dustins first tank. 120 gallon(lots of pics)

[ccCapt]

Very nice corals.
I suggest you start running some GFO. They are going to brown out on you real fast with the high phosphates in your tank.


How do I know you have high phosphate? I see lots of nusiance algae and I don't see a speck of coralline on your black overflow, and it should be coverred there by now since your tank is well over 6 months old. The high phosphate is inhibiting calcification and preventing the coralline from growing.

[dustin_P74]

right now im running carbon and phos ban

[ccCapt]

Carbon is good for taking color out of the water, but won't help with phosphate or excess nutrients.
Are you running the Phosban in a reactor? How much are you using and how often are you changing it?

[dustin_P74]

im changing it this week, it has been running for a week and it is just in a media bag in the sump so all the water has to pass through it to get to the return pump

[Bifferwine]

Why can't you put the RO unit under the kitchen sink? Most are made to plug right in there.

[dustin_P74]

because it doesn fit on the faucet and there is no part of it that screws off to make it fit, no sink faucet in the house is like that

[ccCapt]

Originally Posted by dustin_P74

im changing it this week, it has been running for a week and it is just in a media bag in the sump so all the water has to pass through it to get to the return pump

GFO (Phosban, Rowaphos, etc) does work statically in a media bag, but it is not very effecient. Invest in a reactor, like the ViaAqua Poly reactor. The media should be slowly tumbling inside the reactor. I don't know how much you are using, but for my 125 w/55g sump I used 10 tablespoons in the reactor. If you had it sitting in your sump for a week, you can let it go for another week before changing it out. It probably hasn't absorbed it capacity yet. If/when you use it in a reactor, change it out every week for the 1st month. Then every 2 weeks. If you keep up with proper maintanence, water changes with RO/DI water, in 2 months your nusiance algae will be gone and you will be cursing the coralline all over you have to scrape off.


Can you put the RO unit in the basement somewhere near a water pipe? You just need to get a needle valve to hook up the filter. You don't have to cut any pipes and don't need a faucet.

[dustin_P74]

i meant to type that it has been running for two weeks, not one, and it is phos-gaurd not phosban

[ccCapt]

Phosguard is not GFO. It is an aluminum based phosphate remover.
Good article on GFO.
Iron Oxide Hydroxide (GFO) Phosphate Binders by Randy Holmes-Farley

Please read this article.
Aluminum in the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley
From the article...
"Inputs of Aluminum in Reef Aquaria: Phosguard
Many aquarists claim to see undesirable effects on corals when using Phosguard, made by Seachem. Many aquarists have attributed that effect to released aluminum, since it is largely composed of aluminum oxide (possibly with silicon present too). In the first phase of testing that hypothesis, I examined whether Phosguard does indeed release any aluminum into solution."
and...
"From the results in Table 4 it is evident that Phosguard does release aluminum to the water, and that the majority of this is present in particulate form (that is, that it is removed on a 0.45 μm filter (although that does not demonstrate that it was originally released as particulates)."

[dustin_P74]

capt, with that phos reactor you linked to, is that the one youd recommend as a good product, and if i were to get the one do i just drop the pump in the sump and let it be?