Who runs Phosphate remover??

[jamesbuf]

I'm curious to know who in the club runs Phosphate remover? If you do, have you really noticed an increase in coral growth? I'm still debating on whether its worth the added costs to run the stuff or not. Thanks to all who chime in.

Edited March 13, 2008 by jamesbuf

[jamal]

i run it. if you dont have high phosphates (ie > .003) then dont worry about it especially if you have an active fige. phosphate can get high enough to kill corals so monitor it. what are your levels right now?

[jamesbuf]

i run it. if you dont have high phosphates (ie > .003) then dont worry about it especially if you have an active fige. phosphate can get high enough to kill corals so monitor it. what are your levels right now?

 

 

To be honest, I haven't tested in a looooooong time. My corals look good and have been growing well. I'm basically trying to figure out ways to optimize my growth.

 

Jamal, did you notice any noticeable change in the corals after starting the PR?

[jason the filter freak]

It seems to keep my algea down, but it could also be because of the fuge.

[jamal]

To be honest, I haven't tested in a looooooong time. My corals look good and have been growing well. I'm basically trying to figure out ways to optimize my growth.

 

Jamal, did you notice any noticeable change in the corals after starting the PR?

 

the corals get a little more brown as the po4 climbs. i test mine more often than most because i dont run it 24 hrs a day. acros will definitely react to high phosphates. if you have an active fuge and rinse your food before feeding you may not have an issue. also i notice that macro algae prefers a little phosphate. when it is 0 in my tank my green alages tend to get a light green. once i cut it off they darken noticeably to a healthier forest green

[treesprite]

i put phosphate remover in my tank the other day after not having ysed it for a really long long time. I had put charcoal in after not doing it for a long time and suddenly had a couple patches of cyano when I haven't seen cyano at all in this tank - supposedly charcoal can put phosphate in the water so I can only assume that the charcoal did just that (never actually tested for phospate, it just seems logical).

[Rascal]

I'm curious to know who in the club runs Phosphate remover? Is you do, have you really noticed an increase in coral growth? I'm still debating on whether its worth the added costs to run the stuff or not. Thanks to all who chime in.

 

 

I run it continuously. Believe it helps keep nuisance algae down and increase coral growth and color.

[dshnarw]

I'm also thinking about phos removers.

 

What product are y'all using?

[dschflier]

The phosphate remover that I am familar with definitly removes phosphates. If you have a Phosphate issue or want to keep them consistently lower the Pr will do that. It really is that simple. Beyond that it comes down to cost.

 

My recomendation would be to try using it for a little while and see if the results are worth the cost. This way you really aren't out much. For SPS corals I have not heard of any issues, as I have with using carbon. At worst nothing changes.

 

I have witnessed the same thing as Jamal. When I add new Phosphate remover my macro goes a bit white and some of my schrooms dont open as much.

[Kengar]

i replaced my phosphate remover the other day and cyano and other algae i had been battling disappeared. thus, it seemed to do wonders (although it also could have been the sulphur dinatrator kicking in, too).

[Leishman]

My bubble algae has gone down since I changed mine out.

[jamesbuf]

i replaced my phosphate remover the other day and cyano and other algae i had been battling disappeared. thus, it seemed to do wonders (although it also could have been the sulphur dinatrator kicking in, too).

 

 

You are going to love your sulfur denitrator. Mine is finally fully "commissioned" and is pumping out nothing but 0ppm of nitrates. Another reason why I think my corals are really happy right now. I've gone from ~40ppm in the main tank to about 10ppm, and steadily falling over the last month.

[Nitro Junkie]

You are going to love your sulfur denitrator. Mine is finally fully "commissioned" and is pumping out nothing but 0ppm of nitrates. Another reason why I think my corals are really happy right now. I've gone from ~40ppm in the main tank to about 10ppm, and steadily falling over the last month.

 

 

Whats a sulfur denitrator

[jamesbuf]

Whats a sulfur denitrator

 

 

here

[rsarvis]

I've heard it said not to go from 0 to 24-7 with phosphate remove. Is that right? Why is that? If that's right, what's the ramp-up rate?

[Nitro Junkie]

yea, instant phos removal can cause bleaching. You want to ramp up the amount of media you have in the reactor.

[rsarvis]

yea, instant phos removal can cause bleaching. You want to ramp up the amount of media you have in the reactor.

 

What's a good ramp-up rate?

 

I'm too cheap to buy a phosphate reactor, is it good enough to put it in a filter bag and stick it somewhere in the sump? Is it okay to put it in a filter sock or will there not be enough water movement through the media?

[treesprite]

I'm also thinking about phos removers.

 

What product are y'all using?

I'd like to know this too. I had some Kent phosphate sponge stuff leftover from a long time ago and put it in a filter bag, but it can only be left for a couple days and my time is up. I'm sure there are better things out there.

[jamesbuf]

I've heard and read the same thing. If I do start using it, I plan on using it in a media bag for less exposure first. Then putting it in a media reactor later on.

 

yea, instant phos removal can cause bleaching. You want to ramp up the amount of media you have in the reactor.

[Nitro Junkie]

on the can of media will be how much you need vs water volume. You dont want to meet this required amount right away , as to what a good rate of increase is ....... no clue ?

 

Anyone else out there have a successfull intro of phos removing media at a rate media of increase ?

[dschflier]

When I started using my Phosphate media I introduced it over almost 3 months. I started using about 1/3rd of my target amount and slowly increased it over 3 months. I did the same with my carbon. I put them both in a reactor. James if you have a media reactor, my opinion is that you should just use less at first instead of putting it into a bag. Using it in a bag is just making it less efficient you can accomplish the same thing by using less and this way you are not wasting money.

 

During this time I had also upgradded my skimmer so I am not sure which had the largest impact on my tank but between all three it made a huge difference. I am still trying to figure out why some setups have faster SPS growth then I do, but I now get what I consider pretty good growth and have little to no hair algea. I used to have tons.

 

when I first started using PhosBgone I was using 1 cup per about 100 gallons, maybe even a bit more. I did this because I had pretty bad problems with cyno and hair algea and SPS wouldn't live in my tank. I am now down to about 1 cup per 150 gallons.

 

My method is not scientific and I feel everyones tank is different so giving a precise recommendation is nearly impossible. Like anything else in a reef tank it is good to start slow. Give yourself a target amount depending on what you are trying to accomplish, the condition of your tank and the bio-load. When you work up to this amount keep it there for a month or two and then adjust it based on how your tank appears to be doing and what your parameters are saying.