steevareno
Well-Known Member
Which is better at removing phosphates?
Ferric oxide vs. Ferric hydroxide...
- Thread starter steevareno
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newenglandreef
Non-member
Same thing-- oxide will just bind with water, becoming ferric hydroxide.
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steevareno
Well-Known Member
OH good. Bulk reef supply calls it granular ferric oxide and phosban calls it ferric oxide hydroxide. I'll stick with brs because it's cheaper 
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steevareno
Well-Known Member
Thing is now Brs says to use 18 Tbsp on my 72gal and phosban says 4 Tbsp. Such a variation!
inverted
Non-member
I'm not sure how much water you actually have. If I assume you actually have 72 gallons, and put that in the BRS calculator it gives 18g. So, presumably, this is roughly what you are assuming? Phosban says it 150g treats 150g, so, that would mean 1g per gallon and you'd need 7.2g. BRS is known for way overestimating (I guess they're trying to sell in bulk LOL), most people say to cut their recommendations in half, so, that would be 9, which would be similar to the phosban recommendation (Also, BRS has a high capacity phosphate remover, which requires less, but is more expensive).
Really though, the amount will vary by how much phosphate you have. Ideally, you should start with this amount (actually a lower amount and work your way up to this amount, because sudden changes in phosphate can stress corals) and vary it based on phospate tests. The only problem is most phosphate test kits are not accurate at all. So, they are useless. The exceptions would be something like the Hanna Checkers, Merk DD test kit, or Hatch test kit. These aren't cheap though. However, if you have algae, it is also safe to assume you have phosphate, regardless of what the test kit reads.
Really though, the amount will vary by how much phosphate you have. Ideally, you should start with this amount (actually a lower amount and work your way up to this amount, because sudden changes in phosphate can stress corals) and vary it based on phospate tests. The only problem is most phosphate test kits are not accurate at all. So, they are useless. The exceptions would be something like the Hanna Checkers, Merk DD test kit, or Hatch test kit. These aren't cheap though. However, if you have algae, it is also safe to assume you have phosphate, regardless of what the test kit reads.
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steevareno
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that info. I don't have algea issues thank god but i did a year ago. I'll just use less of the BRS version. I do have the Hanna checker and keep it under 0.05. I don't want to have another outbreak ever again!
newenglandreef
Non-member
the ferric oxide is purer because it's not carrying the hyrdogen weight of the water.
inverted
Non-member
LOL, they are really the same thing. Neither phosban or BRS is hydrated, they are just playing around with terms regarding speciation. Really most are a mix of different Iron oxide hydroxide salts, some call it one thing, others another. My understanding is most come from a few companies and are pretty much the same. There can be some differences regarding pore size, and such, but this does not lead to that big of a difference. Percentages, not factors LOL. The exception I believe is ROWA, which is hydrated. Even that, is not that much different though...
This thread discusses some :
http://reefcentral.net/forums/showthread.php?p=16807914
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reefstarter
Non-member
Ferric in general is an acid, as for the different names hydroxide , etc they all work the same way . it helps phosphates "bond" with silicates and traps the phosphates in them . " wastwater 101 " lol
reefstarter
Non-member
bit more on that , Hydroxide is kind of like an antacid of sorts , as in magnesium hydroxide which is basicly milk of magesia , Im not a hundred % sure about the oxide . logic would suggest it could slightly raise PH I doubt either would make any drastic changes to PH as they are both formulated for our tanks
OXIDE = "metal"+(NrofOxigen)
Hydroxyde = "metal" + (Nr of "OH")
Oxide + water (HOH) = Hydroxyde.
perfect example, calcium oxyde + water = calcium hydroxyde (Kalkwasser). In some of the countries in this world this said calcwasser is still used to paint walls, made to a thick slurry it will be painted on walls and in a matter of about a day depending on temperature it will form a hard, mostly CaCO3 (limestone) surface.
Hydroxyde = "metal" + (Nr of "OH")
Oxide + water (HOH) = Hydroxyde.
perfect example, calcium oxyde + water = calcium hydroxyde (Kalkwasser). In some of the countries in this world this said calcwasser is still used to paint walls, made to a thick slurry it will be painted on walls and in a matter of about a day depending on temperature it will form a hard, mostly CaCO3 (limestone) surface.
