Aquaforest Phosphate Minus.. does it work?? find out here

[Xclusive Reef]

I don't normally do too many reviews on products but I thought it was worth mentioning my feedback and results with Aquaforest Phosphate Minus.. Disclaimer I am not sponsored but a honest review... Yesterday 2 days ago I saw few of the zoas and frogspawn I have we not as open as they have been. I began to test and checked my phophates. On 12/17 my phosphates were at 0.83 yea high!!! I put 4 tablespoons of phosphate minus with some carbon to clean up my water into one reactor and set the slow very slow. On 12/18 my Phosphates were at 0.71. I was happy that they were coming down so today I tested again and my phosphates sit at 0.31. I can see my zoas and frogspawn starting to get full and perk up. I am going to continue to run the reactor tonight to check what the results are tomorrow.

My personal experience so far has been positive. I would recommend anyone using Aquaforest Phosphate Minus to use very little product as it goes very far last thing you want is to use too much and strip your water. I will post tomorrow's results here as well and see what my numbers are.

 

[KrisReef]

@Xclusive Reef :Nice review thus far. Can you provide more details on the reactor you are using this product with, and what "slow very slow" means?

I checked my phosphates earlier this week and they were approaching your numbers. I use gfo, but am curious to see how others deal with this. Thanks!

 

[Xclusive Reef]

@Xclusive Reef :Nice review thus far. Can you provide more details on the reactor you are using this product with, and what "slow very slow" means?

I checked my phosphates earlier this week and they were approaching your numbers. I use gfo, but am curious to see how others deal with this. Thanks!

I tried to take a pic but too dark. Here is a video hope it helps. Aslo correction the reactor is AquaMaxx FR-S Internal GFO Carbon and Biopellet Filter Media Reactor with Sicce Pump

 

[KrisReef]

Thanks! I could see the flow clearly in your video. "A picture is worth a 1000 words." Thanks again!

 

[Xclusive Reef]

Thanks! I could see the flow clearly in your video. "A picture is worth a 1000 words." Thanks again!

anytime. I will post phosphate results tomorrow and see what I get.

 

[Sherman]

I am using this. As good as Rowa but better pricing

 

[Xclusive Reef]

So next day I tested ( Yesterday) and phosphates went down to 0.16... At this point I removed the reactor offline and did a large water change.

 

[KrisReef]

anytime. I will post phosphate results tomorrow and see what I get.

@Xclusive Reef
Nice results!
One more detail please; which tank (how many gallons) are you running this reactor on?

Thanks very much for posting pictures and details in this product review, these are very helpful. Looks like the reactor and media worked perfectly!

 

[Xclusive Reef]

@Xclusive Reef
Nice results!
One more detail please; which tank (how many gallons) are you running this reactor on?

Thanks very much for posting pictures and details in this product review, these are very helpful. Looks like the reactor and media worked perfectly!

it is a jbj 45 gallon. build in my signature. I checked today and my phosphates are at 0.14 I took reactor offline to see next few days how high phosphates go up too.

 

[Mark Bradley]

I’m working hard to keep my phosphates down to below 0.08 as this is what I was advised as a relative newbie to reef keeping - this needs very regular changing of rowaphos which i find a bit of a pain. Am I working too hard on this as the numbers you guys are talking suggest a higher rate is ok?

 

[Autonomy]

Approx. 12months into using the Aquaforest Phosphate minus product and I'm quite disappointed and rather unimpressed at the amount of barium it has added to my system. Admittedly, it is great at reducing phosphates, however, not to the long-term detriment of the rest of my tank.

I was using both RowaPhos and PhosBan and switched to AquaForest Minus due to the cost. I use natural saltwater and switching to Aquaforest Phosphate Minus has been the only thing that I have changed.

I'm definitely not impressed that my Triton ICP states my barium levels have risen up to 138.00ug/L (138ppm), when they should be no higher than the recommended 10ppm. This clearly explains why a handful of my most expensive collector pieces of LPS (Acanthophyllia deshayesiana) have experienced a slow dismal decline to their death.

Aquaforest Phosphate Minus is now unfortunately in the bin, as I no longer trust their products. Both the Phosphate Minus and their (Mg, KH, Ca & N03) test kits have let me down greatly and my tank has suffered as a result - ultimately, you do get what you pay for.

 

[Mark Bradley]

Sorry to hear of your problems. I have been considering changing from rowaphos and this has helped my decision. Thanks for sharing.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Approx. 12months into using the Aquaforest Phosphate minus product and I'm quite disappointed and rather unimpressed at the amount of barium it has added to my system. Admittedly, it is great at reducing phosphates, however, not to the long-term detriment of the rest of my tank.

I was using both RowaPhos and PhosBan and switched to AquaForest Minus due to the cost. I use natural saltwater and switching to Aquaforest Phosphate Minus has been the only thing that I have changed.

I'm definitely not impressed that my Triton ICP states my barium levels have risen up to 138.00ug/L (138ppm), when they should be no higher than the recommended 10ppm. This clearly explains why a handful of my most expensive collector pieces of LPS (Acanthophyllia deshayesiana) have experienced a slow dismal decline to their death.

Aquaforest Phosphate Minus is now unfortunately in the bin, as I no longer trust their products. Both the Phosphate Minus and their (Mg, KH, Ca & N03) test kits have let me down greatly and my tank has suffered as a result - ultimately, you do get what you pay for.n

I don't believe that level of Barium is really significant, notwithstanding the levels recommended by Triton.

In any event Barium is easily removed by an Aluminium Oxide phosphate reducer, and many alternate between GFO and Aluminium based reducers for that reason.

Regards
Graham.

 

[Autonomy]

I don't believe that level of Barium is really significant, notwithstanding the levels recommended by Triton.

