Lanthanum reactor

nanomania

nanomania

New member
Hey guys, i know about lanthanum chloride, though never used it, but would like to know if some one has tried this method with a reactor. I know it depletes alk, but im sure it can be added. I would like to know the dosage of it per gallon. Iv read that u need to dissolve 6ml in 1liter ro water (is tht correct?) and then drip it slowly but how to inject into this system or can we jus drop in near the pump intake of the filter? Also i dont want to add too fast, i would like to add very little everyday and bring levels down in a week to a months time then continue with the drips for maintaining the level. I dont have high po4 as of now though, but planning to experiment for my future build.

Here is a commercial reactor for lanthanum but its way too over priced...

http://www.derkroon.com/lanthanum-reactor/10-lth100-lanthanum-reactor.html
 
The reactor might work well if you're willing to replace the filter media regularly. I probably wouldn't bother. If the phosphate level currently is low in a tank, I generally suggest trying GFO, since it's easier to dose, and is cheap enough for small problems. Lanthanum chloride should work, though. We'd need to know the concentration of t he product you're using to guess at a reasonable dose, though.
 
I remember seeing a DIY thread around here with a similar reactor that seemed to get good results.

My tank has a nutrient issue, so I just used a small pump and tube to pump water through a 5 micron filter sock. I then diluted 2ml of commercial SeaKlear into about 4 gallons of RODI and dosed it with an Aqualifter at about 4 drops per second. I went from 0.4 to 0.06 with two rounds of dosing on a 250ish gallon system.

I think I'm in about $40 between the SeaKlear and socks. The rest was already laying around.
 
nanomania said:
Hey guys, i know about lanthanum chloride, though never used it, but would like to know if some one has tried this method with a reactor. I know it depletes alk, but im sure it can be added. I would like to know the dosage of it per gallon. Iv read that u need to dissolve 6ml in 1liter ro water (is tht correct?) and then drip it slowly but how to inject into this system or can we jus drop in near the pump intake of the filter? Also i dont want to add too fast, i would like to add very little everyday and bring levels down in a week to a months time then continue with the drips for maintaining the level. I dont have high po4 as of now though, but planning to experiment for my future build.

Here is a commercial reactor for lanthanum but its way too over priced...

http://www.derkroon.com/lanthanum-reactor/10-lth100-lanthanum-reactor.html
Click to expand...

The seller supplies a calculator, the link is located in the pdf file in the download section.
 
bertoni said:
The reactor might work well if you're willing to replace the filter media regularly. I probably wouldn't bother. If the phosphate level currently is low in a tank, I generally suggest trying GFO, since it's easier to dose, and is cheap enough for small problems. Lanthanum chloride should work, though. We'd need to know the concentration of t he product you're using to guess at a reasonable dose, though.
Click to expand...
Im from India and we use phosguard as its always available. Gfo is crazy expensive for us. My family business is chemicals, so im getting a 99% (i guess powdered form) of lanthanum chloride, will still find out n update.
 
Lanthanum chloride helps neutralize phosphate but the compound stays in your tank and doesn't really get removed. (Minus some that may get pulled through the skimmer.) Different than gfo, phosphte sponge, etc. that absorb it and then you remove/change the media.
 
GimpyFin said:
Lanthanum chloride helps neutralize phosphate but the compound stays in your tank and doesn't really get removed. (Minus some that may get pulled through the skimmer.) Different than gfo, phosphte sponge, etc. that absorb it and then you remove/change the media.
Click to expand...
Diy lanthanum reactor is i guess the best choice. but i dont know howmuch pure LC powder to mix in distilled water to make the solution.
 
I don't know how strong the commercial solutions are, but adding 1 part lanthanum chloride per 20 parts water should be good enough if you are careful about dosing small amounts at first.
 
bertoni said:
I don't know how strong the commercial solutions are, but adding 1 part lanthanum chloride per 20 parts water should be good enough if you are careful about dosing small amounts at first.
Click to expand...
Well but what about the 99.99% LC powder? Howmuch to mix in ro water to dose for aquarium?
 
