Phos Guard Pros And Cons

[SpongeAl]

There is nothing wrong with Rowa. It is a great product but it does require a reactor to be used efficiently. To me the big difference between GFO products and products like Phosguard is how they are used. Phosguard is best used in a bag in a sump, used in a passive way and contrary to what has been said it does not leach Phosphate....again from Seachem's site...

"It does not leach phosphate or silicate back into the water and may be removed, dried, and returned to service until exhausted. Continuous use of small quantities is better than intermittent use of larger quantities."

My concern with Phosguard was the small amounts aluminum oxide leached into the water. (As per Randy Holmes test) It is inconclusive as to how bad this may or may not be, but as a beginner I didn't want any more unknowns. This added with the limited soak time and inability to use it in a reactor made it a poor choice for me.

I still have the almost full container here, I've kept it for emergency use or if someone local wanted to use it up.

Seachem is a reputable company, phosguard has been around for a long time, so while it probably isn't terrible it's just not ideal for me.

 

[Dan Cole]

My concern with Phosguard was the small amounts aluminum oxide leached into the water. (As per Randy Holmes test) It is inconclusive as to how bad this may or may not be, but as a beginner I didn't want any more unknowns. This added with the limited soak time and inability to use it in a reactor made it a poor choice for me.

It is hard to know what the right answer is on that...I've researched it a few times over the years and couldn't find a definitive answer. With Marine Pure facing the same issue regarding aluminum oxide leaching maybe we'll get the answer at some point. In the meantime, if you have a reactor or don't mind adding one, your approach is certainly the safest one.

 

[unibob]

I've got an open mind...can you point us to anything to suggests it's not true? I'm thinking their competitors would be all over it, if it wasn't.

I'm not saying you are wrong, just the fact that it would be poor business for such a company to say something bad about a product.

I believe the best approach is if you are unsure, to just use GFO, and if you want something to absorb more and last longer to use HCGFO.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dan Cole]

I'm not saying you are wrong, just the fact that it would be poor business for such a company to say something bad about a product.

If it weren't ture, I think they would have been inclined to say nothing about it at all.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Companies lie all the time.
https://soldin60secs.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/top-10-famous-deceptive-ads/

I think we're all saying that gfo is sort of universally accepted as "safe" for the reef aquarium, whereas there is definitely mixed reviews about phosguard. I had a bad experience with it, and have run GFO non stop for almost 4 years now (started with rowa and went on to the bulk stuff). Phosguard would be something I would use if my tank was almost a goner, not for one that is doing well, but with some nuisance algae issues. It took literally months for the GFO to drop the phosphate into parts per billions, which is exactly the way to do it, as my rocks were super-saturated with phosphate. Phosguard ripped the phosphate out of the tank, which I thought "wow, great!" but the corals suffered immediately. THEN the rocks started to leech phosphate back into the now-stripped water column. So defintiely not the right approach.

You can read the thread where I finally turned the tank around, from phosphate levels of 8.2(!) here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2036229&highlight=confessions (also the point that I was able to switch from icky soft coral to awesome sps)

 

[scubasteve]

I use phos if my levels go up for some reason but remember you do need some amounts of phos 0 of anything is bad you always want just enough to register on tests otherwise yours corals aren't getting enough to complete full processes along with other things. Don't leave phosguard in all the time only when high phos is registering and once it's a brown tinge or levels drop to where you want them replace it as its spent.

If it leached anything my tank would be toast with no wc so wouldn't say it will hurt anything. I personally love seachem they do so much testing on products before release its insane not to mention they are probably the world leaders of additives and definitely the most creditable. Some smaller companies actually work with them and pay for them to complete testing. Out of all the companies for reefing not many own their own lab facility and work hand in hand with marine biologists to create good products.

 

[skybreezy]

I use phos if my levels go up for some reason but remember you do need some amounts of phos 0 of anything is bad you always want just enough to register on tests otherwise yours corals aren't getting enough to complete full processes along with other things. Don't leave phosguard in all the time only when high phos is registering and once it's a brown tinge or levels drop to where you want them replace it as its spent.

If it leached anything my tank would be toast with no wc so wouldn't say it will hurt anything. I personally love seachem they do so much testing on products before release its insane not to mention they are probably the world leaders of additives and definitely the most creditable. Some smaller companies actually work with them and pay for them to complete testing. Out of all the companies for reefing not many own their own lab facility and work hand in hand with marine biologists to create good products.

Thx steve. Your awesome dude.