<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12203504#post12203504 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mujtba
What does carbon do? How come i use RODI water and still get phospate?
Carbon is mostly effective in removing disolved organic compounds like tannins (from algae) that discolor the water, alopathic compounds released by soft corals as defense, any volatile organic that gets in your water from cleaners, cooking or so. Carbon will only remove some phosphates and nitrates that bind to organics so it is very ineffective in their removal.
The largest source of phosphate is the food we add besides some water sources.
So i wont see PHOSBAN results for like 2 weeks?
Depends on the initial level of phosphates and the amount of media being used. It might take as little as four to five days or as long as a month to start seeing some results.
And the first time, I do have to replace the phosband quicker??? Not after 2 months? If the initial level is high the media may saturate very quickly (in two to four days) It will last two months only after you have reached the lower level of less than 0.03 ppm. Of course how long also depends on the amount of import and other exports.
Finally if you use the media in a bag try tightning it so the media dose not play around with the flow, as it is brittle it will pulverize and end up in your tank. Also to improve flow thru try using pelletized media like Phosar.
Also in a bag there wil be more tendency for the media to clump together so watch for that clumping which deteriorates the flow and neads you to break the clumps once in a while.