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Post by BriMc on Jun 9, 2014 13:41:14 GMT -5
Please stop misquoting me I said ALK not PH, "I really don't see anything in that article saying that gfo only removes small amounts of phosphates either" I never said anything about GFO removing small amounts of phosphates. I stated that before people started using GFO as a maintenance tool it was used to reduce the last remaining readings of Phosphates. Many aquarist have noticed ALK swings when they first change out their GFO. I was also trying to help Noob fix his problem not mask it, the issue if is it is in fact bad rock you don't know how long the rock is going to continue leaching so do you treat it and maintain adding expensive GFO or do you eliminate the root problem?
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Post by n00b- Ryan [Poland] on Jun 9, 2014 13:50:54 GMT -5
So... Say it is my base rock... [sure hope its not] -- how does one "treat" rock to extract all this phosphate. I don't have a ton of corals.. but I'm guessing its not an easy task to maintain prams while doing this sudden change.
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Post by BriMc on Jun 9, 2014 14:40:01 GMT -5
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Post by jasonandsarah on Jun 9, 2014 15:08:27 GMT -5
My opinion would be to find the source of the Phosphate. Running GFO is suppose to be for polishing off the remaining low reading of phosphate not to hide a problem. If you are having a major battle with algae running GFO is really a band aid. ?? Gfo could be just a band aid I guess? But I bought a $30 container from bulk reef 6 mong months ago and still have half of it. That's definitely not expensive in my book. Considering a coral is at least that most of the time for me. Also I didn't mis quote you I was responding to the article because that was the only bad thing I could see in it and I've never experienced that with alk, Witch would also effect your ph. |
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Post by BriMc on Jun 9, 2014 15:28:41 GMT -5
You stated you don't have Phosphate problems that your Phosphate was at 0. So why would you need a lot of it? Sounds like Noobs Phosphate problem may be a bit more extensive then yours causing him to need quite a bit more GFO than you. Now moving on.
Noob there is another method that can be used without removing the rock from the tank that people are having good luck with, I am heading out shortly to pick the chemical up and try it out on a few pieces of bad rock that I have.
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Post by jasonandsarah on Jun 9, 2014 15:38:33 GMT -5
lanthanum chloride?
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Post by n00b- Ryan [Poland] on Jun 9, 2014 15:57:42 GMT -5
Whats interesting is the fact, all the individuals are reporting detectable levels on their tests... So unless my algae is consuming a sh!t ton of phos... I'm not sure why I wouldn't be able to detect it.
Brian... certainly let me know how that works out for you...
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Post by jasonandsarah on Jun 9, 2014 16:18:40 GMT -5
Algae only needs 0.03(I believe) to live and most test kits we use won't detect that. Only one that really will is Hanna checker ulr(ultra low range. phosphorus test.
I'm going to be selling my Hanna checker phosphate soon with a pak of regents.
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Post by BriMc on Jun 9, 2014 18:03:46 GMT -5
If you read the posts on that subject I posted the ranges are all over the place. Some people using the API test are reading 0 but when they recheck with the hanna and sailifert tester some have come up with readings over 1.0 or higher. So Jason I think you are on to something with your comment about the Hanna tester. .03 to .05 is enough to feed algae. Most average test kits measure in 1.0 increments, the better kits test in 0.02 increments.
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Post by Pokahpolice on Jun 9, 2014 18:24:11 GMT -5
Algae only needs 0.03(I believe) to live and most test kits we use won't detect that. Only one that really will is Hanna checker ulr(ultra low range. phosphorus test. I'm going to be selling my Hanna checker phosphate soon with a pak of regents. Red Sea Pro kit also test that low. |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Jun 9, 2014 18:53:37 GMT -5
Have you gotten your red sea phosphate test kit to read low readings your self? Or does it just say it? Just interested I like red sea test kits but was hesitant to buy one after reading reviews. So I got a Hanna checker for a couple bucks more.
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Post by BriMc on Jun 9, 2014 21:57:06 GMT -5
Red Sea does increments of 0.02 which is a good test.
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Post by jasonandsarah on Jun 10, 2014 4:15:09 GMT -5
I know red sea are good test it's what I use for everything but phosphates. I just wanted to know what kind of consistent test results he's gotten from the phosphate test kit?
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Post by Pokahpolice on Jun 10, 2014 7:39:45 GMT -5
Yes, I use Red Sea personally. I like it and the only complaint I have is the same complaint I have with every test kit, which is, I'm never 100% confident of the color when I look at the chart. It has a really nice color chart but the difference in shades isn't much and each shade is .02. This is where the Hanna is a better product because it's digital and no guess work.
I find I have this issue with ALL tests I run though. When does the vile 'really' turn orange when checking KH?
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Post by jasonandsarah on Jun 10, 2014 9:55:04 GMT -5
Yes, I use Red Sea personally. I like it and the only complaint I have is the same complaint I have with every test kit, which is, I'm never 100% confident of the color when I look at the chart. It has a really nice color chart but the difference in shades isn't much and each shade is .02. This is where the Hanna is a better product because it's digital and no guess work. I find I have this issue with ALL tests I run though. When does the vile 'really' turn orange when checking KH? It's a real pain in the A$$ but when I'm testing kh, cal and mag when I get through about half the testing liquid, I go one drip at a time swirling the liquid continually with every drop. I've tested twice in a row with the exact same results. My problem is with test like the mag test where you have to add a drop and shake and you have to do that 5 times sometimes I loose count! Lol now I use sticky notes with a tally.  |
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