Phosgaurd or GFO

I use and love BRS high capacity GFO. It can be regenerated 6-10 times. So two cups can last a year. Regular GFO can't be regenerated. Expensive up front but you will truly notice a difference.
I also use far less than the calculators say. I run Prodibio and refugium. Feed 2-3 times a day (light feedings, only 7 fish)
One thing I will say is if my GFO is not tumbling in a reactor it may as well not be there. I notice a huge difference when it tumbles.

 

Matt, that's what some people say, but I try and keep as much of arond as I can, and soon when my current 125 is my sump, I plan to just about triple the mass of the Chaeto.
I always try and keep alot around.

Once, I gave alot and traded alot away at once, and my DT suffered for weeks to get back to stable again- now I don't let it get that small.

IMHO- these small little chaeto balls do little of nothing really.
All my sump water filters thru a large mass of it- works for me

 

ok so next question is what do you use to test phosphate?

(ya I still use the API shame on me).. so basically I do not know my real reading

 

Salifert

 

I like the pro kit by red sea. I also agree with todd, keeping as much cheato as possible is always better.

 

this thread has gotten quite interesting. I have used phosguard for years and recently stopped and I notice some better expansion of my corals. I keep simple corals though. Now, at around the same time, I started target feeding my corals, so, was it the removal of phosguard, target feeding, both? I think hobbyists find what works for them and stick with it. I did find the articles interesting chris, thanks for posting those!

 

I used to use a little phosguard with good results when I needed to bring down my phosphates whenever the biopellet ratio of N got out of wack. did notice my softies a bit unhappy but nothing too bad. Then again I only ran a small amount for about 4 days and pulled it.

 

I agree OFK a lot of potential packed into this thread and sorry DSC if I slightly hijacked this but your question just opened a can of worms.

It is funny that originally i was taught(guess depends on when you started hobby) that no nitrate and phosphate are ideal but in actuality the more we read and the whole premise of development of bio-pellets (as far as I am concerned) and from other reading is that a we ideally want a little nitrate and phosphate and that bio-pellets are the ideal to controlling those without totally removing them. Although as mentioned previously from mrBill I believe is there is a lot more research needed to refine the whole bio-pellets usefulness without totally crashing systems.

So with this phosguard or GFO topic It really captured my interest and since I am determined to keep my wife tank and my tank optimal and have happy corals and fish I have to look at all options.

1 big issue for me is what people use for testing phosphate and it seems there is a lack of accurate tests. I mean to use a color to give you an idea of range of phosphate is a big issue in my mind but yet we all do not have hundreds of dollars or work for water treatment plants so how is the common person like me supposed to accurately know what my phosphate is.

Per my API test depending on the light in the room I range (color wise) anywhere from 0 to .25 and if .25 then my coral growth is stagnant (which I see very little growth, did go through some bleaching, and polyp extension is minimal compared to others). Could it be something other than phosphate of course but if I can not get an accurate reading how can I rule this out.

So again and I really would like to know what test kits are people using to test their phosphate.

Thanks DSC and Zesty for your answers.

The Hannah checker is interesting but has poor reviews. The Hannah low range phosphate meter looks interesting but 200+ is alot.

What do you use AZ and others who are in the water treatment industry?

Come on peeps are we really testing or just accepting that we really do not know the accurate reading and willing to live with it. Is it as long as things look good I am happy.. Well what about those who things do not look good and how can one truly give good advice if what we have to test things is not completely accurate.

Sorry for the somewhat rant and forgive any ignorance as I for sure am still a reef novice after all these years but want to take things to a new level for my tanks.

 

Honestly, you can use API for nutrient levels as long as you also monitor livestock health (as you already do). At .25, it's probably close, as your corals respond accordingly. At 0, you're most likely in the low range where you want it. Personally, I use API for PO4 and NO3, but I double-check with Red Sea when something doesn't look right (good numbers but corals look bad or vice versa).

 

If you're going to keep SPS it's best to have a low range test kit. The API kit is high range and won't really tell you much.
If a person knows their tank well enough and knows when to change their GFO or other methods well enough then you may not need to test much. .. or not at all.
But if you're trying to pin down where exactly you stand you'll need something to measure the low range.
I use the Hanna Low range kit.