Let me hear about GFO
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=51873
Printed Date: June 27 2025 at 3:50am
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Topic: Let me hear about GFO
Posted By: Laird
Subject: Let me hear about GFO
Date Posted: October 11 2011 at 9:18pm
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So who here runs GFO? I've been considering getting a reactor and running it. I've never had such a big problem with algae on my glass as I have in the last few months.
So a few questions to the people that run it. Is it worth doing? Is there any downsides or risks? Thanks ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Replies:
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 2:39pm
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anyone? ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: Ahanix
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 3:16pm
| Starting the ecobak journey today. I did research on both and decided this route would be best |
Posted By: jwoo
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 3:21pm
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I tired ecobak and pulled it out due to it almost ruining my tank. So it's all GFO from here on out for me. I don't think there are many downsides to running it or risks, ultimately I find it to be much less volatile then the ecobak was. Just make sure to keep the water flowing fairly slowly through the reactor as not to crush the GFO with too much force. ------------- None at the moment Soon: 72 Gallon Bowfront |
Posted By: kody72
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 3:53pm
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Make sure just the top is tumbling a little bit. Ive notice since using it my algae is getting less and less on the glass also my phosphates have dropped to 0 ------------- http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=60612&title=kody72-fishroom" rel="nofollow - KODY72 FISHROOM BUILD 281g DT 187g Rimless Frag ATI PM lighting SRO DSCR-300ext 8013908179 |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 4:23pm
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I have been running gfo for ohhh say just under a year. No drawbacks yet.... the reason to use gfo ( granular feric oxide (iron oxide) instead of phosgaurd, is cause supposedly phosgaurd (aluminium oxide) can leach minerals into your tank.
To me it helps, and is kind of a fall back crutch for me... it does help with growth, but to me carbon/bacteria dosing did more for growth and coloration. But i am only dosing carbon once a week, i am pondering going to twice a week, and then less gfo |
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 4:40pm
I'm with Jwoo on ecobak. I'm never going near that stuff again ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
jwoo wrote:Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 4:41pm
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Where is the best place to get GFO? ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 4:52pm
| Bulk reef supply.... also reef on carries it from BRS and sell it for about the same price with no shipping |
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 6:36pm
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How much does everyone use and how often so you change it? ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: Trevor40
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 6:37pm
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I have been running GFO for a few months now and it has been keeping my phosphates undetectible so far. I feed heavy a few times a day. I have read that you want to be careful to not add too much GFO at first for reasons I'm not too sure about other than it might shock your tank not being use to it. Keep us posted how it works for you. ------------- Call or Text (801)834-3119 |
Posted By: Ahanix
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 9:19pm
Care to elaborate on how it almost crashed your tank? |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 9:25pm
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If you have SPS and run too much GFO at once, it can cause some bleaching...or worse. Always start with half the recommended amount. There were some studies done at how quickly GFO pulls the phosphate out of the water, and it can be a huge shock to some corals (particularly SPS)...so go slow. I change mine out once a month. If you read the GFO studies, it's really not good for long. It basically pulls everything out at once, and that's all it can do. I leave it running for a month each time in the belief that initially it pulls most everything out, and then after that it's just a "maintenance dose". Probably should do it more often, but I just find it gross to change (particles seem to stick to everything.) I get mine in bulk from Bulk Reef Supply, but recently Premium Aquatics (back near my previous home in Ohio) had it in bulk even cheaper. I'm not familiar enough with the local stuff...sorry. It gets pricey really quick (especially when you're dosing cups at a time on larger tanks), so buy it in bulk. If you don't want a ton, I'm sure there are some group buys that could help. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: kellerexpress
Date Posted: October 12 2011 at 9:28pm
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I've used GFO for a while now with good results. I am currently trying a new product called po4x4. It's supposed to remove 4x the phosphate that GFO does. ------------- IM 30L Kessil A160we x2 |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: October 13 2011 at 3:33am
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Love the gfo. I got gfo and biopellets to bring my phosphates low enough so I can start into sps. My skimmer has been dead about a month and still doing great! Change once a month. When I added it did take phosphates to about 0 very quickly. ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 13 2011 at 7:35am
