high phosphates! Advice needed...

[Tony Caliente]

This is what Seachem had to say:

Thank you for the warning!

We do recommend rinsing/immersing the product in a double volume of freshwater which should remove most of the fine dust particles that can cause temporary irritation to some soft species. With regards to the release of aluminum, we are aware that it has been shown that under certain conditions aluminum is able to affect some soft species. However this is in no way conclusive as there are a number of other situations where a product such as PhosGuard has had no such negative affect at all. Based on the evidence it would appear it is more than a simple "aluminum from phosphate removers is the sole culprit". We are looking into the matter more closely so that we can provide a meaningful cautionary statement (i.e. "use of this product under _this set of conditions xxxxxxx_ can have a deleterious affect and should be avoided).
With regards to the false advertising claim I can assure you that was certainly never the intention. The statement "it will not release anything in to the water" is made in reference to it not being an exchange resin to further underscore the difference between it and an exchange resin: by their nature exchange resins release an equivalent amount of material for every piece of material they absorb. PhosGuard does not release anything into the water upon phosphate or silicate removal... in other words the extremely low level of aluminum leached is not correlated with its phosphate or silicate removal activity. Furthermore, the amount of aluminum that is released is in the microgram range. In other words, an extremely low level that from a chemical standpoint would be characterized as "non-soluble" i.e. non-soluble material is not released into the solvent (i.e. water). Any search on the solubility characteristics of aluminum oxide would show it to be considered completely insoluble in water.
The bottom line is that if the directions are followed and the product is well rinsed in freshwater, any deleterious effects should be minimal to non-existant and temporary

 

[shred5]

This is what Seachem had to say:
We do recommend rinsing/immersing the product in a double volume of freshwater which should remove most of the fine dust particles that can cause temporary irritation to some soft species. With regards to the release of aluminum, we are aware that it has been shown that under certain conditions aluminum is able to affect some soft species. However this is in no way conclusive as there are a number of other situations where a product such as PhosGuard has had no such negative affect at all. Based on the evidence it would appear it is more than a simple "aluminum from phosphate removers is the sole culprit". We are looking into the matter more closely so that we can provide a meaningful cautionary statement (i.e. "use of this product under _this set of conditions xxxxxxx_ can have a deleterious affect and should be avoided).
With regards to the false advertising claim I can assure you that was certainly never the intention. The statement "it will not release anything in to the water" is made in reference to it not being an exchange resin to further underscore the difference between it and an exchange resin: by their nature exchange resins release an equivalent amount of material for every piece of material they absorb. PhosGuard does not release anything into the water upon phosphate or silicate removal... in other words the extremely low level of aluminum leached is not correlated with its phosphate or silicate removal activity. Furthermore, the amount of aluminum that is released is in the microgram range. In other words, an extremely low level that from a chemical standpoint would be characterized as "non-soluble" i.e. non-soluble material is not released into the solvent (i.e. water). Any search on the solubility characteristics of aluminum oxide would show it to be considered completely insoluble in water.
The bottom line is that if the directions are followed and the product is well rinsed in freshwater, any deleterious effects should be minimal to non-existant and temporary

Of coarse they will defend their product. Fact is I have known Randy for a long time and I trust him. Why would I use something in my tank that may could cause a problem when there is a alternatives that are much safer. I value my corals and animals way to much to risk it.

 

[scott711]

So I used Rowaphos for the last 2 days. When I tested it last night the effluent measured 1.5 and my tank measured 1.6. Is the idea that the effluent should measure 0? Is there a specific # or timeframe that I should be looking at to lower my PO4 to 0? i would imagine I need to replace the GFO with new media.

Thanks!

 

[FishScale]

do water changes and run gfo

 

[Tab28]

It is not uncommon to need new GFO in only a few days when your levels were that high. If the levels are not going down the GFO is more than likely exhausted. Also be sure you have a good tumbling (but not too turbulant) effect in the reactor. The labels stating will get rid of lower 1ppm for each 150 gallons is a mismoner. Phoshate removal in a funtioning reef system does not work that way. IMO phosphates are harder to get rid of then nitrates. Live rock/bio balls can help rid Nitrates but does not help with Phosphates. It will take several refills to get your levels to less than .03 on a continuous basis. Check out Bulk Reef Supply it is far cheaper than Rowaphos.