GFO

[ccCapt]

Anyone using GFO (granular ferric oxide)?
And if so...a few questions:
1- How much are you using per gallon of actual tank volume?
2- Using it in a reactor or "tea bagging" it in a sump or powerfilter?
3- If in a reactor, what kind of flow rate?
4- Any SPS corals...and any ill effects from the gfo?
5- Effects on any corals (soft or lps)? Good or bad
6- Any water/rock discoloration?

 

[melosu58]

Just a question? What are you using it for? Iron for macro? Just wondering.

 

[ccCapt]

GFO...actually granular beta ferric hydroxide is used to remove phosphates, silicates and heavy metals from water. It was developed for waste water treatment.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2004/review.htm
It's made in 1 factory in Germany, but sold under a couple different names. I got the PhosPure from Drs. F&S and TwoPartSolution sells the same thing..about $20/lb. RowaPhos and PhosBan is the same thing, but costs quite a bit more. Right now I'm using 3 tablespoons in my 75. The iron based phosphate removes don't leach anything back into the water, while aluminum based removers will leach phosphate back into the water when it's reached it's max absorbtion.
This stuff has to be used with caution since it strips all the phospate out of the water pretty fast and could stress/bleach corals. Supposedly phosphate can hold back the true colors of some SPS corals and cause otherwise nice colored coral to turn brown.

 

[Devilishturtles]

1. I am using PhosBan, and I am unsure of the amount I am using. The container has 150 grams I believe (don't hold me to that) and I use half of the container at a time.

2. Teabagging it in a HOB filter.

4. No effects that I am positive of.... but I have had problems with certain types of algae growing on my sps corals ever since I started using phosban. Dunno if that is the cause, but it did happen almost exactly at the same time period.

5. No noticeable effects on LPS or soft corals. They are growing tremendously fast.

6. No water or rock discoloration unless I jostle the bag around, which I think phosban reccomends so the media doesn't pack together. I don't worry about the little bit of brown powder that goes into the water.

Also, as a thought, maybe you will get more responses if you rename your topic. Most people might not have an idea what GFO stands for.

HTH

 

[ccCapt]

Thanks for the reply
So is that 75 grams (1/2 the container) used on your 55? I've read so many different dosage recommendations, from 1 tablespoon/25 gals to 1 gram/gal to 4 grams/gal. Right now I'm on the low side (3 tbsps in my 75) for fear of a rapid phosphate drop and SPS bleaching.

I have mine in a mesh bag laying on a rack I made from egg crate inside one of the baffles in my sump. Getting lots of flow thru it, so that's working nice.

Strange you notice algea growth after you added Phosban. Should be just the opposite, but nothing ever goes as expected.

I know of 1 person who used it and his water got a rust colored tint to it, but he must not have rinsed it good enough. I had to rinse mine about 10 mins in a bowl before the water ran clear.

The main reason I'm trying it is for SPS color. My greens stay green, orange stays orange, but seems like my blue SPS's tend to drift towards purple. I got an awesome blue millie that was a beautiful baby blue for a couple months, but is now purple in my tank. Growth is good, but not happy with color.

80 views, but 2 replies. People are looking at the thread, but just maybe no one really uses the stuff.

 

[cmor1701d]

Correct. I'm following the topic, but don't use. I don't see a need for it (yet).

 

[roka64]

I use the phosban, I did notice a rust color in my tank, but I believe that was due to too much flow and the phosban was breaking up. I use purigen and have only read a little about GFO, so I am not much help there.