In any event Barium is easily removed by an Aluminium Oxide phosphate reducer, and many alternate between GFO and Aluminium based reducers for that reason.

Regards
Graham.

Barium was the only element on the Triton ICP results, which came back shaded in red as a warning. All my other parameters and elements were within range. My barium levels were at 138ppm, and I believe this to be the cause of the demise of my LPS corals.

“barium - The natural concentration of 5–20 µg/l(0.005-0.02ppm) should be maintained. Values above 200 µg/l (0.2ppm) can lead to problems”. – Fauna Marin.


The Triton ICP also came back with some recommendations and possible suggestions as to why my barium levels were ‘too high’. Taking into account their suggestions, and as a process of elimination (see below) as to what may have caused this, it was clearly obvious to me that it had to be the Aquaforest Phosphate Minus that had caused my barium levels to rise to 138ppm. After all, what else could it be? The display tank in question at the time was a seasoned five-year-old tank and the LPS were not newly acquired but had been with me for a couple of years, settled and thriving.


As per Triton:-

- Check for possible contamination source. To help you in your search for the source of error, we have listed the most common sources of Barium (sorted in descending order of frequency):

1. Phosphate iron-based (except ROWAphos or PhosBan).

* Personally, I had been using both ROWAphos and PhosBan for approx. 4 years with no issues. My iron levels on my ICPs came back within range so I had no need to alternate between an iron-based and aluminium-based phosphate removing media. I only decided to switch to Aquaforest Phosphate Minus due to it being cheaper.

* 'other low quality PO4 media can add Barium to the water' - Triton. I wasn't to know this at the time of deciding to switch to the Aquaforest Phosphate Minus GFO, but in time I definitely learned that you get what you pay for.

2) Contaminated salts.

* I only use natural saltwater on all my (3) tanks. The display tank is the only tank on which I run a phosphate reactor and GFO, so it couldn’t be something in the natural saltwater that was poisoning my corals otherwise I would have lost the same LPS (only smaller in size) in the other two tanks??

3) Contaminated trace elements, in particular strontium.

* I do not dose strontium in any of my tanks.

4) Dried fishfood.

* I only feed my fish fresh frozen home-made seafood and Julian Sprung’s Sea Veggies. (No pellets or flakes).

- Use AL99 PO4 remover to remove Barium.

* Apart from carrying out an initial 80% water change on my main display tank, I also used the recommended Triton AL99 Phosphate Remover to remove the Barium. I am back to alternating between the Rowaphos (ferric hydroxide), PhosBan (ferric oxide hydroxide) and Triton AL99 (99% pure aluminium) and 18months have now passed. No Aquaforest products, no loss in any LPS, and barium has been and stayed within the Triton recommended levels.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Barium was the only element on the Triton ICP results, which came back shaded in red as a warning. All my other parameters and elements were within range. My barium levels were at 138ppm, and I believe this to be the cause of the demise of my LPS corals.

“barium - The natural concentration of 5–20 µg/l(0.005-0.02ppm) should be maintained. Values above 200 µg/l (0.2ppm) can lead to problems”. – Fauna Marin.


The Triton ICP also came back with some recommendations and possible suggestions as to why my barium levels were ‘too high’. Taking into account their suggestions, and as a process of elimination (see below) as to what may have caused this, it was clearly obvious to me that it had to be the Aquaforest Phosphate Minus that had caused my barium levels to rise to 138ppm. After all, what else could it be? The display tank in question at the time was a seasoned five-year-old tank and the LPS were not newly acquired but had been with me for a couple of years, settled and thriving.


As per Triton:-

- Check for possible contamination source. To help you in your search for the source of error, we have listed the most common sources of Barium (sorted in descending order of frequency):

1. Phosphate iron-based (except ROWAphos or PhosBan).

* Personally, I had been using both ROWAphos and PhosBan for approx. 4 years with no issues. My iron levels on my ICPs came back within range so I had no need to alternate between an iron-based and aluminium-based phosphate removing media. I only decided to switch to Aquaforest Phosphate Minus due to it being cheaper.

* 'other low quality PO4 media can add Barium to the water' - Triton. I wasn't to know this at the time of deciding to switch to the Aquaforest Phosphate Minus GFO, but in time I definitely learned that you get what you pay for.

2) Contaminated salts.

* I only use natural saltwater on all my (3) tanks. The display tank is the only tank on which I run a phosphate reactor and GFO, so it couldn’t be something in the natural saltwater that was poisoning my corals otherwise I would have lost the same LPS (only smaller in size) in the other two tanks??

3) Contaminated trace elements, in particular strontium.

* I do not dose strontium in any of my tanks.

4) Dried fishfood.

* I only feed my fish fresh frozen home-made seafood and Julian Sprung’s Sea Veggies. (No pellets or flakes).

- Use AL99 PO4 remover to remove Barium.

* Apart from carrying out an initial 80% water change on my main display tank, I also used the recommended Triton AL99 Phosphate Remover to remove the Barium. I am back to alternating between the Rowaphos (ferric hydroxide), PhosBan (ferric oxide hydroxide) and Triton AL99 (99% pure aluminium) and 18months have now passed. No Aquaforest products, no loss in any LPS, and barium has been and stayed within the Triton recommended levels.

Hiya,

I don't doubt for one second that Aquaforest Phosphate Minus causes raised Barium readings.
I've been using the product for more than 5 years.

As I stated it is simple to remove Barium by alternating with Aluminium based removers.

I have not seen any documented evidence supporting the contention that Barium at the level typically seen after use of Phosphate Minus is harmful to aquatic life.

Bear in mind that Triton and others like to set off alarm bells for minor and unimportant traces in order to sell their products.

It's your wallet, but I'd rather spend money on the tank inhabitants than snake oils.


Regards
Graham.