Ultra Phos

[Treebeard]

Do you carry Ultra Phos?

[xenon]

Originally Posted by Treebeard

Do you carry Ultra Phos?

We sure do and have both sizes in stock.

http://www.canadacorals.com/collecti...tra-power-phos

[Treebeard]

That is Ultra Power Phos. According to the Fauna Marin website, Ultra Power Phos is iron hydroxide based and Ultra Phos is aluminium based. What exactly is the difference in how they work and what they do? Why would one use one product over the other?

[xenon]

Originally Posted by Treebeard

That is Ultra Power Phos. According to the Fauna Marin website, Ultra Power Phos is iron hydroxide based and Ultra Phos is aluminium based. What exactly is the difference in how they work and what they do? Why would one use one product over the other?

Ultra Phos (aluminium oxide) is recommended for people who have very high phosphates and want to lower them quickly. Not a good idea if you have SPS.

Ultra Power Phos (iron oxide) is recommended for people who have normal to elevated levels of phosphate and want to run it 24hrs/day to maintain zero phosphates.

Our supplier stopped offering the Ultra Phos because they just don't feel like its needed in the hobby anymore. People these days have decent skimmers to keep phosphates from skyrocketing so Ultra Power Phos is the better choice.

[George]

If you haven't read them, I highly recommend you to read several articles by Daniel Knop in recent issues(starting from Sep-Oct 2012 issue) of coral magazine, especially Nov-Dec 2012 issue. In that issue, Knop talks about differences between those 2 forms of phosphate binders. Some abstract....
(IRON OXIDE–BASED AND IRON HYDROXIDE–BASED PHOSPHATE BINDERS)...Because of its lack of solidity and its tendency to erosion, this type of phosphate binder is not optimal for a fluidized bed filter. It is better to put it in a fixed bed filter, where the grains will remain immobile even as the water is continually sucked or pushed through. However, the material must be very well rinsed beforehand—otherwise, any existing loose particles may form the fine sediment described above.

(ALUMINUM OXIDE–BASED PHOSPHATE BINDERS)
In principle, this material is very suitable for a fluidized bed filter, as it produces no eroded particles even under these conditions. But you shouldn’t use too much at once; around 1 pint (500 ml) per 1,000 L of tank volume will suffice, and to be safe you should always start with a smaller dose.