Calcium carbonate to reduce phosphate

[xmjxflipx]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
If I dose 1 tablespoon of calcium carbonate in a 140 gallon tank do u know how much phosphate it can bind to, and be removed by the skimmer, similar to coral snow plus?

 

[Miami Reef]

I don’t have the answer to how much phosphate it will remove, but based on the dosing amounts of the calcium carbonate verses the tank size, the adsorption will be insignificant.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No one can answer that without experimenting with your exact powder since it depends on surface area, but the effect is likely to be small. I think Dan_P measured it once for a powder.

@Dan_P

 

[I never finish anythi]

@Randy Holmes-Farley
If I dose 1 tablespoon of calcium carbonate in a 140 gallon tank do u know how much phosphate it can bind to, and be removed by the skimmer, similar to coral snow plus?

Why not use lanthanum chloride

 

[xmjxflipx]

I have lanthanum but like the clarity after dosing diy coral snow.

Why not use lanthanum chloride

 

[taricha]

I think @Garf has also worked on trying to use CaCO3 as a PO4 binding media.

 

[xmjxflipx]

I think @Garf has also worked on trying to use CaCO3 as a PO4 binding media.

I honestly thought it was good at binding but at higher dosage...I thought the zeovit coral snow plus was just an increased concentration. Of calcium carbonate but maybe they put a dose of lanthanum chloride in it and we just don't know.

 

[Garf]

I honestly thought it was good at binding but at higher dosage...I thought the zeovit coral snow plus was just an increased concentration. Of calcium carbonate but maybe they put a dose of lanthanum chloride in it and we just don't know.

With the fine calcium carbonate powder that turns the water milky, I would like to see an experiment that shows a large fraction is actually removed by skimming or socks. Until then I'll assume most of it settles out in the aquarium. I also have this opinion for Lanthanum however so I may be turning into a sour old man.

Here's my bag of sand, which also appears to negate the use of activated carbon, although that's only by water discolouration;

Desorbing phosphate from sand with lanthanum.

Finally got around to a hap hazard test for desorbing sand with lanthanum. The sand has been churning around in my fluidised media reactor for a week on a tank currently measuring 0.6 ppm. From previous measurements in the Aragonite adsorption thread, Dan-P kindly calculated my sand had adsorbed...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Dan_P]

No one can answer that without experimenting with your exact powder since it depends on surface area, but the effect is likely to be small. I think Dan_P measured it once for a powder.

@Dan_P

The measurement I made compared PO4 adsorption as a function of particle size when we were debating how much PO4 could be bound by aragonite sand.

We had our hobby measurements and the scientist Millero had measurements much greater than ours. Turns out Millero was using extremely fine aragonite powder, not aragonite sand. When I reduced sand to a powder I obtained adsorption values close to Millero’s. Surface is important.

Adding powdered calcium carbonate to an aquarium will adsorb PO4 but you will have to measure PO4 before and after addition to figure out how effective your powder is. Except for creating a cloudy mess, I don’t see a downside to just pitching some in to see what happens.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks, Dan.

 

[areefer01]

Adding powdered calcium carbonate to an aquarium will adsorb PO4 but you will have to measure PO4 before and after addition to figure out how effective your powder is. Except for creating a cloudy mess, I don’t see a downside to just pitching some in to see what happens.

Could there be a negative side effect of creating the cloudy mess? I know it isn't the same but when dosing LC the recommendation is to dose it in front of a skimmer and filter media. Preferably into a 5 micron sock first, then skimmer, then filter media. Or something like that.

Hope your day is going well.

 

[Miami Reef]

Could there be a negative side effect of creating the cloudy mess? I know it isn't the same but when dosing LC the recommendation is to dose it in front of a skimmer and filter media. Preferably into a 5 micron sock first, then skimmer, then filter media. Or something like that.

Hope your day is going well.

The fresh calcium carbonate can behave like seed crystals to encourage more calcium carbonate precipitation. Basically, it increases the risk of precipitating alk and Ca.

 

[areefer01]

The fresh calcium carbonate can behave like seed crystals to encourage more calcium carbonate precipitation. Basically, it increases the risk of precipitating alk and Ca.

Sure but I was really only focusing on the cloudy part. It isn't something I do but the cloudy part caught my eye. Moth to a flame I guess

 

[Miami Reef]

Sure but I was really only focusing on the cloudy part. It isn't something I do but the cloudy part caught my eye. Moth to a flame I guess

Ah. I haven’t seen any negative effects from dosing calcium carbonate powder to my tank. I’ve kept clams, SPS, and LPS corals.

I don’t dose calcium carbonate powder anymore. I like to use proven methods (like Ozone) to get the maximum water clarity results.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sure but I was really only focusing on the cloudy part. It isn't something I do but the cloudy part caught my eye. Moth to a flame I guess

I’m not sure what you mean by the cloudy part, but reduced lighting of corals for a day doesn’t seem a big deal.

 

[areefer01]

I’m not sure what you mean by the cloudy part, but reduced lighting of corals for a day doesn’t seem a big deal.

Without a doubt. Cloudy days, overcast, storms, etc.

My comment was nothing more than a play on words (cloudy mess). Hope your day is going well.