Phosban? First Time user: A few questions...

[CIGDAZE]

Okay, so I got some phosban so I can work on getting rid of some excess nutrients to quell the little hair algae that I have. I also bought a nice little media reactor, it's a Via Aqua PolyReactor PR 20/20...nice little unit, nothing fancy, but it was at the right price, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, the phosban directions state that the media works best in a pass-through filter, but that is should not tumble. Well, I have a little tumble...nothing extreme, but it's tumbling a little bit nonetheless. It's not like this little reactor is moving all that much water.

Is this okay? What do you all think?

Thanks in advance!
:)

[CHAOSTACTICS]

A little tumble is usually considered good, it increases contact time with water. You want to avoid it tumbling so hard that it grinds against itself and creates phosban dust, for that could cause more harm than good.

[CIGDAZE]

Thanks for the quick reply. That's kind of what I was thinking, too...the whole point is to keep the media in a "fluidized" column of water, right? Like I said it's nothing major, so I can't imagine it pulverizing itself, but I just wanted to double check with you guys. It's more of like a gentle updraft just rolling it around.

Thanks again.

[Percula9]

Slightly fluidized is the correct situation.

[Jason Donohoe]

There are GFOs available that are in pellet form. Switching from a granular GFO I found much less dust (almost none) to rinse out when adding fresh media and no apparent 'grinding' in the reactor.

[Michael]

im not convinced that not tumbling is the most effect method, cant understand why the manufacturer says that, heres a video of phoshban in a reactor http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GVbw1yCGTbg

[Jason Donohoe]

I have a similar tumble (maybe slightly less) in my reactor and have not appreciated any grinding (at least no visible powder exiting the reactor).

[CIGDAZE]

Perfect! Thanks a bunch everyone. Seeing that video, it looks like I have about the same sort of action.

:)

[CIGDAZE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14229456#post14229456 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jason.donohoe
There are GFOs available that are in pellet form. Switching from a granular GFO I found much less dust (almost none) to rinse out when adding fresh media and no apparent 'grinding' in the reactor.
Tell me about this pellet variety...can you recommend a good source?
Thank you.

[Jason Donohoe]

My reactor came with Opti-Phos. It is a pelletized, rechargeable GFO. I have yet to recharge it (the reactor has only been up and running for 4 weeks now) but I am honestly sceptical about how effective the process will be. I am looking at purchasing the pelleted GFO from Bulk Reef Supply and just swapping out the media. Unfortunately I don't have any personal experience with their product but I have seen it recommended in various posts. The GFO I used previously was the one made by Fluval. I rinsed and rinsed the product before use but there was still dust coming off when I added it to the tank.

[sgallagher7]

How long can you use Phosban. I have heard conflicting information. Some say you can use it continuously same say only for a few weeks. The other question is how long is Phosban good for? Does the color dictate a change or the amount of time in use?

[Jason Donohoe]

I run GFO continuosly to help with phosphate export. I guess if you had a phosphate problem and corrected the underlying cause you could use it short term. I plan on decreasing the amount I use once my algae problem is under control. There is no way to tell when it is time to change it which is quite frustrating. Some people will monitor their phosphate with very senesitive test kits and change their GFO when the level begins to increase and others change it on a set schedule (every 6 to 8 weeks in a stable system).

[0b1]

there is a thread in the chemistry forum somewhere that I can't find. When starting off it said you should start off with a small amount and change it out regularly until things are under control. I think the directions on the bottle said to use a cup but i used much less and changed it out every 5 days or so. It started to work after about a week or two.

[sgallagher7]

Is there a color change to look for? Iv seen significant changes in my tank since running it. No more algae coming up.