Lanthanum chloride

[Fishingandreefing]

The bulk of the heavy lifting is done by LaCl gradually about 0.05-0.01ppm per day to bring to 0.1ppm. From there it's full dose GFO to keep it below 0.1ppm according to the rowaphos calculator. BUT if you decide to drop it from 0.3 to 0.1 using GFO i would do 20-30% and change out once exhausted.

I am dropping it from .30 to .10 with LC then maintain it by gfo but I am hesitant to run it full dose.

 

[Saltees]

I am dropping it from .30 to .10 with LC then maintain it by gfo but I am hesitant to run it full dose.

FWIW, My tank is 120G I'm doing 80-100gm GFO lightly tumbled. The key here is there will be residual PO4 in your substrate and rocks, you will not reach the target PO4 level stated even at the recommended full dose, IMHO.

 

[Sean Clark]

Yup, I am chasing that numbers again. I want to drop my good old phosphate from around .30 to .10 and try to keep my nitrate at around 15-20ppm for the red field ration.

My tank had high phosphate.90 few years ago and I dropped it down to around .30 with LC since two years ago and stay at this level.

I believe it was mainly the dry rocks I put I and the I fed heavily before that caused that.

Now, my plan is to drop it with LC and run about 30% gfo to maintain it. Do reefers constantly dropping it with LC to maintain it?

I used to feed a low and slow drip of LC to my old tank to control phosphates. Like 0.1ml/day. No fuge or water changes. People called me crazy. This method is... let's say... highly controversial. There are more natural ways to do the same thing but we all have different tanks and different priorities. Anyone telling you that they are "right" clearly has not realized this yet. I did this LC dosing for about 6 years without issue in a 90 liter tank. The lanthanum never even registered on my ICP test either; once it has separated out of solution, it will not redisolve into solution unless the Ph of the water drops so low that all of the livestock would be dead. The only reason that I do not currently do this is because my nutrients are still too low in my new place. My only suggestion is that you test often and skip the GFO. One method of phosphate maintenance is better than 2 or 3. You can dial in any amount of phosphates that you like with LC dosing.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I used to feed a low and slow drip of LC to my old tank to control phosphates. Like 0.1ml/day. No fuge or water changes. People called me crazy. This method is... let's say... highly controversial. There are more natural ways to do the same thing but we all have different tanks and different priorities

Not more natural, but perhaps more commonly employed.

Every chemical process we use is already happening in the ocean. We just amplify them to use in a closed space like a reef tank.

That doesn't mean its good or bad (or desirable vs undesirable), but lanthanum phosphate precipitation is a natural process in the ocean.