Phosphates

Kit_Kat · Jan 17, 2019

HB AL said:
I keep a bag of phosgaurd in my tank 24/7, and dose 5ml of nopox. For my tank this seems to keep my phosphate and nitrate at levels low enough that corals like but algae doesn’t. I have a lot of fish(feed 8 cubes a day) and corals of all types and they’ve been doing great, on this regimen since I set this tank up 3 years ago. Also I don’t do water changes, last one was 10 months ago. Here’s a couple recent shots to show how it’s working out for me.

Wow! Beautiful....

phil bevilacqua · Jan 17, 2019

Gh

HB AL said:
He doesn't touch any corals, leaves snails alone, and the hermits since I already had a sargassum and bluejaw trigger became nocturnal feeders, I think because of the triggers, so i only see them when the lights are out. I figured he would munch on my maximal clams but he doesnt.

That is so awesome

Eggpaul · Feb 1, 2019

I have a brs dual reactor - gfo and carbon. My montipora and some other corals have not done well. My phosphates are zero. Should I just turn off the gfo for now? Didn't know it worked that well.

User1 · Feb 1, 2019

What kind of rock are you using? Only reason why I ask is because some rock, for example dry Pukani, is known to leach phosphate. I have a 210 gallon with 150 lbs of it and my phosphate is high but I really don't pay much attention to it. Seems to be just a number like anything else so I use my Kenya tree and Xenia as the early warning more or less.

I do not use GFO nor would. I have used NoPox for a couple months and it did lower nitrates and phosphates. It took a bit of time and I used 1/2 of their recommended dose amount while slowing increasing it every 7 days. Worked well but stopped it after a while. Unless you are being plagued by algae troubles I'd personally ignore it.

Eggpaul · Feb 1, 2019

saf1 said:
What kind of rock are you using? Only reason why I ask is because some rock, for example dry Pukani, is known to leach phosphate. I have a 210 gallon with 150 lbs of it and my phosphate is high but I really don't pay much attention to it. Seems to be just a number like anything else so I use my Kenya tree and Xenia as the early warning more or less.

I do not use GFO nor would. I have used NoPox for a couple months and it did lower nitrates and phosphates. It took a bit of time and I used 1/2 of their recommended dose amount while slowing increasing it every 7 days. Worked well but stopped it after a while. Unless you are being plagued by algae troubles I'd personally ignore it.

Why wouldn't you use GFO?

User1 · Feb 1, 2019

Eggpaul said:
Why wouldn't you use GFO?

Risk, cost, and removes too much from the water column. NoPox has a similar risk - plenty of threads of people having issues after using it. Both in moderate incremental use is wise but this is just how I would use. Then again I error on the side of caution. But like I said I've not used GFO - only NoPox and it is my opinion.

Eggpaul · Feb 1, 2019

saf1 said:
Risk, cost, and removes too much from the water column. NoPox has a similar risk - plenty of threads of people having issues after using it. Both in moderate incremental use is wise but this is just how I would use. Then again I error on the side of caution. But like I said I've not used GFO - only NoPox and it is my opinion.

Ok, some people are telling me to turn off the gfo for now. I didn't think it would do such a good job of stripping the water of everything.

User1 · Feb 1, 2019

Eggpaul said:
Ok, some people are telling me to turn off the gfo for now. I didn't think it would do such a good job of stripping the water of everything.

I believe Randy Farley wrote an article years ago on GFO so I would trust his words of wisdom more than mine - all things chemistry is his wheelhouse

Grab a cup of coffee or tea if that is your thing and do a quick search on GFO with his name to find it. Maybe you already read it so no big deal. I think it comes down to one of those glass half full half empty questions. Some say no, others say in moderation when necessary, others say yes. I apologize for suggesting it is totally wrong - didn't mean that. I saw the tanks picture and didn't really see signs of algae so tend to error with caution.

Edit: I am not sure who's tank was in the thread - yours, OP's, or another.

mitch91175 · Feb 1, 2019

SPR1968 said:
If you use a GFO (I use rhowaphos in a reactor) it can’t not work, provided you change it when spent and I run this 24/7 and doing this was the best single control method I did to my system. I also use Nopox but it’s not very good for phosphate control.

The change could be anything from a week to a month depending on the phosphate level at the start. I change mine normally every 3 weeks. This time I left it 4 weeks, due to a holiday, and when I tested instead of being around 0-0.o3 it was 0.18! So it was changed

I rarely test the phosphate these days as I just do a regular rhowaphos change and that keeps it locked down.

I think this is the best approach to keeping phosphates in check. I recently decided to do the exact same thing. Just tired of the battle back and forth. Just want to keep phosphates low so I can feed my tank appropriately.

Really do not think I'll have to worry about getting to 0 phosphates. Only using 1 1/2 cup BRS for little over 240g.

Blackice615 · Feb 2, 2019

How long does the gfo last for you?

mitch91175 · Feb 2, 2019

Blackice615 said:
How long does the gfo last for you?

Still in the calculation phase of my continuous GFO. If I can get close to 4 weeks from 1.5 cups I'll be fine with that. I don't want to totally strip phosphates, I just want to keep them below 0.08 (if possible).

At 0.11 this morning down from 0.23 a few days ago.