Phosgard Vs. GFO

BigH55

I'm that guy
Wanted to check and see if there was a big difference between the two of these. I bought some Phosgard and put in a reactor for my tank. Didnt know if it worked better, worse or the same as GFO. I do know that you get a lot more for the same price of phosban.
 
Phosguard is made from aluminum oxide,which if I remember right can leech aluminum into the system and can be bad for corals and inverts.
I'd stick with the GFO if it was me.
 
Aluminum in the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley

"Aluminum is an ion that does not get much attention, and has no clear biological use in aquaria. It can, however, have an impact on aquarium organisms if elevated sufficiently over natural levels. Phosguard has been shown to release aluminum to artificial seawater. Further, it appears that the release of aluminum could be the cause of the effects that some folks have seen in aquaria when using aluminum-based phosphate and silicate absorbing materials. However, only a larger study could definitively demonstrate that to be the case.
Such biological effects have not been widely reported for the iron-based phosphate removers (e.g., Rowaphos and Salifert’s Phosphate Killer). Consequently, if you are interested in using phosphate-absorbing media, those latter types might be a better choice."
 
Great I just wasted $20 because of some dumb bastard at the LFS.

In my personal experience with work, it's a heckuva lot harder to get aluminum to come off a polymer (the beads you see in the phosguard) than it is to get iron oxide off. I've tried it. :) In addition, there aren't any mechanisms for a biological organism to absorb aluminum from the environment, anyway, so even if it does leech into your water, I'd bet it wouldn't hurt anything. Iron, on the other hand, is easily absorbed. Fortunately it can't hurt anything 'cause most things with blood need iron anyway. :)

So, I went to the seachem website and found that they've studied the possibility of aluminum leaching. Here's the info (bottom of the page-- don't miss the link to the actual study).

In short, they found it doesn't occur at the pH we keep our tanks at. So, don't think it should be a prob for you. I'd personally use it anyway
 
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