How to use Phosguard? Does it really work?

[Weehawken64]

I want to order some Phosguard as my phosphates are high and I'm getting a lot of algae. I'm will,order it online but do i need to put it in a media bag? If so,I have to order bags separately? Where is best place to put it? I have a bio cube. Any and all responses are appreciated.

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

Media bag will work, reactor will work better. Be careful with phosguard. It's granulated aluminum oxide (where gfo is granulated ferric 'iron' oxide) and pulls phosphates out faster than gfo. It's pretty much exhausted after 4 days and has to be replaced. Directions say it can be dried out and reused but the longer you use it the greater your chance of leaching aluminum into your tank.

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

I don't know what corals you have but if you pull out phosphates too fast it will shock corals, of course sps are more prone to react negatively but it can affect everything depending on conditions.

 

[Weehawken64]

Media bag will work, reactor will work better. Be careful with phosguard. It's granulated aluminum oxide (where gfo is granulated ferric 'iron' oxide) and pulls phosphates out faster than gfo. It's pretty much exhausted after 4 days and has to be replaced. Directions say it can be dried out and reused but the longer you use it the greater your chance of leaching aluminum into your tank.

Is there a better product you suggest at same cost level? Thank you

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

Gfo. I use chaeto and purigen in my biocube but I only have a mantis and damsel.

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

There are some nice media racks that make it nice to use filter media. I took all the bioballs out, have my filter/carbon cartridge and heater in chamber one (no skimmer), purigen on top, chaeto then a few inches of live rock rubble in chamber 2 and chamber 3 is packed with live rock and I keep my water lever maxed out in the rear chambers. I do 5 gal water changes (Rodi and seachem Reef salt) once a week and top off every 3 days but my lights only run 6 to 8 hrs a day (only have softies in the tank) and the tank has great water quality. No3 is under 5 and Po4 is 0.05.

 

[Weehawken64]

I also use purigen and have since the begin in but I don't know now I'm getting algae all over and it comes back real quick. I thought maybe Phosguard was a good idea to help the situation.

 

[Pappy]

+1 on gfo much cheaper!

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

Phosguard, phosban, gfo, ect is a band-aid. Find the source of the nutrients that are feeding the algae. Cut back on feedings and the light cycle. Do large water changes often and the nutrients will come down depending on how much your rocks have soaked up.

 

[NanaReefer]

I totally disagree with PhosGaurd being "a band-aid". You cannot stop phosphates from entering your tank period. Sometimes all it takes is a small amount to cause unwanted algae issues.
PhosGaurd is a a great way to removing & maintaining excess phosphates. Used as directed it is safe.
Personally I like it! Easy to use and works great!

 

[GrizFyrFyter]

I totally disagree with PhosGaurd being "a band-aid". You cannot stop phosphates from entering your tank period. Sometimes all it takes is a small amount to cause unwanted algae issues.
PhosGaurd is a a great way to removing & maintaining excess phosphates. Used as directed it is safe.
Personally I like it! Easy to use and works great!

Macro algae is a great way to export nutrients, turf scrubbers are a great way to export nutrients, good husbandry is a good way to prevent and minimize nutrients. Do the products work, yes. Phosguard requires more attention than its worth, I know it gets saturated very quickly and once it is saturated it serves no purpose but to be a potential heavy metal risk. It removes phosphates very quickly, it is not a long term solution (especially given the costs), it is a short term solution that can shock a system. It has its purpose but long term nutrient control is not one of them. Gfo last much longer and because of the bigger particle size is easier to put the required flow through without tumbling it into dust. Gfo pull phosphates out much slower but once it's exhausted it is also a risk to the tank. You can argue opinion all you want but the two products were designed to serve different jobs and they both do their jobs well.

 

[gregcoyote]

+1 agreed. I run a ATS and because it exhausts nitrogen based wastes before it exhausts all the phosphates, I use GFO to pull the last bit out. GFO can be a pain, but I agree about the Phosguard mentioned above. Export of DOCs thru biological process's uses more than 16 times the amount of nitrates to phosphates when growing living cells. So it's not uncommon to get a system into nitrogen lock down and need something to chemically bind to the phosphates .

 

[Davesgt]

Phosguard has been tested and releases absolutely no alumina in the saltwater aquarium under normal ph balances like 8.0-8.4, the only testing that ever resulted in any leaching was at a ph of 5.3. If your ph is 5.3 you've got more to worry about that alumina. This is a great product that will help with getting your phosphates under control until you can find the reason for excess.

 

[Dre59]

Tagging along

 

[billwill]

I prefer GFO. It's slower, and you can leave it in for a month with no worries about leaching phosphates back or whatever. It's probably a little less expensive too. I dip it in a mesh bag in my 9G nano and run in a reactor on my 90G at home.

 

[Poseidon]

I used PhosGuard to rid my tank of Cyano, I have been using it for about 6 months now to keep it and other algaes away. So far so good.

 

[Weehawken64]

Great responses. Thank you.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just bought some for my reactor. Interested to see results. Will follow these posts.

 

[BryanD]

I've used Phosguard and Seagel for years, never had a reactor but put it in a media bag placed at a high flow area of my sump. As for the aluminum issue, SeaChem website says they've tested it and as long as your pH stays near 8 you don't have a problem. They detected "0.2mg/L of aluminum at a pH of 5.3", which no one is going to let their tank get to, or atleast if you do algae is going to be the least of your problems. :tongue: I like the fact that Seagel is a mix of carbon and phosphate remover, though most agree the carbon is probably used up faster than the phosphate remover. As for how long it lasts, presently I've had a bag of it in my sump for over a month and PO4 tested 0 Sunday, thats in a 60 gallon with 216W T5 lights, 4 fish fed daily, 3 LPS, a ton of shrooms, 2 SPS and a decent clean-up crew of snails, hermits, emeralds and one banded starfish. My NO3 is 2.5 ppm, and I have very little nuisuance algae, couple of small spots of hair I keep "filing" down with a toothbrush, won't go away but the 2-3 spots I have aren't much bigger than a dime or so. :smile:

 

[davidwinn101]

Tried them all, always go back to rowaphos