Phosphate Reducing Filter Pads

[afFISHionado]

Has anyone used a phosphate reducing filter pad? I was thinking of getting one to help control my algae. HBH makes them and they're available at PetSmart. Here's a link: http://www.petsmart.com/products/product_35942.shtml

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[TankGirl]

Well, when you read the description of the product, it sounds like if you don't overfeed, do more water changes and keep the gravel vacuumed that will solve the phosphate problem, without needing the pads. I think the filter pads are a great idea if you have phosphates in your municipal water supply, but if it is simply a matter of stepping up tank maintenance then I would rather see folks do that. In my experience, frequent small water changes and gravel vacs will prevent a plethora of tank woes, including algae, illness, stress, etc. This may not be your situation, so please forgive my rant! I am helpless to prevent myself....

[afFISHionado]

Thanks for the response TankGirl! I plan on getting a test kit for phosphates so I can test both my tap water and my tank water. It's just that every time I get the algae under control (using AlgaeFix) it inevitably returns. At this point I know I have to find the cause of the algae instead of using chemicals to eliminate it - since it is only a temporary fix. The algae I am having a problem with is "Hard Green Spot Algae", so none of my algae eating fish can remove it (try as they might). The real problem is not when it covers the glass (that's easy to remove), but when it covers most of my plants. I have noticed that one of the flake foods I feed with contains L-ascorbyl 2-polyphosphate (a Vitamin C source). I will reduce the ammount flake food I feed with and step up my usage of live bloodworms and brine shrimp to compensate. I am religous with a 25% water change and incremental gravel vacuuming once every week. I have been very successful in maintaining zero levels of ammonia and nitrite, keeping nitrates at 10ppm or below and a steady pH of 7.0. If I could just get this algae under control I'd be in business!

[TankGirl]

You may also want to try reducing the time your lights are on by getting a cheap timer that will run the tank for about 8 hours. See if that helps, too.

[targaboy78]

Hi the_afFISHionad,

I am running a test with a product called GREEN-X. I threw one packet into my 35gal swim-thru this evening and I'll watch the water parameters over the next couple of weeks to see what changes.
http://www.worldpetstore.com/worldpe...nphosrem1.html

In a couple of weeks I'll have an opinion how well these things work.

[Billy]

is this product dimiliar to the absorbing pads from seachem or kent?

Those resins can be 'recharged' with a heating in the oven and you can't leave them in your tank too long or they actually start leaching the phosphates back into the water!

[afFISHionado]

Hi Targaboy78.... I look forward to your test results using Green-X.

[dsilvers]

My LFS guy has filter pads...he said they work well. His are made for marine and fresh. He said they go right into the canister filter. We are contemplating using this method for a few weeks, to get the phospate out kill off the staghorn algae we have. We believe the culprit was food. The food doesn't even have time to hit the surface before it's eaten, but for a while we tried a new food they didn't take to...so I think it broke down in the water. We do regular water changes, gravel vacuuming, etc...and our municipal water is ok. So, it has to be the water. We don't have an overload of fish and every other water chemistry aspect of the tank is wonderful. So, we'll see how it works.