Phosban reactor words of wisdom?

[CrystalAZ]

Hi all! Thought I'd post here since a lot of SPS people have these reactors.

Anyway, I am planning on setting my Phosban Reactor up tomorrow and want to get words of wisdom from those who have them or have used them.

I have a Mini-Jet 400 for flow and have some Phosban ready...

Some specific questions -

1. Is it ok to run carbon AND Phosban together? If so, which goes on top and which on bottom (or does it matter?)

2. I've read that you should start with a small amount and work your way up so that the corals aren't shocked. How much do you recommend starting with for approx. 140G water volume?

3. Should the media "tumble" or barely move or ??? I've read stories about it turning to a block, so I want to stop that from happening.

Any tips, tricks, mods, or ideas to make it work as well as possible would be super.

I know some people have had issues with using phosphate removers, but I am having cyano and hair algae growth and want to stop it before it is out of control so I am willing to take the risk.

Thanks!

Crystal

 

[attml]

If you do a search on phosban / rowaphos there is a lot of good information. IME the key to running these types of media is that you run it very slowly and you let as little as possible get into your tank. At a water change I run (in a bucket) the new Rowaphos/Phosban through 2 gallons of the water that just came out of the tank which rinses away some of the dust. I discard the first half gallon of really dark nasty Rowa water that comes out of the phosban reactor, then I let it loop in the rest of the 2 gallons of change water for an hour. I then change buckets to a different 2 gallons of old change water and let it run on that for 2 hours (by this time the dust has left the reactor). After that I add the Phosban reactor to my sump and stick the output hose inside of my micron filter to catch any additional dust. I then set the reactor flow so that it is literally at a little more than a trickle. A lot of people had RTN problems using RowaPhos and Phosban because the media is so aggressive it removes the phosphate too quickly which shocks the corals. They also had problems because the media dust was free floating in their tank and being taken in by the corals and it was causing what some people were saying was some burning of the corals. The key is to use it slowly, not let the dust in your system (or as little as possible) and to change the media more frequently the recommended. People were also letting the media get exhausted and the phosphate levels would rise then they would fall again dramatically when they changed the media. It is better not to let the media exhaust and have the phosphate levels steady & low rather than having them going up and down every time you change the media. When you first add new media your PH will also drop so you may want to have some kalk ready to drip to counter the PH swing. Just use it slowly keep it fresh and keep the dust out of your system and you will get the best results.

 

[CrystalAZ]

Cool.... information absorbed.

Yes, I have done searches and have read all the basic info, but was just wondering if there is anything else I need to know from those that already use it.

Thanks!!

Crystal

 

[Ti]

phosban ain't doing a thing for me.
I'm beginning to doubt it.

 

[kyzmyss1]

Ti,

Possibly you don't have enough Phosban in your system? What is your tank size and how much are you adding? Why do you think its not working?

 

[FastFish720]

Seems more like people are od'ing their tanks initially and are shocking their corals. It seems like it show be slowly increased over time to completely eliminate phosphate.

 

[reefcam]

I have used Phosban and Rowaphos with good results and bad side effect. Like attml mentioned, make sure none get back into your tank. The residue does like to coat everything.

I recently took mine off line but when I do put it back on, I am putting a floss filter inline to trap any particulate matters from the reactor.

Good luck.

 

[Ti]

Ti,

Possibly you don't have enough Phosban in your system? What is your tank size and how much are you adding? Why do you think its not working?

150G.
I think I have more than enough.
I know it's not doing a thing cause po4 levels havent; dropped.
40g

 

[danieljames]

Lost several sps to a phosban reactor crystal. Used about 4 tbs on a 26 with the same amount of black diamond on the top. Guess it was too much, but i won't use the stuff again.

 

[CrystalAZ]

Hmmmmm. Thanks. I set mine up tonight, finally. Decided to skip trying to add carbon, and just have it with Phosban.

Anyway, I started with 4 tablespoons for about 140g of water volume. I figure I will start slow so I don't lose my corals.

It is running with a MiniJet400 and that seems to do a good job. The top of the media is "dancing" up 1/2 inch or so.

Crystal

 

[calvinci]

hi, how's the result? I am in the same shoe now. plan to add 4 tbs to my 100g as well.. how long does it take to add another 4 tbs?

 

[Chicago]

rowaphhso for me worked much better thatn the phospban.. cleaner. imo they are not the same stuff.

 

[Brad A.]

Lost $100's (literally) to rowa use. Used as per manufacture instructions.

I've since learned to do a water change if the phosphates are elevated.

 

[thetedinator]

<snip> At a water change I run (in a bucket) the new Rowaphos/Phosban through 2 gallons of the water that just came out of the tank which rinses away some of the dust. I discard the first half gallon of really dark nasty Rowa water that comes out of the phosban reactor, then I let it loop in the rest of the 2 gallons of change water for an hour. I then change buckets to a different 2 gallons of old change water and let it run on that for 2 hours (by this time the dust has left the reactor). <snip>

Great idea. Recycle the discard water to wash the rowaphos. I was using perfectly good ro/di water to achieve the same thing.

cya,

Ted

 

[Chicago]

another thought you might want to consider... let it fall through a pond fulter bucket with some floss in it before it enters the tank sump.

do not bring you phospates down to quickly.. do it slowly. measure the phosphate levels coming out of the reactor. it should be zero if not slow down the flow. after that read occasionaly and if not zero change out the rowaphos.

 

[Fliger]

Lost $100's (literally) to rowa use. Used as per manufacture instructions.

I've since learned to do a water change if the phosphates are elevated.

Did you talk to Doug about it? There had to be something wrong with your bucket, or your test kit. It's chemically impossible for this stuff not to work, as long as there isn't a defect in the product.

I'm nervously firing up my 509 this week.

I tried phosban and carbon together, I wouldn't recommend it. Mostly because they're a different size, and need different flow to get the media to "roll" the way you want it to. At least I couldn't, the phosban is smaller than the carbon I was using.

 

[AcroSteve]

Crystal, Which reactor are you using?

 

[Bomber]

do not bring you phospates down to quickly.. do it slowly. measure the phosphate levels coming out of the reactor. it should be zero if not slow down the flow. after that read occasionaly and if not zero change out the rowaphos.

do not add too much iron too quickly. do it slowly.

Chicago, it's really not the phosphates coming down, it's the amount of iron to bring them down that causes problems.

 

[JoeMack]

I use 1/2 a can of phosban for my 50 gallon w/ 20 gallon sump. I haven't had any problems. The a case study for you.

 

[Chicago]

bomber please explain a little more. iron depletion? no problem droping phosphate levels quidkly?