Quick Way to Reduce Phosphates

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 8, 2020

Hallowhead said:
It's good for some people & bad for others all depends on tank & current setup. Who knows I may wind up needing one but I was looking for a way to simply lower phosphate by a quick dose as it's way elevated from normal & I think it's a result from my mom overfeeding the last three days.

I don’t agree it is bad for any, if used properly.

lmm1967 · Mar 8, 2020

so do a 100% water change. And have fun doing that twice a week so you don’t have to use that devil gfo junk.

I wish you luck.

Hallowhead · Mar 8, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I don’t agree it is bad for any, if used properly.

if you have zero nutrients and you throw a gfo reactor on you think that's good?

X-37B · Mar 8, 2020

Hallowhead said:
if you have zero nutrients and you throw a gfo reactor on you think that's good?

Good luck!

hankacrank · Mar 8, 2020

I agree with all these people. GFO has to be used in a small amount that doesn't wipe out PO4 completely. I have my PO4 level at 0.12 by Hanna Checker. It was almost zero when I had too much of it in the sump.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 8, 2020

Hallowhead said:
if you have zero nutrients and you throw a gfo reactor on you think that's good?

In my opinion, it is an appropriate way to reduce phosphate. That certainly does not mean that reducing phosphate is always needed or desirable. An obvious analogy is sodium bicarbonate suitable for increasing alkalinity. I’d argue yes, but obviously if the alkalinity is already 27 dKH, it is not desirable to add it.

Graffiti Spot · Mar 9, 2020

I don’t think carbon dosing will be the fastest way for you either. It take a while to get to a dose where you can add nitrate back in and have po4 drop. Also I believe nitrates have to get to near zero for po4 to really start to lower? Or have people had luck just dumping nitrate and a carbon source in the tank to lower po4? I would guess you will have bacteria blooms from this.

rmurken · Mar 9, 2020

I run chaeto and have successfully dosed a touch of nitrate to bring down small bumps in PO4. Did not dose any carbon. I think dosed the tank up to about a ppm of NO3, then checked NO3 and PO4 the next day, and repeated.

mmw64 · Mar 27, 2020

Quietman said:
Lanthanum Chloride - one of brand is PhosphateRx. Immediate nitrate reduction but be very careful in dosing as it will drop phosphates in 24 hours. You'll also need to have skimmer and/or sock/sponge to capture the lanthanum phosphate precipitate. See Melev for some good videos and of course lots of product info on here.

Do you know who supplies PhosphateRx?

2Wheelsonly · Mar 27, 2020

Quietman said:
Lanthanum Chloride - one of brand is PhosphateRx. Immediate nitrate reduction but be very careful in dosing as it will drop phosphates in 24 hours. You'll also need to have skimmer and/or sock/sponge to capture the lanthanum phosphate precipitate. See Melev for some good videos and of course lots of product info on here.

My personal experience is that this is a MUCH better approach at lowering po4 if you want to control your levels. GFO does an amazing job but in my experience you need to test twice daily because it can strip your params really really fast. With lanthanum you are in complete control of the dose but the problem is that you have to dose it.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 28, 2020

2Wheelsonly said:
My personal experience is that this is a MUCH better approach at lowering po4 if you want to control your levels. GFO does an amazing job but in my experience you need to test twice daily because it can strip your params really really fast. With lanthanum you are in complete control of the dose but the problem is that you have to dose it.

That implies you were using too much. With GFO, you also are in complete control.

Duffer · Mar 28, 2020

mmw64 said:
Do you know who supplies PhosphateRx?

I have been getting from amazon
Brs has it, melvs reef, and saltwater aquarium sells it

2Wheelsonly · Mar 29, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
That implies you were using too much. With GFO, you also are in complete control.

A little must go a long way!

I remember using 1/4 of the BRS calculated amount for my tank. I am just terrible with the stuff, 90% of my coral deaths have come from me using GFO to the point I vowed never to go back. Luckily my issues with Po4 are usually not having enough.