Phosban Reactors

[whitetiger61]

Not sure if this is the right spot for this..but there has been some questions in the chat about them and Rob suggested someone start a thread so we dont lose any of the convo..I will start with the first question.

will phosban reactor lower your phosphates and how will it interfer with your skimmer or will it interfer????

Rick

[FiReBReTHa]

Rick

driving me crazy... I keep thinking your asking me a question like,

"Rick...?"




Well, the reason this question came up is that I have had issues with brown on the ground.

http://firespeed.com/storage/Firebrethas/random/Fishy/120g/09-12-19_120g_leftsidetank.jpg

Flow is where I want it to be so I am guessing the culprit is elsewhere. I have a phosban reactor running with some phostphate remover and carbon right now, full flow at 90gph.

[ReeferRob]

Fire your name is Rick as well?

First off I do not believe running a reactor for phosphates will effect any skimmer performance, but I am not certain.

Fire, how old or how long has the tank been set up? Could be just new tank syndrome with the diatoms and cyno. Not sure if running an pban would help that issue. For me when I was battling it, I won by water changes, regular stirring of the bed and adding lost of nassy snails.

I've also read that although we strive to eliminate phosphates from our system, it can be detrimental to coral growth as some phosphates are necassary for color and growth. I've seen some of the most successful tanks who only run GFO total of 7 days a month. And usually just after a water change for 12-24 hours.

Something I am deffinetely researching right now as I hope to maintain the phosphates in my tank so it does not become a major issue down the road with algae and leaching from rocks and sand.

[FiReBReTHa]

Fire your name is Rick as well?

Fire, how old or how long has the tank been set up? Could be just new tank syndrome with the diatoms and cyno. Not sure if running an pban would help that issue. For me when I was battling it, I won by water changes, regular stirring of the bed and adding lost of nassy snails.

I've also read that although we strive to eliminate phosphates from our system, it can be detrimental to coral growth as some phosphates are necassary for color and growth. I've seen some of the most successful tanks who only run GFO total of 7 days a month. And usually just after a water change for 12-24 hours.

Something I am deffinetely researching right now as I hope to maintain the phosphates in my tank so it does not become a major issue down the road with algae and leaching from rocks and sand.


Yarp, its my, to the right of the middle name, First name is fire, middle, bretha.

I also tend to go by bender bending rodriguez. JK, I introduce my self to folks I meet offline from online as "fire" you utilize your username so much it becomes your identity. Well... Kind of identity... I am actually much weirder in person. :big_grin: :secret2:

Tank is around 9+ months seeded from another tank so its past NTS. I need to add like 1 star to start sifting better and slowly, but I think by increasing my bed depth I can maintain better consistancy with good bacteria. I think the fish stir the bed too much when they throw it around (dumb clowns and damsel).


I wasnt sure if Pban would help either but still nice to test out! interesting concept on the 7 day run time on phosban...
If you reduce your phosphate level by "50%" by a water change and then attempt to decrease your phosphate level by another "40%" via phosban wouldnt that be a detremental shock to your system?
I prefer a consistency rather than shocking the tank. I believe in larger "ranges" over consistency except in this case where you are dealing with nutrients in the tank.

I wonder what the phosphate level of the ocean is? in what areas, etc...

[Fishgeek88]

I utilize GFO in all my tanks. A reactor should not affect skimmer performance. I would start with half the recommended dosage of GFO because it will affect nutrient levels and can discolor some corals(finer sps). You will notice that diatom disappear pretty quick

[ReeferRob]

I used to run silicate media on my 55 when the diatoms exploded at the 1 year mark. That worked.

[Fishgeek88]

I used to run silicate media on my 55 when the diatoms exploded at the 1 year mark. That worked.

yea silicate media like cuprisorb works great for diatoms

[Cash]

Definitely watching this thread as I am having the brown/black on the sand bed recently. The tank has been up and running for a year now. I am playing with the flow to remove any dead spots and running a Phos filter pad in my mech. filter box.

[whitetiger61]

let me rephrase my question because i got it backwards..will the skimmer neutralize the phosban..

Rick

[Sir Patrick]

^Nope- they will work together to get your nutrients down lower than either of the 2 alone.

[stunreefer]

First off you should identify if excess PO4 is really your issue, otherwise GFO would not be a great option. Take an accuracte test of the level, Hanna meter is by far the best for this as most liquid kits are junk, you want to be at about 0.03 ppm. As mentioned earlier too low of PO4 will cause issues as some is required by corals. It's hard to completely eliminate though (and through feeding you'll add more), where most people get into trouble it by lowering PO4 too fast, whether it be too much GFO being used or too fast of flow through the reactor. Make sure to take note of both things, and as mentioned run less than initially recommended. I'd start with no more than 2 grams per (actual) gallon, assuming you're using Bulk Reef Supply GFO (many manufacturers are similar but some are not).

You want to make sure to have efficient sand sifting going on as well. By this I don't mean go out and buy everything with the common name "sand sifter" such as gobies and stars. Bristle worms and other small critters are the best, and a few larger animals here and there such as nassarius snails work great.

Keep in mind that SSB (shallow sand beds <2") should be siphoned on occasion, which will help reduce nuisance algae growth.

As Chris pointed out skimmers will not interfere whatsoever with GFO nor the other way around. Skimmer pull out DOC's (dissolved organic carbons) prior to them being broken down. Although GFO will remove other things it's primary focus is to absorb PO4, which it is very efficient at doing.

[ReeferRob]

Anyone own the Hanna that is local to me, or know of a LFS that has one, or will be at the swap and can bring one??!