Phoshate reactor

So I decided today that I would start a new build. I have been fighting phosphates now for a while and can't get them to go away. So here it is my diy phosphate reactor. This was an old skimmer that I was going to throw away and now I am glad I kept it.

It is a 3"x14" acrylic tube. It has a 1/2 inche hole on the middle for the inlet. And a 3/4 outlet on the bottom witch I am going to put a ball valve on for flow. It is capped with a removable 3" inch threaded slip coupler and then capped. My media will be in a phosban bag. Now I don't know how mush phos to put in it. The tub says 50 grams for 50 g. I have a 56 dt with a 15g sump. What do you guys think.

 

since 50 grams = 50 gallons

i would put 65 grams in it..one gram equals a gallon of water

 

How good is phosban

 

The best labeled media is RowaPhos, it's expensive but when the media gets exhausted, it won't release the PO4's back into the water. This may not be the case with Phosban. I know that regular bulk GFO will leach the PO4's back into the water if they have been exhausted. Remember, that when using the product, you have to go slow.

GFO will help clarify your water, and if you use too much right away, you can light shock your coral. Initially you may want to test for PO4 from the water exiting your media. I have had to replace my GFO every 4 days, trying to get rid of PO4's. Because if you don't test or change out enough, you will just reintroduce what you wanted to remove.

Typically, if you have algae grow on your glass, and have to clean it everyday, you will notice that it will become less and less each day you are using "working" GFO. When it returns, it's a good indicator that your media needs to get changed out.

 

All the GFO products are very similar with the exception of the pelletized media. Most all come from Bayer Chemical in Germany so about the only difference is grain size or its its pelletized like what Bayer calls Bayoxide E33P.
No GFO releases phosphates, thats only the aluminum based medias like Phosguard.

The advantages of media reactors like the Phosban 150 reactor is the have that tube inside which extends dow through the middle to the bottom so it fluidizes or floats the media up and keeps it slightly in suspension so it does not pack down or clump up. Does your 1/2" do the same?

Start with 1/2 the recommended dose of 10 grams (roughly one level tablespoon full) for every 10 gallons of tank water and work your way up to the full 10 grams. Change it more frequently in the beginning as it will get exhausted quickly. Once you have it under control as evidenced by testing you can increase to the normal dosage and replacement frequencies.