Phosgaurd or GFO

What's a better product to use on a reef tank to remove pphosphates, phosgaurd or GFO? I'm gonna run a phosphate remover in a new reactor and wanted some opinions.

 

I ran GFO for a few months and did NOT like it. Corals looked like crap and cyano starting growing out of nowhere.

Never should have changed it up, always ran carbon and phosguard together in a HOB filter with no problems. I have sicne gone back and the corals coudlnt look better.

Could be many other variables though, many people use GFO very successfully. Was jsut my experience

 

Personal preference. Aluminum based medias work faster but the drawback is they will leach contaminants back if not changed before exhaustion. Some will argue this but it has been proven in water treatment plants for decades.

GFO works slower but it will not leach when exhausted and again this is why it is EPA approved to place in a landfill untreated or contained. I prefer GFO myself as only bad things happen quickly in this hobby, all good things take time. I also run 1/2 the recommended dose at all times and even less when first starting out as GFO has been shown to bleach corals if too much is used too quickly.

 

Thanks guys. I think I'll stick with phosgaurd, it worked well in the past. Thanks again for the quick responses.

 

I have used phosguard since setup. On my 46 gallon it was 8 tablespoons of carbon and 3 tablespoons of phosguard. Now on the 65gal I used 10 of carbon and 4 of phosguard. It was sued sicne before any corals were added so there was nothing to worry about changing fast as the corals were already introduced into the system after use.

Ido not let it exhuast as I replace it every 2 weeks.

As for what AZ said about GFO, I did make the mistake and went full dosage when first used. Corals did NOT like that so I cut the dosage in half. I thought maybe from the shock of the full dose it jsut took ahwile to rebound, but after 6 months I couldnt take it any longer and switched back

 

ok let me throw this into the mix..

Why not bio-pellets.. I only know what I have watched and read so far but just in the early stages.

Have you guys tried them?

 

Have not, I have heard of biopellets crashing systmes if your not careful. Also I do nto run a skimmer which is a msut with biopellets

 

Ya I did see stuff about it crashing systems but then again plenty of systems crash without using it.

You are correct the proper way to run them is with return tied direct into skimmer so ya you are out ha ha.

I am still in planning stages of a new sump for my 135 so weighing all options and bio-pellets is in the mix.

 

FWIW, I've seen a few cases where the aquarist realized their tank was going south and were able to pull the plug on the pellets in time to save it. Personally, I believe there's a lot more science behind pellet use that has yet to be discovered or refined; it's certainly not an instant cure-all for everyone's algae woes.

 

I use some PhosGuard.

Maybe I'm not understanding AZDR's post b/c I put a little in a media bag in my overflow, leave it for like 4-6 months, then add a little more.

In fact, the packeging for it states it won't leach back into the water once depleted.

I use it in small amounts, no 'reactor', and it works for me.

I've never tried GFO, and probably never will, but that's just me as I know many are succesful with it, but I've read alot of negatives too.