anyone using phosban

[hooked]

Just found this product on the net and not sure if its safe to put in my tank. If you have any info on it please post good or bad.

Thanks,

[thefatman]

i was wondering the same. i still have lots of diatoms and cyano, which i'd like to attribute to the original source of tap water i used (now using ro for top off and water change)

my lfs also carries phosban, but i wasnt sure about it.

[Chip Wick]

I have recently used phosban in my 72 gallon reef, brought the phosphate down pretty well, it seems, from 2 to less than .2ppm (with a couple of changes of media). No problematic side effects either, that I can tell. Now if the hair algae would just REALIZE that there's no phosphate for it anymore and STOP GROWING!!! I know, I know, nitrates are also coming down. Need to get a tang in there...

[hooked]

Thanks for the input.

I think I will order some from www.petsolutions.com .

[rhino]

We have been using Rowaphos over here in Europe for a fair while now , with extremely good reports. I think it may be a little expensive , but it is obtainable in the States. Its extremely easy to use , u can just throw it in your sump in a mesh bag and providing you have water flow over it , it seems to be very very efficient at removing phosphates from your water.
regards
paul

[hooked]

Rhino, I have seen the rowaphos also on some websites. I have found phosban at marinedepot for around 12.99 for 150g bottle.

[Doug1]

Originally posted by Chip Wick
I have recently used phosban in my 72 gallon reef, brought the phosphate down pretty well, it seems, from 2 to less than .2ppm (with a couple of changes of media). No problematic side effects either, that I can tell. Now if the hair algae would just REALIZE that there's no phosphate for it anymore and STOP GROWING!!! I know, I know, nitrates are also coming down. Need to get a tang in there...

Please dont misunderstand my question or the manner its presented, but how can you be certain that the PO4 level has actually fallen if you still have a hair algae infestation? The algae will lock down nutrients(phosphate and nitrates primarily) giving false sense of security and frustration at the same time. "Why do I have this, my nitrates and phosphates are unreadable but still I am over run" is a common cry.
I wont even address organic vs inorganic phosphate, I can't match TD at chem.
Bottom line if you have excess nitrate,phosphate and reef tank levels of light, without copious hungry grazers, excess algae will be the result. Running this by for comment before archiving, Any thoughts?

[horsehunter]

So your saying I wasted my money on test kits because if I have algae it will take up the nitrate and phosphate and the tests will be undetectable.

[tdwyatt]

no, just that if you have an established bloom, much of the nutrients that would otherwise be in the water column will be locked in the biomass of the algae and not testable. Depending on the source, much of the phosphate that is tied up in organic molecules will be out of reach for most testing methods, as they depend on reactivity to be testable. By the same token, the phosphate tied up in organic molecules is not nearly as bioavailable to fuel nuisance algal growth, but once these substances decompose, the release their phosphate as inorganic and available phosphate (another case for skimming).

BTW, most of the phosphate reducing substances that are safe for aquarium use depend on Aluminum (usually hydroxide or related gels) to react with inorganic phosphate to form highly insoluble Aluminum phosphate. The levels of aluminum introduced into the tank will have detrimental effects on at least Sarcophyton species, not to the point that they would be killed in the time that these substances are used, but that they will have a definite effect on their short term health. This is usually demonstrated as failure to expand, sliming, and specimen withering in extreme cases. In systems with large octocoral populations, these substances should be used only for short periods of time to prevent possible sequelae.

HTH

[CAT]

A couple of years ago, I (and others) experienced a macro algae crash when we used phosphate removers-- something to keep in mind if you run a fuge...

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by CAT
A couple of years ago, I (and others) experienced a macro algae crash when we used phosphate removers--

Definitely! This should go without saying; if you have a large macroalgae population, either prune it prior to using the phosphate removers or do heavy removal of the microalgae biomasses (in the situation involving blooms), as the competition for phosphate will become a growth-rate-limiting factor if the product does its job. Might not be a bad idea to keep a few specimens in a separate system if you want to keep it in the refugium of the treated system after the treatment.

HTH

[tdwyatt]

BTW CAT, sorry to hear about the losses in your systems. The Ice storm here last winter left us without power for 6 days, I now own a generator. It is cheap insurance in view of the potential loss of life from a single extended power outtage.

Funny, RickO and I were just discussing this just a few days prior to the NE grid failure...

[CAT]

Hi Tom. Thanks for the concern, but I was one of the lucky ones. I had some battery operated air pumps and lots of batteries so I was ok.

My heart goes out to many of my reef club buddies in Ottawa who lost everything though.

[Jim_D]

I have used Seachem Phosguard for a long time and have 6 different Sarcophyton species and one of them (a toad stool) definately does not like it and will not open up. The others are totally unaffected. When I cease using Phosguard after around 3 weeks the affected Sarco re-opens as normal,if I then re-use Phosguard it shuts within a day. This has been repeated for nearly 6 months and it has not gotten used to it, why it affects this particular Sarco and not others of the same species has me baffled but I'm 99% sure that it is Phosguard.