Phosban media replacement
 

Just wondering how often you guys replace your phosban media? I am using RowaPhos and have had it on for about 2 months...time for a change?

I change mine once a month. I think after 2 months, you're due for a change :)

the result of your phosphate test kit will dictate when a change is required. test it monthly or every 2-3 weeks.

I think you are right Drew, I better get it changed :biggrin:

I have been using the Nutrafin test kit, but it does not seem very accurate. I am guess salifert is the best one to use?

I agree. Check your PO4 from your tank and effluent from where your RowaPhos is located. The PO4 returning from your fluidizer or canister should ideally be 0, or at least less than your tank. It is time to replace your RowaPhos when the effluent levels start to rise. You may need to change it frequently to start with if your PO4 levels were high. Once your PO4 is <0.015, you may have to change the RowaPhos every 4-8 weeks.
I would recommend getting a good PO4 test kit. I find even the Merck kit unreliable and recently spent the money and picked up a Hana low range PO4 meter.

I prefer Elos for phosphate testing. I could never figure out how to get one level spoonful of the fluffy granular compound the Salifert kit has. The inevitable rounded spoonful always left me doubting the results.

Do you guys really get differing results from colour based test kits? I've never gotten a difference from tank water to reactor output. And I use a photometer now because I started to doubt my results from colour based test kits. And .. well .. in the end even those things I kind of have trouble deciding what my "real" value is because the error is 0.04 (so a true value of 0.04 could read as 0.00 or vice-versa, a true value of 0.04 could read as 0.00).

What kind of numbers do you guys get when testing for phosphate?

Considering the cost of the testing and measuring equipment, it might be better just to change the media once a month.
That’s what I do, keep it simple unless you want to get technical,
Do I really care what the value of the PO4 is, or do I care how my tank and corals feel like ?
:wink:

Maybe. The cost of GFO maybe has come down a bit. When it first came out it was like $100 for a little jar of it. At that price, you want to make sure it's being used effectively. I guess at the prices we pay now we can be a little more judicious, but nevertheless it's just ingrained into me that if I pay for media that I want to see the results. But having said that, I can't really tell a difference when my tank reads 0.01 or 0.1. So I'm curious what other people see when they test.

To be honest i'd like to know that too.:smile:

The most accurate are probably the digital/electronic's if you have the bucks. I just changed out the media, kind of a PITA, good thing my girlfriend only see's about half the water I spill :mrgreen:

I'd go with "precise" over "accurate". At least IME. :)

I once read a thread on the Salifert forum where Habib said level as opposed to rounded did not matter to the end readings. However I have not tried the two at once to see.

I just bought the Hanna LR meter because I was skeptical about the readings from the color based tests. My Merck and Salifert test were reading in the range of 0.015-0.03 but I was still having problems with hair algae and some cyano. My RO/DI water reads 0 with the Hanna meter. However, water from my tank and the phosban reactors (250 ml Rowaphos and 300 ml PhosGuard) ranges from 0.03-0.05. I'm not sure what to make of all this.

That hair algae and cyano are a pain! I have a lot smaller system, but my cyano seems to have disappeared after months of fighting, but my hair algae has increased. There are some good articles on reefcentral about using a phosban which is what originally sold me on it, but I have yet to see great results. That being said, without me knowing my media may have been exhausted, which is....my fault :biggrin:

A lot of Po4 is being stored in live rock and sand, that is why you still have hair algae.
keep up agressive Po4 filtering :wink:

I agree. When I first got my phosban reactor, I did have a rapid improvement with my hair algae. It eventually has come back. I have been more aggresive with changing my ROWAphos (now every 1-2 weeks) and have much less cyano. I have not seen much change in my hair algae but it may take a additional weeks to see a change.

1-2 weeks! :eek: Just curious, have you actually tested your reactor effluent with the photometer and you noticed a difference in the levels?

I'm not testing fanatically anymore.. but I noticed my reactor effluent was 0.0 for about 2 days then after that it started to climb. So now I'm wondering now if it wasn't precision error (ie. the "to within 0.04" thing) after all, although I still think 2 days is awfully fast for phosban to exhaust itself. :neutral:

My Reef consistently reads 0.01. My Trigger tank reads anywhere from 0.075 to 0.25, depending on the age of the RowaPhos. The difference between the two tanks in relation to this? The Reef has hair algae and multiple types of macros and the Trigger tank’s algae is minimal. I think the two tanks may have similar phosphate levels,....just that the phosphates in the reef are primarily in the alga, and the phosphates in the Trigger tank are in the water. I stopped using RowaPhos on the Reef about 2 months ago because of the consistent 0.01 readings. So far, so good. The Trigger tank RowaPhos gets changed out every 4 to 8 weeks. It’s a challenge getting that one below 0.075.

Cheers,