Re-thinking phosphate control

[DingDong128]

I also don't think you bioload is to large. I am also trying to get my phos down, but just started running gfo. We'll see. Also agree that biopellets don't do much for phos. Mine are great for nitrates but not phos.

Kevin :fish1:

 

[pscott99]

Three phos tests now. .09 .20 .12 with the new hanna

Any chance you could test your phos before and a few hours after feeding.

It seems like everyone is saying it's all coming from the feeding.

But I have also read about issues even with all the equipment.

I certainly haven't figured mine out yet.

 

[jason2459]

I've never seen any foods marked "low phosphate". Also I forgot about lanthanum chloride dosing as a PO4 control method.

I know Nutrafin Max pellets are labeled as low phosphate and have a min and max phosphate rating. I started using it the end of last year.

 

[goldmaniac]

I don't think you have a high bioload at all - I'd reduce the volume of feedings or reduce the frequency of feedings.

Want to hear about phosphates from feedings? 120 gallon tank, no skimmer, 7" Naso tang and a pair of 4.5" blue throat triggers, plus about 7-8 little guys that stay out of the way. The big three are total pigs and will take down piece after piece of nori, as well as Formula One, Spirulina, frozen Rod's Foods, etc. Last week the female trigger jumped out of the tank. She was going for me as I was dipping the feeding glass into the tank.

\ I just purchased GFO and a reactor and the suggested pump for the reactor, a MaxiJet 1200, for under $110 from BRS. Maybe this is a good way to go?

My live rock has become a phosphate sink. I'm swapping out all live rock soon, it's all old rock and very overdue. When I swap, I'm hooking up the reactor. That's the plan, at least.

 

[kissman]

i tried a few gfo's and when i switched to BRS it finally came down along with a phosban reactor and proper flow. But the most important thing is find the reason why.

 

[disc1]

Also I forgot about lanthanum chloride dosing as a PO4 control method.

Lanthanum is a very bad idea IMHO. Unless you have a filter that can remove ALL of the very fine insoluble particulates, it will accumulate in your tank. Lanthanum is toxic to organisms that assimilate calcium (ie coral). Not an instant death toxic, but more like a can't figure out why my SPS are not doing well kind of toxic.

Lanthanum is OK in swimming pools because nothing there is using calcium. Lanthanum may be OK as an emergency one time measure to reduce phosphate before starting some other method to keep them down. Lanthanum is not a good way to control phosphate.

 

[thebanker]

It's a good way to control phosphate, but you need to know what you're doing. Joe Yaiullo uses LaCl to control phosphate but it gets run through a sand filter. My system doesn't have adequate mechanical filtration to get it out, so it's not a good idea - for me.

I still would like to do a test to see how much activated carbon in a canister will remove - not chemically - but with the activated carbon acting as a defacto mechanical filter.

But I'd like to test it on someone else's system! lol

 

[disc1]

But I'd like to test it on someone else's system! lol

My thoughts exactly.

The sand filter is really the only way to make it work. The lanthanum phosphate is going to be tiny particulates so you need some serious filtration to make sure you get every last bit of it out. I can think of a thousand things to try before I would go to lanthanum.