Activated carbon or phosban ?

[sfarid123]

Hey guys

Which media would my BTA benefit the most? Activated carbon or Phosban or should I do a combo media in my TLF Phosban 150 ??

Thanks

[seapug]

I use both-- carbon in one reactor and phosban in another. You shouldn't mix them in one reactor, but if I had to choose one I'd say Phosban. Most of what carbon removes can be done with water changes. Phosphate, on the other hand, can be much harder to control and causes way worse problems long term.

[sfarid123]

Thanks,

Which Phosban media brand do you suggest that works great and doesn't break the bank

[phender]

I would go with the carbon in your reactor and use the Blue Life phosphate remover drops.

[timrandlerv10]

why?

[adtravels]

get two reactors use both as they exhaust at different rates, carbon can be used in reverse flow.

[seapug]

Originally posted by sfarid123
Thanks,

Which Phosban media brand do you suggest that works great and doesn't break the bank

I use a Two Little Fishes PhosBan Reactor 150s. Seachem Matrix spherical carbon on reverse flow in one reactor and the TLF PhosBan GFO in the other reactor. I have them daisy chained together, carbon first, then phosban.

There are other brands of GFO, but the TLF PhosBan is what I use. Others may be cheaper, but I'm not opposed to spending a couple extra dollars on a proven product to improve the health of my tank that I've dumped thousands into already.

Just don't use Phosphate Sponge or other ceramic phosphate media. They do work, but must be changed every 24 hours or they start releasing all the phosphate it adsorbs back into the water. GFO will not leach the phos. back into the water.

[coraldaddy]

I use RowaPHos, was told it is the best.

[sfarid123]

Would it be Ok to do a 1/2 & 1/2 of both media seperated by a sponge in the 2LF-150?

[95accord]

Originally posted by sfarid123
Would it be Ok to do a 1/2 & 1/2 of both media seperated by a sponge in the 2LF-150?

id like to know this as well because i was thinking about doing the same thing. (with either activated carbon or Purigen....which i was told is like super carbon lol)

[phender]

All the high powered sps guys on the SoCal forum either use Phosar by Warner Marine or the Blue Life phosphate remover drops. After looking at these guy's tanks, I just do what they say when it comes to water chemistry.

[timrandlerv10]

if you do combine them, realize they exhaust at different rates...so 1/2-1/2 wont work...maybe 1/5-4/5 (but hey, i'm still on the cheap end with no acros, etc)

[adtravels]

I use pura phoslock seems to work all the gfo media are the same anyhow.

[sfarid123]

Has anyone done any product compairson with phos medias?

[percula99]

As mentioned before, don't use the ceramic of aluminum based products as the leach phosphate back into the water when they are saturated. Use products made of Ferric Hydroxide as they work better and when saturated they just stop working without leaching. If you test your water and notice the phosphate starting to rise, it is time to change the media.

I went to TwoPartSolutions and bought the 2 gallon (9 pounds) bucket which I split with two friends. I have two 150 gallon phosban reactors in with this stuff and my phosphate reading is 0 (Salifert). I used to use other popular phosphate removers and always had traces of phosphate ( I have a large fish load), but with this stuff I have mo phosphates anymore. It is so cheap and works very well. Look in the categories section on the left.

http://www.twopartsolution.com/

[sfarid123]

Thanks, two part solution sounds like a great deal, Is this stuff even better that ROWAPhos??

The other question I have is will phos media also help with the gunk buildup on the outflow of my skimmer? or is it carbon media that takes care of that?

[percula99]

I have used the RowaPhos, but to be fair, I used it in an Eheim canister filter. I used the TwoPart Solution ferric oxide in two Phosban reactors. So we are comparing apples to oranges if we try to compare the two. When I ordered the TwoPart Solution (TPS) and split it with my two friends, we each got enough to do 1800 gallons for roughly $52 each after shipping and taxes. How much would 1800 gallons of RowaPhos cost you? And I am quite happy with how the TPS has worked for me. You can use so much of this stuff because it is so inexpensive.

If you use carbon in a canister filter, TPS sells high grade carbon as well. We are picking some up in the new year.

Sorry, I don't know what you mean by "the gunk buildup on the outflow of my skimmer". Do you mean where the water flows back into your tank/sump? You can't mean the skimmate in your collection cup? Please explain.

[sfarid123]

Yes, what I meant was the out flow into my tank. I have the Aqua C Remora w/ mag 3 skimmer. It does a fine job skimming and I clean the cup every other day & clean entire skimmer every month. However I get gunk/algae buildup right at the effluent/outflow into my tank.
Do I need carbon media or Phos media?

[seapug]

Reducing the phosphate level can help prevent the growth of all slimes and algae, but certain places are just more prone to it. If you are getting a lot of growth on the skimmer output, check to make sure you aren't getting skimmate coated microbubbles in the tank.

also, mixing carbon and GFO in one reactor will waste money, not save it. The carbon will need to be changed more often so if you mix them, each time you do replace the carbon you'll probably have dump out the GFO, which is more expensive and has a longer lifespan.

[sfarid123]

It is more of a thick layer of greenish/brown film that I have to scrape off the outflow every week. I dont know what to call it but If you say its caused by high phosphate and I need to use phos media , then I will go with that.

[poo-tang]

if you wanna mix carbon and gfo simply put one in a mesh bag.

[percula99]

I agree with seapug, it is a phosphate build up that is causing that gunk to colect at your output. So, getting a phosphate remover is your answer.

[sfarid123]

Thanks, and The mesh bag Idea would that work?

[b16drag]

Please remind me, is there a way to "recharge" the GFO's?

[ssagent]

I use phosban and it's very effective.