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View Full Version : I'm guessing I should change my Phosban Media


JEFFR259
10/05/2008, 07:09 AM
Morning everyone,

A couple weeks ago, I shut off my TLF Phosban Reactor (filled with Phosban) on a whim. I've seen Phosphates go to essentially 0 (atleast with what the kit is reading). I remembered seeing here somewhere that a little phosphate is ok/good for the corals in my mixed reef. I've never had anything near a algae problem, so I decided to try my theory.

Well, nothing changed in the tank, the corals looked the same :)

So, I went to turn the reactor back on and before I plugged it back in, a quick thought ran through my mind:

WHat if some negative chemical reaction happened in the reactor while it was sitting stale for a couple weeks with the same water/media in it?

So, I put the return line from the reactor in a bucket and pumped it in. To my surprise, the water draining into the bucket smelled like sulfur!!! Really nasty!!! Obviously I decided to not run the reactor back into the tank.

I suppose I already know the answer to my own question that the media needs replacement....

but, thought I'd bring up the topic (hey, not much else going on yet today and the LFS doesnt open till 2pm :)) and I wanted see if you all agree :)

ChuckLawson
10/05/2008, 01:57 PM
Shutting off most any water with organics in it from circulation is a great way to produce hydrogen sulfide and other products of anerobic bacteria. I was tearing down a tank the other day and cut through a vinyl hose that I had closed the valves on a few days before, and after I cleaned the spill up (with soap and water, even), I still had to leave the room for a few hours for the stank to clear out before continuing sounded like fun :-)

Phosban reactors, skimmers, filters, etc. -- if you've shut them down for more than an hour or two, you need to be sure to dump them out and clean them before you turn them back on, or you're courting disaster.

AZDesertRat
10/05/2008, 03:23 PM
It went septic.