RowaPhos or GFO?

[Poseidon]

Which one is better? ive been doing research and have decided that it differs per hobbiest...
i have bad red slime in my tank and i also have alot of diatoms and green algae.... i know its due to high nitrates and phosphates
and i know i had high levels of both

i have a vertex aquastick reactor with a pump i plan to run... I also am thinking about adapting an old KENT ro filter as a 2 canister reactor off of the main return manifold.

thoughts please?
im getting very sick of the algae and want to get on this sooner than later.
thanks

 

[Royal Aquariums]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/6/review

Some people claim that Rowa works better and others say they didn't notice a difference. I believe both will do a good job.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I've used both...

I think ROWA is pretty good, but it's expensive, it's also a different consistency  (they sell it moist, probably to make the product bulkier or heavier, who knows).  BRS GFO is very dry, relatively inexpensive, and I know it works.  I buy the GFO even though I can get the ROWA locally. 

Phosphates .78 down to .00 with GFO.

 

[Poseidon]

in that article im reading that iron based phosphate removers affect ph... thoughts on that?

 

[Poseidon]

http://www.incredibleaquarium.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=70_69&products_id=344
here is the ROWA stuff... treats 1000gallon.. i only have 200 that need treating so how long will that last me and keep my phosphate next to zero?

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-bulk-gfo-granular-ferric-oxide-granular.html

take the 4lb one for 55$...  again, 200 gallon... how long will that last me?
it says on there calculator that i need 3 cups to treat my tank, but wtf does that mean???

 

[Salty Cracker]

I'm pretty sure they're both iron base....ferric oxide.  Basically it's rust or something we're using. 

I use about a cup per month on ~150GAL system to keep phosphates undetectable.  I run it in a phosban 150 canister.  Swapped out every month, no effect on PH at all (I have an apex that monitors PH constantly).

Basically, whichever is the best deal money wise and you should be good.  The 4lb tubs I get from BRS last a LONG time.  You -might- want to consider using the hi-cap if your numbers are high, but the granular will work over time as well.  Honestly, this stuff and LED lighting changed the hobby for me, without question.

 

[Poseidon]

im thankful for your help salty... its getting kinda depressing staring at the algae and slime...
i think i will go with the 4lb one then... ill run that stuff in my vertex reactor? will that work...
i have a mag 3 i think it is that runs it...

theres a group order i believe going on from BRS... maybe i could get in on that still...


LED lighting is a direction in my near future as well... but i need to sell a few more houses first

 

[jones02]

This is the stuff I use and I like it a lot.

http://www.royalaquariums.ca/p/166/fauna-marin-ultra-power-phos

 

[Salty Cracker]

This is the stuff I use and I like it a lot.

http://www.royalaquariums.ca/p/166/fauna-marin-ultra-power-phos

That stuff cannot be used on tanks with low phosphates, it's a quick fix product not a long term one...just FYI.

From the instructions:

Do NOT use UltraPowerPhos in tanks that already have very low phosphate concentrations.
If phosphate concentrations start to increase again, exchange UltraPowerPhos for fresh material.

 

[dale]

i use seachem phosguard myself and it works great for me, i had red cyano and green hair algae for a couple years and tried all kinds of stuff (on a very tight budget) and nothing worked i even used cheap gfo from laguna brand and nothing,,., i bought a 1000 ml bottle of phosguard from ia for i think $16., in dec 2011,the algae was gone within 2 weeks and it lasted till 1 month ago., ., it changes color so you know when it is done.,., ive heard you can recharge it but i havnt tried......, also ., that and a very bad skimmer are the only filtration my 65 gal full of corals has....

 

[pulpfiction1]

what are your phosphate readings?nitrate?what are the general paremeters at?cal,mag,alk?

 

[Royal Aquariums]

i use seachem phosguard myself and it works great for me, i had red cyano and green hair algae for a couple years and tried all kinds of stuff (on a very tight budget) and nothing worked i even used cheap gfo from laguna brand and nothing,,., i bought a 1000 ml bottle of phosguard from ia for i think $16., in dec 2011,the algae was gone within 2 weeks and it lasted till 1 month ago., ., it changes color so you know when it is done.,., ive heard you can recharge it but i havnt tried......, also ., that and a very bad skimmer are the only filtration my 65 gal full of corals has....

Seachem phosguard will be similar to Brightwell Aquatics ExtraxPhos, they are both an aluminum based product. You get alot of media for the price, I have had good results with this.

http://www.royalaquariums.ca/p/812/extrax-phos-600g

 

[Salty Cracker]

It should be noted that at low PH, aluminum based phosphate removers can release aluminum into the water.  It is also recommended that the media be removed or replaced with every water change.

GFO is widely considered the 'upgrade' to aluminum based products, and safer to use.  I believe it was a German finding, for years people were wondering how these German reefkeepers were doing so well with sps until the secret got out. 

In my opinion, it's better to have something that stays in the tank all the time, won't release aluminum or silicates, and can bring a better level of stability.  It's also been my experience that the ferric oxide works slower than the phos-guard type products, but as with most things reef, slower is good.

Again, just my opinion, but one shared by a lot of sps enthusiasts.  Remember, I'm not selling any of these products, I just want people to have fun and good results (something I didn't have for years when I was using products like phosguard).

 

[Royal Aquariums]

Yes I agree that you have to change these put more often . Gfo is the preferred method

 

[AdInfinitum]

I opted to use the Seachem aluminum based product to deplete the years of phosphate build-up in my old rock. Lower $ per PPM phosphate removed...  Then once my levels stayed down reliably I switched to Rowa  (no significant difference to BRS GFO IMO )in a 150 reactor for maintenance due to it's much more stable adsorption rate and since, even with regular water changes, aluminum build-up in the system could potentially reach toxic levels where stray iron is a useful nutrient.

Removing phosphates from aluminum oxide would be an extremely involved process if possible (just opinion).  On the other hand, recharging GFO is easy rinse it with vinegar then soak it in a caustic soda solution for a day or so...rinse well...good to go...  Not truly a recharge in that you are just dissolving the surface layer of iron phosphate off to get to fresh iron oxide...

 

[Salty Cracker]

I tend to agree that ROWA is very close to BRS GFO.  I should really look at the price of each, it just seemed I was paying a LOT more for ROWA, but that was local, maybe there's better prices online...