Da85CBears
New member
OK ladies and gents, how long should I wait before testing for phosphate after running my phosban reactor?
Phosphate reactor
- Thread starter Da85CBears
- Start date
Lordhelmet
Active member
im not sure on this one either. i would think you should see some drop after a week or so.
pepe.king.prawn
New member
depends on the amount of media in your reactor and the flow through it. I'd say you should probably see a drop in phosphate within a day. It of course depends how high your phosphates were to start with.
sanjosereefer
New member
Freaky, I was going to create this very same thread until I saw this one. I installed my phosban 150 last night and was wondering when to check the levels again....sounds like anywhere from a few days to a week. Heck, I'm a water test junky, so probably do it several times in the next few days. 
Litespeeds
New member
Another question is how long should I keep the media in there before it needs to be replaced?
otterpop510
New member
hi litespeeds, i think folks recommend just checking for phosphate levels to rise, then replace.. otherwise depends on tank stocking, etc.. but it would be nice to see how much people put in at a time and how often just to get a sense. for instance, do people put in less than 130g and just change out more often to coincide with carbon changing?
also question.. for those with the phosban 150's, what pump or setup are you using to pump water in? a maxi 400? something else?
also question.. for those with the phosban 150's, what pump or setup are you using to pump water in? a maxi 400? something else?
Litespeeds
New member
I have the 2 Little Fishies Phosban Reactor 150, Micro-jet 450 powerhead and ROWAphos.
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=TL4311
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=AS1173
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=RW1113
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=TL4311
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=AS1173
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=RW1113
Litespeeds
New member
I didn't have any specific reason except I believe that you usually get what you pay for so I opted for the more expensive stuff. Since I installed this unit, I have not had the chance to test my water yet but I can tell that my undesirable algae growth has stopped and is now somewhat under control for me to manually remove some of it.
sanjosereefer
New member
I'll testify that the reactors work. I hooked mine up 2 days ago and saw results the next day. Prior to that, I was using Rowaphos in their mesh bag...brought the phosphate down from 1mg/L to about 0.4mg/L. Things looked happier, but still getting that fine dust algae on the tank front coming back too soon. I just put the bag in my sump part of my wet/dry with a separate Rio90 pointing at it..."cheap man's" reactor.
I had my Phosban 150 on order and it arrived on Tuesday. Hooked it up, and coming home from work Wednesday, noticed that some of the algae on the tank front had died off and was a little clearer. Coming home from work today (Thursday), I notice my corals looked happier and brighter. Most noticable was my blasto merletti. It usually has a light green center, but now the center was an almost neon center. Tested the water, and it looks like it dropped down to 0.2 mg/L, but these darm color matching test are sometimes hard to read. I use SeaTest right now, but planning to switch to Salifert if it's easier to read. All my other test are Salifert and I like them a lot.
As I blab...yes, phosban reactor is worth it...whether you use Phosban or Rowaphos...it's just more efficient then relying on media in a filter bag.
To another question on this thread, I personally chose Rowaphos, because you can leave it in the tank without worrying about it leaching phosphate back into your tank when the media is exhausted...well, that's what their website said.
Seeing is believing...try a reactor and you'll see a difference.
I had my Phosban 150 on order and it arrived on Tuesday. Hooked it up, and coming home from work Wednesday, noticed that some of the algae on the tank front had died off and was a little clearer. Coming home from work today (Thursday), I notice my corals looked happier and brighter. Most noticable was my blasto merletti. It usually has a light green center, but now the center was an almost neon center. Tested the water, and it looks like it dropped down to 0.2 mg/L, but these darm color matching test are sometimes hard to read. I use SeaTest right now, but planning to switch to Salifert if it's easier to read. All my other test are Salifert and I like them a lot.
As I blab...yes, phosban reactor is worth it...whether you use Phosban or Rowaphos...it's just more efficient then relying on media in a filter bag.
To another question on this thread, I personally chose Rowaphos, because you can leave it in the tank without worrying about it leaching phosphate back into your tank when the media is exhausted...well, that's what their website said.
Seeing is believing...try a reactor and you'll see a difference.
jdieck
New member
OK some comments, regarding the speed, I tranformed a kalk reactor into a phosban ractor and it holds a full 1,220 gr bucket of Phosban. (i call it Lil'Abner
) In my 330 gal system it reduced Phosphates from 0.2 to 0.04 in just three hours and to 0 in 24.
Rowaphos is faster than Phosban in removal but it is my impression and experience that it has more fines so it is a bit more difficult to clean on first installation (I throw away the first flush water until it comes clean before putting it in service) It also gives me the imprssion that Rowa gets clumped easier than Phosban and that it precipitates more carbonate (Which aids in the clumping)
Phosban is slower (but fast enough for me anyhow) but seems easier to flush and has larger grain size that reduces fines.
Neither Phosban nor Rowaphos will release phosphate back into the aquarium and both will also remove silicates.
With either one set the reactor to fluidize the bed and install additional fiber filter, do not only rely only on the foam to hold it back.
) In my 330 gal system it reduced Phosphates from 0.2 to 0.04 in just three hours and to 0 in 24.Rowaphos is faster than Phosban in removal but it is my impression and experience that it has more fines so it is a bit more difficult to clean on first installation (I throw away the first flush water until it comes clean before putting it in service) It also gives me the imprssion that Rowa gets clumped easier than Phosban and that it precipitates more carbonate (Which aids in the clumping)
Phosban is slower (but fast enough for me anyhow) but seems easier to flush and has larger grain size that reduces fines.
Neither Phosban nor Rowaphos will release phosphate back into the aquarium and both will also remove silicates.
With either one set the reactor to fluidize the bed and install additional fiber filter, do not only rely only on the foam to hold it back.
