Battling phosphate and gfo

frankieg2293 · Mar 8, 2023

I have been battling phosphate for months,
Main reason I think is I got a used tank a year and a half ago.. and I reused all the sand and rock from last owner. I may have been able to reuse rock but I know I screwed up using the sand.
anyways. I’m in this now, so I have been using GFO in a reactor. And it’s not helping as much as I’d like.
is there a more efficient way to battle this.? My phos hovers around .08- 2.0 ppm I’d really like to keep it lower for obvious reasons.
maybe I should replace sand? Or maybe there is a chemical option?

Viking_Reefing · Mar 8, 2023

Vacuum out all the gunk from the sandbed will be step one. Removing it might cause more issues now that it’s there.

However, there must be something wrong with the implementation of the GFO. Either not using enough or the wrong setup. GFO can easily strip all the po4 out of the system in no time at all.

Dennis Cartier · Mar 8, 2023

frankieg2293 said:
I have been battling phosphate for months,
Main reason I think is I got a used tank a year and a half ago.. and I reused all the sand and rock from last owner. I may have been able to reuse rock but I know I screwed up using the sand.
anyways. I’m in this now, so I have been using GFO in a reactor. And it’s not helping as much as I’d like.
is there a more efficient way to battle this.? My phos hovers around .08- 2.0 ppm I’d really like to keep it lower for obvious reasons.
maybe I should replace sand? Or maybe there is a chemical option?

It depends if the range you have in your post is accurate (0.08 - 2.0 ppm). I suspect you might have misplaced the decimal and really mean 0.2 ppm. If so, it really is 0.2 ppm, then GFO is probably the easiest method to employ.

For higher PO4 levels, than Lanthanum Chloride (LaCl) becomes much cheaper and easier to use for bringing down PO4. However it does come with risks to your livestock if appropriate measures are not employed. I strongly suggest reading the various threads on using Lanthanum before contemplating using it to be informed of the risks and how to mitigate them.

gbroadbridge · Mar 8, 2023

frankieg2293 said:
I have been battling phosphate for months,
Main reason I think is I got a used tank a year and a half ago.. and I reused all the sand and rock from last owner. I may have been able to reuse rock but I know I screwed up using the sand.
anyways. I’m in this now, so I have been using GFO in a reactor. And it’s not helping as much as I’d like.
is there a more efficient way to battle this.? My phos hovers around .08- 2.0 ppm I’d really like to keep it lower for obvious reasons.
maybe I should replace sand? Or maybe there is a chemical option?

Phosphate binds to carbonate surfaces such as rock and substrate.
They can act as a reservoir for an awful lot of Phosphate.

The GFO is working fine, but as quickly as it is removing phosphate more is being released from the reservoir.
You simply need to keep it up and it will slowly reduce, which may take many months.

You could use Lanthanum Chloride as others have pointed out. It works by precipitating the phosphate out of solution and then the precipitate needs to be mechanically removed using very fine filter socks. If not removed it will pollute the tank.

Another alternative is an Aluminium Oxide based Phosphate remover such as Phosguard.
Personally, I would use that in preference to Lanthanum Chloride.

frankieg2293 · Mar 8, 2023

Dennis Cartier said:
It depends if the range you have in your post is accurate (0.08 - 2.0 ppm). I suspect you might have misplaced the decimal and really mean 0.2 ppm. If so, it really is 0.2 ppm, then GFO is probably the easiest method to employ.

For higher PO4 levels, than Lanthanum Chloride (LaCl) becomes much cheaper and easier to use for bringing down PO4. However it does come with risks to your livestock if appropriate measures are not employed. I strongly suggest reading the various threads on using Lanthanum before contemplating using it to be informed of the risks and how to mitigate them.

I did misplace. Decimal

Kapachuka3 · Mar 8, 2023

Try using phosguard, put the bag back in the filter and keep it in there until the phosphate levels go down. I have the same problem and this worked for me.

Moshiko13 · Mar 8, 2023

You can try Rowaphos or ready solution such as KZ coral snow plus

frankieg2293 · Nov 15, 2023

Viking_Reefing said:
Vacuum out all the gunk from the sandbed will be step one. Removing it might cause more issues now that it’s there.

However, there must be something wrong with the implementation of the GFO. Either not using enough or the wrong setup. GFO can easily strip all the po4 out of the system in no time at all.

It’s so expensive, and it does work temporarily but in a week the phos comes right back up to where I started with

Dburr1014 · Nov 15, 2023

What's wrong with 0.08~0.2?

frankieg2293 · Nov 15, 2023

Dburr1014 said:
What's wrong with 0.08~0.2?

i was told .02 is ideal for SPS and other corals

Koty · Nov 15, 2023

0.08~0.2 is ideal

tzabor10 · Nov 15, 2023

most phosphate problems are from overfeeding. But are your corals healthy? How does the system look?

Dburr1014 · Nov 15, 2023

frankieg2293 said:
i was told .02 is ideal for SPS and other corals

For some, maybe.
Most sps reefers are probably in the 0.05~0.1 range. Many are higher.
Higher than 0.2, I think most start to worry.

jda · Nov 15, 2023

It comes back up because the sand and rock are releasing po4 back to equilibrium.

LC can be cheaper, but you need to catch it in a filter sock. A maxijet, a piece of hose and a sock clamped onto the side of the tank can work. Let it work for a few minutes and then take it back off...

Otherwise, GFO in small amounts changed daily in a powered reactor is the best way to use it. The stuff will exhaust very quickly in a power filter.

frankieg2293 · Nov 16, 2023

Koty said:
0.08~0.2 is ideal

im at .14 right now but still id like to drop it to at least .1

Koty · Nov 18, 2023

GFO is very effective but has a few issues: Its messy and reactors need maintenance. Also GFO takes other things from the water column. Phosphate will go down slowly because a lot is adsorbed to the substrate but that is a good thing . I decided to get rid of GFO and increase the carbon dosing. In my case i cannot reduce it below 0.1-0.08 and my nitrates are around 0.

LeonardTheWrasse · Nov 18, 2023

I don't know about anyone else, but I've found GFO to be really helpful so far. I set my reactor up last Saturday, when my Phosphate wasn't even readable with the Hanna checker (0.90ppm).

I used the smallest recommended dosage of the GFO for my tank size, and when I tested again today, and my Phosphate has dropped to 0.33ppm, a massive jump in just a week.

All my livestock seem to be doing well, and my corals are perking up after months of not looking so great.

It's pretty messy and annoying to have to deal with, but the change it's made has far surpassed my expectations, so the maintenance isn't a huge deal.

Koty · Nov 18, 2023

LeonardTheWrasse said:
I don't know about anyone else, but I've found GFO to be really helpful so far. I set my reactor up last Saturday, when my Phosphate wasn't even readable with the Hanna checker (0.90ppm).

I used the smallest recommended dosage of the GFO for my tank size, and when I tested again today, and my Phosphate has dropped to 0.33ppm, a massive jump in just a week.

All my livestock seem to be doing well, and my corals are perking up after months of not looking so great.

It's pretty messy and annoying to have to deal with, but the change it's made has far surpassed my expectations, so the maintenance isn't a huge deal.

Do you dose any type of carbon?

LeonardTheWrasse · Nov 18, 2023

Koty said:
Do you dose any type of carbon?

Not at the moment, no.

Koty · Nov 18, 2023

You should...I use Tropic Marin products but they are the more pricey option. If you ask many members its almost a must. After all at the end reefing is taking care of the bacteria in your tank