rowaphos or GFO
 

ok so i run rowaphos on my system and was thinking of running GFO instead, because it is cheaper and less harmful to the corals from what i been reading, so which do you guys use and why? pros and cons of the current product would be a great help to me

They are the same thing.

from what i been told rowaphos doesn't leach anything back into the system while it can also strip the water too quickly, GFO and leach the phosphate back into the system but its cheaper

aluminum oxide does leach back into system.

GFO and rowasphos are all base on one thing. rust

how to make GFO

oh so they both leach back??? which one would be more effective?

omg that video has the worst background music haha

I had a big success with rowaphos when my tank had a big problem with phosphate and we're talking about different type of algae bloom (cyano, brown diatoms, hair algae, and bubble)
And everything disappeared within 2-3 weeks use of rowaphos and activated carbon mixed in a TLF reactor.
I see some coral growth too

i was looking into phosgaurd, have any of you guys tried it???

I used it a while back when I first started all I can say is it works but takes longer to get best result( I do 20% weekly water change to get some of the problems out)
And I've read it leaches some aluminum if you don't use it right

They are not the same

Rowaphos and GFO strip water at different rates
I'll try to find something to back this up, but GFO strips water faster
And there are reports that Rowa may leach back to the system when GFO does not

GFO is a much cheaper route in the longterm and does the job better than Rowa when you calculate dollars ...

rowaphos = brand name = $$
gfo = repacked bulk = less $

rowaphos is GFO, base material maybe slight different. but rust is rust.

Packaged products are given to the consumer in different qualities
I've bought GFO that was black and treated me just fine
I've bought GFO that was brown that was terrible to rinse and used up 'way' too much water to rinse

I can't say anything about ROWA, but as I said, I'll find info it I need to back up what I said

Regardless, I prefer HC GFO as it's the easiest to deal with
It's clean enough that it doesn't need much rinsing, and the price is reasonable

+1000 lol

So whats a good name brand HC GFO and where can i get some???

I just tried some HC GFO from concept and it didn't work.... The return line on my reactor was the same PO4 level as the tank water... Skip it, I went back to rowa and my po4 dropped right away!!!

Rowa costs more but it works!!!!

I've never seen any difference in performance between GFO/HC-GFO/Rowaphos. I've also tried phosguard from Seachem and same thing.

One thing I did notice was that Rowaphos didn't seem to boil as easily as GFO. Maybe larger particles or possibly it compacts easier are the reason but GFO did boil better for me.

So to make your own GFO I would need pieces of steel stock, battery charger, lathe, an old pallet, some old t-shirts and a place to do all this! :lol: I think I'll just order some bulk stuff. oh ya that back ground music is :evil: HA HA!
GFO HC seems to be the most popular choice from what I read.

im just trying to find something thats going to work, many people are telling me rowaphos is a waste of money because there are other products out there that do the same thing.

Don't worry so much about choosing the "right" product. Just pick one that you're comfortable with, buy a small container and use it. If it works for you then great, if not you're out $20.

Start with HC-GFO and go from there, it's a good product if you get it from a reputable retailer. Try reefsupplies.ca

for me.....

HC-GFO - Didnt work....
Rowaphos - Did work....

Either way its a $30 adventure.... try both and see what happens. I did and wont waist my money on GFO/HC-GFO again....

both are proven to work for many years now....its not really debatable:P

gfo and rowaphos are probably in 75% of all tanks and used for many years from experienced to beginner.

to say one doesnt work is to say that the many reefers who use it dont know what they are talking about?

seems unlikely....


there is a diff between the both , rowaphos is steamed while gfo is dried granular, both are very effective and used throughout the hobby in many different situtions to remove phosphates.

ive never known either to leach back phosphates


i would stay away from aluminum based phosphate media.


to each their own?


cheers

denny

ROWA
 

I have only used ROWAphos, so I cannot comment on the other products. It treated me really well; it brought the phosphates from 0.7 to 0.2 in less than a month, and it's still dropping. Add to this the fact that I lost a fish that I never found (in the tank), with no noticeable increase. I like the fact that it seems to bring PO4 down gradually, but steadily. All my corals are fine, so I will continue using it.

Yup I agree