This is what i came across.. (not my experiment)

PHOSfree by natural chemistry. It cost me 25 bucks CDN with tax and is 2 liters. Was bought at a pool store.Compared to Phosbuster at 33 bucks CDN with tax, your getting 20x more product at a fraction of the cost. Now I know some might be thinking well is it safe? Says product will treat 10,000 gallons with a total phosphate concentration of 1000ppb, converted to ppm is 1ppm phos.Here is the Composition and Information on Ingredients:
Lanthanum Sulfate 3-10 %
Lanthanum Chloride 5-12 %
Sodium chloride 2-5 %
Water 75-88 %
 
bertoni said:
That should be fine. You will need to experiment to find how much your tank needs, in any case, and that ratio should be fine for ease in handling.
Click to expand...
Came across this...

500 ml of derKroon Mechanics Lanthanum Chloride solution, which contains 800 mg per bottle, Each 250 ml of derKroon LaCl3 solution will remove 0.8 ppm phosphate in 1,250 liters of water.
 
That's very dilute, something like 1-2 ppt. You could try something like that if you want to be more cautious. That's probably a reasonable idea since water is free
 
Those that tried the LaCl reactor idea, seemed to spend a lot of time chasing numbers in what I consider to be a somewhat futile endeavor. Having used LaCl for years, I don't suggest using a reactor. Their is risk involved for the fish and as I said, you end up chasing numbers and have to constantly adjust dosages. LaCl needs to be administered properly. The precipiate can harm and or kill fish. Clouding of the water is a sign that you're doing it wrong and endangering your livestock. I use an IV bag and drip my solution at a rate of 1 drop per second. I dilute 2.5ml of LaCl into 1 liter of water and dose that over the course of several hours. 1 drop a second. That will drop my 650 gallon volume by .025 to .03 ppm. I dose into a 10 micron felt sock to catch the precipiate. I monitor my tank the entire dose to make sure that there is no clouding. I don't want to kill my fish! I also monitor my filter sock as it tends to back up as the precipiate clogs the sock.

Here is the thread on the subject of LaCl reactors.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2288470

For me, diluting LaCl into RODI water and dripping it into a 10 micron or smaller micron sock is the safest way to go and insures you remove the precipiate. Different LaCl sources are more pure than others so be careful when taking somebodies advice on how much of what solution to dissolve in water let alone to admisiter to your tank. Especially without knowing your total system volume, your Po4 numbers, your target numbers etc. You are asking for trouble. Also, if you have corals in your tank or anemones, I wouldn't suggest dropping your Po4 anymore than .03 ppm a day.


I suggest using the commercial blend of SeaKlear LaCl. Not SeaKlear CR but the non CR blend. SeaKlear packages the same stuff for public aquariums.

Lastly, it seems you already saw this thread since you posted in it but I strongly suggest you read the entire thread! I read this entire thread (every post) before deciding to dose LaCl. I learned a lot from this thread and it armed me with enough information to do it reasonably safely. In the end, if you kill your fish or kill your livestock, you have only yourself to blame. As such, you would be doing yourself a favor to take the time to read this thread to learn as much as possible before using harmful chemicals in your tank that you may know little about. The simple fact that you found that thread is a great start.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1474839


LaCl can be dangerous to your aquarium as mentioned above. You really need to do your homework and that rhea is a great source of information. I'd be surprised if anybody is intimately familiar with the powder form you are planning on using but if anything, reading that entire thread may yield information on it. You also need to be 100% sure of your Po4 levels. I don't think any standard color based test will give you accurate enough numbers to dose LaCl with. I strongly suggest a Hanna HI746 ULR Phosphorus tester. NOT the HI713 phosphate tester.

This is my setup for dosing LaCl. Like I said, I have been using the stuff for years now without issue but I use the same method every time. I dose very slowly. I monitor my tank like a hawk during the process and I change the socks out as they plug up.


image_zpsc99187c1.jpg


The IV Bag dripping the solution
image_zps1ca097aa.jpg


The solution going into the 10 micron sock
image_zps4680ade8.jpg
 
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