Will carbon dosing help in my situation?

[astreck827]

Have you considered regenerating your GFO to save on the cost? Very easy to do. I blow through GFO because I have a high bioload. I stock heavy and feed heavy, and I couldn’t maintain proper levels without GFO regeneration (or at least my wallet couldn’t). I use a BRS style cartridge reactor and keep the GFO in the reactor and simply take one out, swap a regenerated one in, and run the used one through the same style reactor in a bucket with sodium hydroxide for 3 days. A 5-10 gallon rinse of RODI when finished and you’re good to do. Here is the article I use with the specifics:

Aquarium Chemistry: Regeneration of Granular Ferric Oxide Media with Sodium Hydroxide

For aquarists who keep non-photosynthetic corals that require massive feeding, have large tanks, or a dense fish population the costs of regular GFO replacement can be significant. With a few simple tools and techniques we can easily regenerate GFO so that it can be reused several times over.

reefs.com

 

[astreck827]

And if you’re worried about residual chemicals like I originally was, I learned recently that sodium hydroxide can be swapped out for bicarb or soda ash as your 2 part alk dosing, so some people literally dose it directly to their tank.

 

[pixelhustler]

Have you considered regenerating your GFO to save on the cost? Very easy to do. I blow through GFO because I have a high bioload. I stock heavy and feed heavy, and I couldn’t maintain proper levels without GFO regeneration (or at least my wallet couldn’t). I use a BRS style cartridge reactor and keep the GFO in the reactor and simply take one out, swap a regenerated one in, and run the used one through the same style reactor in a bucket with sodium hydroxide for 3 days. A 5-10 gallon rinse of RODI when finished and you’re good to do. Here is the article I use with the specifics:

Aquarium Chemistry: Regeneration of Granular Ferric Oxide Media with Sodium Hydroxide

For aquarists who keep non-photosynthetic corals that require massive feeding, have large tanks, or a dense fish population the costs of regular GFO replacement can be significant. With a few simple tools and techniques we can easily regenerate GFO so that it can be reused several times over.

reefs.com

This is really awesome - I’ve thrown away so much one week old GFO. How many uses can you get out of it?
I’m going to try lanthanum until I can bring my phosphates to a stable .05 and then potentially go back to GFO. Based on how fast my phosphate climbs, I suspect a lot of the phosphate is leaching from my rocks so I’ll need to slowly extract it out first.

 

[astreck827]

This is really awesome - I’ve thrown away so much one week old GFO. How many uses can you get out of it?
I’m going to try lanthanum until I can bring my phosphates to a stable .05 and then potentially go back to GFO. Based on how fast my phosphate climbs, I suspect a lot of the phosphate is leaching from my rocks so I’ll need to slowly extract it out first.

I’m not expert but from my understanding, there is a theoretical limit, yes, but that would come from physical degradation over time, you can expect a small loss of volume of the GFO each time it is regenerated I think, but to me it’s not a noticeable amount. Also I don’t ever test anything during the regeneration process I just go by the numbers I’m getting from the tank and change out when needed.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Some things will bind to GFO that are not removed by that process, limiting regeneration,

Be careful with the hydroxide. It is quite irritating to tissues.

 

[astreck827]

Some things will bind to GFO that are not removed by that process, limiting regeneration,

That makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying. I think with diligent testing of phosphates in the tank water you should be able to tell how much life is left in the GFO.

Be careful with the hydroxide. It is quite irritating to tissues.

I have a dedicated “regeneration station” that I use and always wear gloves when handling. But I’m correct in saying that this is the same compound that can be used as an alk supplement, right? I use Roebic 100% lye Crystal Drain Opener for regeneration of GFO, and was planning on using it to dose alk as well to help with boosting pH.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have a dedicated “regeneration station” that I use and always wear gloves when handling. But I’m correct in saying that this is the same compound that can be used as an alk supplement, right? I use Roebic 100% lye Crystal Drain Opener for regeneration of GFO, and was planning on using it to dose alk as well to help with boosting pH.

yes, it is used in my diy ultra high pH two part recipe, but food grade may be better for dosing.