Side-Effects of Phosphate Remover
 

Hello. Hoping somebody can help me out. I recently bought and started using some Warner Marine Research MarinePure PHOSaR phosphate remover. Does usage of this typically cause severe water cloudiness?

Also, if some of the media leaks out of the bag into the tank, will it cause problems (I don't have a phosphate reactor and I do rinse it with RO water before use)? Will using it in a reactor prevent the situation?

Appreciate any of your input.

You do not have to have a phosphate reactor for the media to work. You can use a fine mesh bag that your water can flow through to absorb phosphates. You may also want to consider a refugium. This is a natural means of nutrient export.

Another consideration is the water flow that you have on the media. If there is enough water flow on the media to "crush" it. It may cause some problems.

Thanks. I do have a refugium with three different types of macro algae in it and my NO3 always hovers close to 0; but, for some reason, my hair algae is out of control in the main tank. The only reason I could come up with was the phosphates in the tank.

The way I have it set up is that a Rio 1700 pump (partially closed) pumps water from the sump up to the refugium and the water from the refugium is on a gravitational feed back to the sump. The phosphate remover was contained in a media bag attached to the base of the return from the fuge back to the sump.

What color cloudiness do you have?

If it's brown it's likely from the phosar being pulverized or that it hasn't been rinsed thoroughally enough.

I've used phosar for months and haven't had problems with it but I use it in a reactor. I agree that if you use it in a fine mesh bag it should be just fine.

If the cloudiness is white it may be a precipitation event or a bacteial bloom. What's your alk and ca level? Do you use an ozonizer or UV sterilizer (if so, it likely wouldn't be a bacterial bloom)?

It was brown and white, but the brown went away after about an hour and, what was left was white. No ozonizer or UV sterilizer on this tank. Alk is 11.5dKH and calcium is 460ppm.

When I got home and discovered how cloudy the water was (enough that I couldn't see many of the fish or corals in the tank), I changed the configuration and took the media off from the return and just placed it in the sump. The cloudiness is almost completely gone from the water now - about 2 hours later.

Sounds like there was some pulverization and a bit of precipitation. The initial brown was the phosar being pulverized and the white cloudiness was likely precipitation of carbonate.

Watch the alk lvl as a GFO such as phosar may have a direct impact - thus causing precipitation of carbonate.

If your interested in the chemistry aspect of how and why the precpitation could occur take a look at the article by Randy about GFO.

[url]http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.htm[/url]

Water cloudiness isn't that common. I agree with the comments on grinding and rinsing. You might want to collect a glass of the cloudy water to see whether the cloud settles. If so, it's likely calcium carbonate.

Really appreciate all your responses. jlinzmaier, the article is really helpful and informational.
Because there's some bubbles in the water flow from the refugium to the phosphate remover, I think to prevent more crumbs getting to the main tank, I should use the remover in a reactor.
The water is clear now and the amount of microalgae seems decreasing already. I'll keep an eye on my Alk, PH and calcium level.

i heard that phosphate reactor is bad for corals...is that right? cuz i got lps tank and i ordered a phosophate reactor but i want to make sure b4 i put on the reactor to use.

It's always good to sandwich the Phos remover bag in polyester filtration media to prevent particulates from entering the display tank.

I had this happen in a fresh water tank once. I figured it was the algae decomposing. It went away in a day or so. And the algae was gone. Might have used to much. lol

get a phospahte reactor

I've never come across any information stating that a phosphate reactor is bad for corals. I'd be interested to see any articles or information that indicates phosphate reactors have negative effects.

GFO itsself is relatively harmless if rinsed and used appropriately, however, it is important to prevent any GFO from entering the tank or being pulverized.

If used in a fluidized reactor, there is little risk of it being pulverized and if it's used in another type of filter or sump it is good to place it between some polyester filter material.

I previously used two phosban reactors (200g of phosar each) on my 180 gal tank (that was before I looked into other ways to control phosphates). GFO is quite safe and effective, but remember, it only removes what phosphates are present and doesn't truly address the problem. The best way to reduce phosphates or prevent them from elevating again is to limit feeding and not supplementing with any additives that contain phosphate. As far as I'm aware, the only risk associated with GFO use could be the reduction of any trace elements it may inadvertently remove.

[B]If used in a fluidized reactor, there is little risk of it being pulverized[/B]

That might be true. But I've never seen any data suggesting whether it does or does not pulverize over time. Have you seen such data?