Phosphate remover and leather corals.

[Mushroom Boy]

I've read and have been told by my LFS that phosphate removers can be temporarily harmful to leather corals. Does anyone have any info about why this may be? I had a sarcophyton that parished awhile back and the only thing that changed in my system was the use of a phosphate remover. Any comments on this? Thanks!

Paul.

[Larry M]

MB--When I used Phosguard, I never had a problem with it. I don't use any kind of phosphate remover anymore, so maybe someone else can comment. I have read a lot of threads about people claiming this, though.


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Larry M

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[FishDaddy]

Paul,
I've read about problems with phosphate removers and haven't used them in a long time, especially since I got my Gold Crowned Toadstool.
But another caution: I've been battling algae and problems for about a week since returning from a trip of several days and decided to try some PolyFilter for more cleaning power. A week ago, I put a piece about 3x5" in a whisper power filter on my 55 and within an hour the Toadstool closed up and started drooping! I quickly removed the PolyFilter and did water changes and the Toadstool has just tonight started extending a bit.
I'm usually very resistant to adding anything to my tank but thought the Poly would be safe as I'd not heard otherwise.

[MIKE]

Hi M..boy,

I have seen posts that suggest what you are asking. I have never seen anything in the literature...yet...that verifies this.

To me it's really not an important distinction anyway. Phosphate removing pads really don't work all that well anyway, and they only really treat a symptom, not a cause.

I would rather see someone invest in a better skimmer, or learn more about the phosphate cycle or DOC and fix the problem, rather than try a pad that may/may not really work, and is a temporary fix at best. JMO.

Good luck
Mike

[Joez]

My experience with phosguard has been positive. Removing the source of phosphate is the best thing to do, but if there is phosphate in the system, the phosguard helps. I don't leave any phosphate sponge in for too long though, just in case phosphate can reenter the system from the sponge.

[SkiDog]

There has been a-lot talk about this in the past. Some say that Phosphate removers can release " soluble aluminum compounds " into your aquarium.
At least one manufacturer { KENT } says that their product wont release soluble aluminum compounds. There is also at least one person that thinks that long term use affected his alkalinity { could be }!
Now, I have used the KENT product, and it works for me, BUT I have always used it short term { less than two days } and I have not seen any negative reactions from my leathers.
IMHO I think that the reactions some people see might be caused by the rapid reduction of phosphate in their tanks { using a high flow rate filter } to rip the P04 out of their water, but thats just my opinion.
I have not used any other manufactures products so I cant say how well the work, but I think that they all use the same type of media.

Later

[ignatz]

I have had a different experience than most here. At one point, my tank was having a rising phosphate problem. I couldn't find the source (turns out a clam hitchhiker died almost 2.5 months after the cycle). I decided to use Sea Chem PhosGuard. I have two small leathers in my tank. They both shrank up alomst immediately. Once I removed the PhosGurad it took almost 1 week for them to expand again. They have not regurlary expanded since. I have since read in Reef Aquarium that Sarcophyton sp. actually 'enjoy' some phosphate in the system. I wonder it the lack of phosphate is what is causing them to contract rather than the presence of the Phosphate remover.

JOMO
-ignatz

[badgers]

Ignatz how can you be unregistered and still post?



[This message has been edited by badgers (edited 10-07-1999).]

[Mushroom Boy]

Thanks for the replies. I'd heard too that they can release aluminum into the system. The reason I was concerned about this is that I use water provided by the Seattle Aquarium. It's UV sterilized, micron filtered Puget Sound water and I've noticed an increase in algae growth on my glass since I started using it. I don't have a phosphate test kit and have read that they can be questionable at best - is that true? My concern is that if I use the phosphate remover to treat the water prior to placing it in the system, there wouldn't be a way of exporting it out once it's in there. What I mean to say is that if water changes alleviate the effects of the aluminum in the water, this would be creating a catch 22 situation by having the aluminum in the water that's meant for water changes.. Is that confusing enough http://216.79.36.30/ubb/smile.gif? Any thoughts on this? Thanks!