be done in the bucket. And I will rinse prior to putting the rock into the tank.

The LC I purchased is made by Kem-Tek, 7-8% solution.
 
I just ordered the commercial grade SeaKlear, the Hanna ULR checker, the 5 micron filter socks, and a peristaltic dosing pump....

All so that I can begin trying this.

I will try a low dose to begin with, no more than 2.5 mls diluted into one gallon of RODi water to be dispersed into my tank over about a 24 hour period. I will then see how it goes and test.

With any luck, this will work nicely with no adverse effects on my system....
 
Sounds like you will be fine. I follow Gary's method and have had good results. The thread has been running since 2008, if there was a lot of detrimental issues, I think the thread would have disappeared long ago.
 
Nothing but love for LC. I still dose about once a month before changing out GFO. Still more than 1/2of the original bottle left... One of the best $35 spent on the hobby.
 
I received my sea clear today I don't have the 10micron socks yet do yo think it would be ok to pack one of my regular socks with floss to increase the attaching surface?
 
I'm thinking about dosing 1.1ml three times a day directly into a ten micron sock. Should I dose it into my overflow instead? Not sure I want to deal with possible precip binding to the pipes in the overflow. System is about 90g.
 
I would suggest dosing into your overflow.
You can replace plumbing if it comes down to it.
Dosing into the sock directly will most likely NOT bind up phosphate in the sock and instead allow LC to pass thru the sock and begin bonding to phosphate in your sump & skimmer...causing bigger problems.
 
Okay feeding to my overflow instead.

Problems I'm running into:

1. 10 micron socks clog up in about 12 hours for me
2. Skimmer goes nuts and overflows

So has anyone been able to dose a different way, I think I read something about a reactor?
 
Okay, I will say this works EXCEEDINGLY well. Just be very careful on dosage.

However, I believe this has also seriously strained my clam and maybe it might be near death. Still alive and responding but it's not happy at all. I do not recommend this if you have clams. I used a 10 micron sock, a 1.1ml doser, and I use GFO and activated carbon. My 4 shrimps and snails appear to be fine however. I have discontinued its use and did a large water change. If my clam doesn't make it, I'll probably use it again.
 
How fast are you dosing? I gallon pre-mixed with 20ml of seaklear CR lasts me over a month. Maybe you are just dosing too fast?

FlyPenFly said:
Okay, I will say this works EXCEEDINGLY well. Just be very careful on dosage.

However, I believe this has also seriously strained my clam and maybe it might be near death. Still alive and responding but it's not happy at all. I do not recommend this if you have clams. I used a 10 micron sock, a 1.1ml doser, and I use GFO and activated carbon. My 4 shrimps and snails appear to be fine however. I have discontinued its use and did a large water change. If my clam doesn't make it, I'll probably use it again.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I hope this post doesn't answer my last question. You are dosing straight LC in 1.1ml batches 3 times daily? If so, are others dosing that heavily/quickly?

I would imagine that would make for a huge and sudden drop of phos levels.



FlyPenFly said:
I'm thinking about dosing 1.1ml three times a day directly into a ten micron sock. Should I dose it into my overflow instead? Not sure I want to deal with possible precip binding to the pipes in the overflow. System is about 90g.
Click to expand...
 
My SPS is loving life.

The GHA outbreak I had when I had to take all filtration off for 2 weeks is now all but gone.

My Po4 always read very low on Salifert and Hanna. But what was happening was that the GHA was absorbing it to grow so it was low on the water column.

I was dosing directly from the bottle with a 1.1ml BRS doser. The Lanthanum made a sudden and dramatic effect in the GHA levels, a heavy infestation was gone in about 3 - 4 days. I have five shrimp and they're all perfectly fine. Clam though is not getting any better and might be dying soon.

I am no longer dosing because I can't stand how often I have to replace 10 micron filter socks, it's just too often. I continue to use BRS HC GFO.

If I have a GHA problem again though, I will use it but otherwise, I'm saving it for special occasions when I have a problem.
 
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