Dosing LaCl

[Wasabiroot]

Hi all,

Mixed reef running at about 10.4 dKh and phosphates as measured by Hannah ULR are blinking 200. Redid test with half RODI water and results still at 200. Calcium measured high (>500 via Salifert) and I run AFR on a very low dose (not many hard corals to speak of). I have turf algae and GHA.
Decided to simply pause AFR and it dropped to 10.1 dKh over 3 days.

I am leaning towards using phosphate rx since I suspect GFO will be at capacity quite quickly (in any form) and expensive, and LaCl should help lower alk as well. I have read from @Thales it can be dosed in skimmer neck. Was considering a very conservative first dose of 5 drops, wait 24 hours, remeasure. Corals seem to growing or healthy as they have good tissue extension, and have been living with high phosphate for some time, so don't want to shock them.

Does this sound like an OK plan? Should I get a 5 micron sock just in case? My daily AFR dose is pretty low, 4 mL/day last I checked my dosing pump rate.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Also assuming that since I run a relatively deep sand bed (~2 in) that I may not see a drop for some time as phosphate leeches back into solution from rocks and sand

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If I had tangs (I do) I would not use lanthanum. If you do not, it may be a fine plan, IMO.

 

[jd22]

I dosed and continue to dose phosphate rx directly into my overflow which then goes through a 200 micron sock and then a sump chamber. I switched to rx after GFO and chemipure caused STN.

Not sure what size tank you have or what corals you have but I did exactly 5 drops every day to lower my phosphates from about .3 to .1 ish over a month or so. Now I dose a couple of drops every couple of days to maintain.

No ill affects on my corals or tangs.

 

[jd22]

Mines a 180 standard btw

 

[asome_one]

I dose lanthanum and use a 5-micron sock for peace of mind. I personally use Brightwells phosphate-E in my mixed reef. I mix it with a larger amount of RODI and figure out a daily dose so it gets dispersed throughout the day instead of all at once.

It works well for me, but I don't have tangs in my reef yet.

 

[Waldek M.]

I have been using lanthanum chloride for quite some time, dosing it into the neck of my protein skimmer, and I haven’t observed any concerning issues. ICP tests have also shown no dangerous spikes in concentration. That said, I do not keep any tangs. I dilute the solution with RODI water at a 1:10 ratio, which allows for more precise control over the dosage. I add the preparation at regular intervals, but only between 5:30 AM and 8:30 PM, as the protein skimmer is turned off at night. This method works very well for me.

 

[BryanM]

I dosed LC into a 1 micron filter sock in the sump. I did 1 micron because in fact I do have tangs. Never had an issue.

I never trusted the idea that the skimmer would catch everything.

I have since switched to GFO though because I found:

1) It was oddly finicky to dose LC effectively (ie, my phosphate reduction varied wildly)
2) When you're "paranoid" and use a 1 Micron sock, it gets plugged up fairly quickly, and that maintenance became tedious.

GFO has been much more reliable, but as you noted its not cheap.

 

[Waldek M.]

1) It was oddly finicky to dose LC effectively (ie, my phosphate reduction varied wildly)

That is precisely why I diluted it 1:10 with water, and now phosphate levels can be controlled very easily and precisely:)

 

[LavenderTi]

I dose a diluted solution of LaCL to my skimmer neck. I previously was dosing in to my filter roller (50 micron material). My ICP-MS tests when I did in to the filter roller showed elevated LaCL. Once I switched to the skimmer neck, my ICP-MS tests showed a dramatic reduction in LaCL. My conclusion for my tank was that it's better for me to dose in to the skimmer. I have 3 tangs: PBT, Yellow, and a Lavendar. Never had any issues with them.

 

[Peer.Boerner]

I dose a diluted solution of LaCL to my skimmer neck. I previously was dosing in to my filter roller (50 micron material). My ICP-MS tests when I did in to the filter roller showed elevated LaCL. Once I switched to the skimmer neck, my ICP-MS tests showed a dramatic reduction in LaCL. My conclusion for my tank was that it's better for me to dose in to the skimmer. I have 3 tangs: PBT, Yellow, and a Lavendar. Never had any issues with them.

Hate to ask but how do you dose into the skimmer neck? Do you drip through a hole in the collection cup or some other way. I’ve heard of this but never knew how people dosed into the skimmer neck.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Hate to ask but how do you dose into the skimmer neck? Do you drip through a hole in the collection cup or some other way. I’ve heard of this but never knew how people dosed into the skimmer neck.

I'm assuming they take the collection cup or lid off and drip it into the opening, but could be wrong.
I have the Reef Octo 110 SS

Something like that.

 

[Wasabiroot]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

 

[cilyjr]

I've been using LaCL for many years. I have 8 tangs in my aquarium.
I inject directly into the skimmer body in between the skimmer chamber of my sump to the next compartment I stuff poly-fil in the baffle.
The mixture is 6ml LaCL to 1 gallon of ro water and auto doses 375 ml through out the day.

My system is a 500 gallon display so your dosage would likely be less.

I drilled a hole in the skimmer body and added a 1/4 John guest fitting.

 

[backbayreef]

I’ve been using BW PhosphatE for 3 years now. Prior to that, I used PhosphateRx for 7 years. My current system has 9 angels and 16 tangs - no issues. So far, I’ve been very lucky. The water volume is ~550gal and I dose 28mL/day into the 50mu fleece roller. It keeps my PO4 around 0.13ppm.

Just my anecdotal feedback - your mileage may vary! Good luck.

 

[LavenderTi]

Hate to ask but how do you dose into the skimmer neck? Do you drip through a hole in the collection cup or some other way. I’ve heard of this but never knew how people dosed into the skimmer neck.

I use a neck extension and drilled a hole. I was originally going to drip from the lid, but I may put on a neck cleaner and that wouldn't be compatible with a hole in the lid.