Blue Life PHOS Fx phosphate resin

hart24601 · Apr 21, 2015

I searched a bit and couldn't find Randy's take on this:

Blue Life PHOS Fx | Blue Life

I didn't know there were any resins that could work in saltwater. They say recharge with brine solution, and a few reports on RC sound like people have been having success with it, but I am curious if anyone here has tried it and of course what Mr Randy thinks!

If it really works as advertised it would be nice to remove my BRS gfo reactor... Although I have been saving up a lot of gfo to recharge it so it might be a while down the road before I switch.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 21, 2015

I think it is just GFO trapped inside a polymer resin, not a resin binder itself. It might make regeneration easier without the GFO coming apart, but I've not tried it. There have been other brands which have tried this approach.

hart24601 · Apr 21, 2015

Thanks Randy! So can regular gfo be recharged with brine too? Is it even possible for a resin to bind phosphate in saltwater? I will ask them if it's coated gfo and see if I get a reply. Any other way to check short of buying some and cutting it open?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 21, 2015

Organic polymer resins won't bind appreciable phosphate in seawater. I co-invented the most effective resin at binding phosphate in the GI tract of humans (sevelamer) which is widely used as a medication. When I tried to see if it bound much phosphate from seawater, it did not, presumably due to too much competition from chloride and sulfate.

I googled a picture of the material mentioned above, and the material is clearly brown. A poly resin is white or clear. It is almost certainly brown from encapsulated GFO. Other companies have sold that, such as Polyplabs. But saying the material is really GFO in a matrix doesn't sound as inventive as a new polymer resin. :lol:

Yes, GFO can be recharged, typically using sodium hydroxide (lye). Search on recharging GFO to find various recipe/procedures.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 21, 2015

here's the picture I was referring to:

Blue Life PHOS Fx Resinator Refill | Blue Life

hart24601 · Apr 21, 2015

Ah I had not seen that photo. I vaguely remembered you talking about seawater and resin before and it not working well, but couldn't remember the details.

Thanks for the info and taking the time to answer, reef keeping is so lucky to have you in this hobby!!!! I think I would be more star struck to meet you than any actor, but that just shows what a reef tank dork I am.

I was hoping this stuff would be a new amazing thing that had just somehow escaped your attention.

I have performed recharge of gfo with lye, but didn't realize the brine was a similar concept.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 22, 2015

Thanks!

I've not tried brine, and I think folks may get better results with lye. Depending on what their polymer is, however, lye may damage it.

hart24601 · Apr 25, 2015

Would you expect these coated particles to hold up better during recharging and tumbling in a reactor? I do get some iron dust released in my sump over time, I wonder if this product would not do that.

pfoxgrover · Apr 26, 2015

hart24601 said:
Would you expect these coated particles to hold up better during recharging and tumbling in a reactor? I do get some iron dust released in my sump over time, I wonder if this product would not do that.

According to Ariel at blue life, the iron is trapped inside the resin and cannot be released. That said you have to make sure the resin does not escape your reactor. I'm going to try some in a media bag inside my brs reactor.
Hope that helps,
Paul

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 26, 2015

pfoxgrover said:
According to Ariel at blue life, the iron is trapped inside the resin and cannot be released. That said you have to make sure the resin does not escape your reactor. I'm going to try some in a media bag inside my brs reactor.
Hope that helps,
Paul

FWIW, no resin can trap iron atoms and let only phosphate in. I've tried that with many atoms, including iron, zinc, and magnesium, using a large team of expert polymer chemists and a big industrial budget.

This resin may not let out larger particles, however, and that may be useful.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 26, 2015

hart24601 said:
Would you expect these coated particles to hold up better during recharging and tumbling in a reactor? I do get some iron dust released in my sump over time, I wonder if this product would not do that.

Yes, that is a likely advantage.

hart24601 · Apr 27, 2015

Thanks Randy! I am not sold on this to replace the BRS HC stuff I use now, but it's nice to know it's out there and what exactly it is.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Apr 27, 2015

:thumb:

Happy Reefing!

pfoxgrover · Apr 27, 2015

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
FWIW, no resin can trap iron atoms and let only phosphate in. I've tried that with many atoms, including iron, zinc, and magnesium, using a large team of expert polymer chemists and a big industrial budget.

This resin may not let out larger particles, however, and that may be useful.

Thanks for the info Randy!