overdose Rowaphos!

[castroantonio]

If I overdose the rowa, could be a the problem??

I put 1L to 300 gallons. in a reactor!

[recife111]

Overdosing can be a problem, but if you have it in a reactor it should be ok as you can control the flow,

[GSMguy]

if you overdose it can lower alk, watch your alk closely

[CaptiveReefSystems]

you misunderstand ROWAphos. its not that you overdose, maybe wrong terminology. The amount you used is not the issue, but that amount of water you flow through your reactor. Think of ROWAphos as a sponge. The more you put in the reactor, the larger the sponge.

As with anything we do with our aquariums, you make changes gradually. If you have a large reactor full of ROWAphos and you put a lot of flow through it, yes, you can have trouble. Remember, ROWAphos was designed to control phosphate, not remove it completely. I sure hope you are using a Merck test kit to measure your phosphates, right.

Anyway, if you introduce to much water to that much ROWAphos, it can drop the alk. This was a big problem we had when ROWAphos was first introduced. People did not read the instructions that came with it and had issues. If you go slow, you won't have any trouble.

So watch the flow, you only need enough water running through your reactor so as to gently move the surface of the media in the reactor. you will see it just ever so slightly dancing at the top of the media in the reactor. sorry, not sure how else to describe it. If you get a reading of less then 0.03 using the Merck kit, either turn down the flow or feed more food high in phosphate. You also need to watch your alk to make sure it does not drop.

The nice thing about using that much ROWAphos is you only have to service the reactor every 6 months or so on a 300 gallon system.

[recife111]

nice thing about using that much ROWAphos is you only have to service the reactor every 6 months or so on a 300 gallon system.

i find that i have to clean the sponge in the reactor as it gets blocked up after a few months.

[CaptiveReefSystems]

I use, in most cases, a Hydor Seltz pump to feed the reactor. it has a built in foam filter in the head. I try to supply the reactor with water that is as clean as possible.

[Europa13]

Lowering phosphates too rapidly can cause problems. Too little phosphate is worse than too much. It's best to start out with a small amount and gradually work up. Test the effluent from the reactor, when the phos starts to rise, slow the flow or change the media.