How to use phosphate remover gran ules

[swordfish]

I bought some Kent brand phosphate absorbing granules today. I gotta love this....they only sell a single size jar at $19 and it can be reactivated. Great....so now I have more of this stuff than I am ever going to use until the end of all time, space and creation.

 

There was no hint anywhere on the jar as far as how much to use, so I guess that is my first question. I have a 7 gallon bowfront for any of you willing to hazard a guess. I decided, not being able to get a hold of a nylon mesh bag today, that putting about a teaspoon's worth in a piece of women's nylon stocking material (a length about three inches long) would work fine. It's not every day I get to walk into the supermarket and buy a pack of that stuff but that's another story. I did that.

 

It advised on the jar that you should rinse thue stuff first in RO water since it can get pretty hot when first exposed to water. But when I did that it didn't heat up in the least, making me wonder just WTF they had been talking about. Is it supposed to heat up? What if it doesn't? It did say to use it for about 8 hours at a time. I did that. Many here have said the granules will turn black as they absorb phosphate but mine didn't change color at all. Have others had that experience as well? Maybe there is no phosphate to be absorbed.

 

Also, how often do I use this stuff? Just after water changes? All the time? Would it be better to throw that homemade sachet of granule-filled panty hose material into every fresh batch of RO water when I bring it back from the store, maybe including a power head to keep things moving for eight hours until I pull it out? And again, how much to use if I do it that way?

 

Thanks,

 

Jeff

[myelin]

I just bought this stuff as well. It got hot once i ran tap water over it. Yeah, I'm not wasting my RO on that.

 

I got a large mdeia bag from PetCo for cheap. It is too big for my Aquaclear Mini, but I made it fit. I dumped a good portion of the granules into the nylon bag, and placed it into the HOB filter.

 

After 2 days, the media turned a brownish color. I changed it out today since it has been 2 days. I didn't put the stuff into the oven.

 

After 2 days, I have notices less algae build-up on the front of my tank. I have a feeling I was over feeding the tank. I was using CC for the substrate, so it was trapping nutrients. I just changed out to LS today.

 

Good idea on using it on your RO water. I'd test the RO water for PO4 first, then see if you really need to go through the trouble.