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How much do you use and where do you get it from? ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: October 13 2011 at 9:29am
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Jerry at reef on gets it from bulk reef supply, I use about one cup in my 210 very low tumble in a reactor. ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 13 2011 at 9:49am
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http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/catalogsearch/result/?q=gfo&x=31&y=20
Which one? ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: October 13 2011 at 2:21pm
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http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/1-gallon-4-pounds-bulk-gfo-granular-ferric-oxide.html
I think the 4 gallon is the best value. I use the granuals not pellets, pellets are for filter socks. When we say low flow in the reactor, we mean it like a summer effect on the top of the media, no tumbling otherwise they will grind themselves down and you'll see it pulled out your skimmer. I use an inline ball valve to control the flow. ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: October 14 2011 at 8:10am
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Has anyone had any success using a filter bag with gfo instead of a reactor? ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 9:11am
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I hate hate hate hate hate GFO in filter bags. I've tried it various time in various tanks hoping to not buy a reactor, but it's just not worth it. GFO tends to clump up over time, so it's difficult to get the right amount of flow through the bag. If the flow is too much, it'll grind up the GFO, and the powder is known to kill fish (which is why you should rinse GFO thoroughly before use.) Keep an eye out for used reactors...but if you want to go new, I love my Bulk Reef Supply reactor and my NextReef MR1 reactor. The Two Little Fishies reactor was just cheap...it works, but I had one break...and I'm hoping my second doesn't go the same way. How much GFO to run will depend on your water volume (there's a calculator on the BRS site). Dose half that the first time, then go up to 3/4 or full dose the next time. If you're still having problems, slowly increase from there. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: jcoulter17
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 9:52am
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I just order GFO and do I still need to dose half the first time if my po4 read 0? I have a lot of algae in the tank so my algae is consuming the PO4 and giving me a false reading. If I do a full dose will it still hurt my SPS? I would think it would just hurt the algae. |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 11:17am
| They say its so you don't shock your corals, from having phosphates in the tank to having none |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 3:50pm
IMO, the common inexpensive phosphate tests are a bunch of junk. Your eyeball is better calibrated to notice if you have a phosphate problem by looking at your tank than those tests are actually measuring the phosphates. There are some decent tests out there, but they're $$$. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: jcoulter17
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 4:29pm
| Whats the decent tests? |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 9:53pm
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A friend back home had one of these a while back. I don't know if anything better is out lately: http://www.hach.com/phosphate-test-kit-total-ortho-meta-model-po-24/product?id=7640214961 - http://www.hach.com/phosphate-test-kit-total-ortho-meta-model-po-24/product?id=7640214961 Supposedly they actually test for the organic phosphates as well as the inorganic...and it's the only test I know of that does that's readily available to hobbyist (not lab equipment, etc). There's a Hanna meter that is about $100 more, but I don't know any particulars on it. It uses the same testing method, so it may be comparable to the Hach meter. If you want to get down in the weeds, I recommend the Advanced Aquarists articles: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/9/chemistry - http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/9/chemistry I've also had a few friends (in the UK) who had what appeared to be phosphate issues, and they used the "Organics" test by Coral-Shop. Their tanks were low in phosphates according to the standard phosphate tests, but came up high with the "organics test". I'm not sure if "organics" actually measures the organic & inorganic phosphates. However, with standard procedure for removing organic phosphates, they were able to get their tanks back under control. Only bad news is, is that I haven't been able to find that test kit in the states. Anyway, Salifert makes an "organics" test kit as well, but it's supposed to be junk. http://www.coral-shop.com/news.php?id=220 - http://www.coral-shop.com/news.php?id=220 Sorry for the random babble. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: jcoulter17
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 10:39pm
| Thanks Nikki |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: October 15 2011 at 10:40pm
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Reef'd up - thank you so much for sharing the advances aquarist Article!!!!!! I've been looking for an article to explain all the info about phosphates for a long time and that one finally cleared it up, thanks for the info !!!! ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: October 16 2011 at 8:08am
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Ahh, AA (well...the aquarium kind...) is my go-to place. :) ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |