Tips for dosing Lanthanum chloride tips (Elimi-Phos Rapid)

[Reef Wizard]

Afternoon,

I am wanting to start dosing LC Solution I specifically have TM Elimi-Phos Rapid. Phosphates are about 1.25ppm

Can anyone explain chemically how this binds phosphate. Like if I dose in a filter Sock will it bind rather quickly or does it slowly build up rendering the 10 micron sock useless and bothering my tangs and fish have three tangs and am concerned about them.

The question is how much to dose to safeguard tangs and lower phosphates at a decent rate. Also I was thinking dosing in 10 micron sock above the Skimmer intake will this even successfully lower phosphate if there is limited water contact?

I really don't want my inhabitants to get hurt/die tank is around 128gal volume

Thanks guys

 

[Stevorino]

Randy has a lot of great content on LC throughout the forum worth checking out.

I'm a big fan of LC and have used it with success around a decade with no fish or coral problems. Yellow tang, Gem, Blue, Sailfin, White tail, Purple.... all totally fine.

When I first started using it in 2017 I just poured it in per bottle instructions straight into the sump return.

Nowadays I dose into my crash chamber when then goes through rollermat and then Protein Skimmer. I'm not sure all that's necessary but I don't see the harm in being overly cautious given the sad tales we all have heard.

The only real problem I have ever had with it is dosing too fast and compromising tank stability. I'd personally do it over the course of a couple months and then take the final .03 really slow. Your tank will behave much differently as you get closer to target. Good luck!

 

[Reef Wizard]

Randy has a lot of great content on LC throughout the forum worth checking out.

I'm a big fan of LC and have used it with success around a decade with no fish or coral problems. Yellow tang, Gem, Blue, Sailfin, White tail, Purple.... all totally fine.

When I first started using it in 2017 I just poured it in per bottle instructions straight into the sump return.

Nowadays I dose into my crash chamber when then goes through rollermat and then Protein Skimmer. I'm not sure all that's necessary but I don't see the harm in being overly cautious given the sad tales we all have heard.

The only real problem I have ever had with it is dosing too fast and compromising tank stability. I'd personally do it over the course of a couple months and then take the final .03 really slow. Your tank will behave much differently as you get closer to target. Good luck!

Thanks and what do you mean by crash chamber?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Afternoon,

I am wanting to start dosing LC Solution I specifically have TM Elimi-Phos Rapid. Phosphates are about 1.25ppm

Can anyone explain chemically how this binds phosphate. Like if I dose in a filter Sock will it bind rather quickly or does it slowly build up rendering the 10 micron sock useless and bothering my tangs and fish have three tangs and am concerned about them.

The question is how much to dose to safeguard tangs and lower phosphates at a decent rate. Also I was thinking dosing in 10 micron sock above the Skimmer intake will this even successfully lower phosphate if there is limited water contact?

I really don't want my inhabitants to get hurt/die tank is around 128gal volume

Thanks guys

I don’t know that the tang risk is avoided by dosing smaller amounts, or by using the filter socks. We just do not know the mechanism.

Lanthanum reduces phosphate by precipitation of lanthanum phosphate out of the water. It also happens in the ocean.

I’d o lt use lanthanum as a last resort since I have a yellow tang.

 

[Stevorino]

Thanks and what do you mean by crash chamber?

The first chamber in my sump where water comes in from the main tank. If your water flows through socks before hitting the sump, then I would dose into the socks, or maybe even the overflow so that it mixes, etc before it hits the socks.

 

[Stevorino]

I don’t know that the tang risk is avoided by dosing smaller amounts, or by using the filter socks. We just do not know the mechanism.

Lanthanum reduces phosphate by precipitation of lanthanum phosphate out of the water. It also happens in the ocean.

I’d o lt use lanthanum as a last resort since I have a yellow tang.

Hey Randy -

Do we have any sense of how long that precipitation process takes?

I always figured it was relatively quickly because often you can visually see a cloud and then it dissipates.

But I had a scenario a couple months ago where I put in a very small amount only once, tested the next day and observed a drop.... and then tested a few days later and saw even more drop. It made me wonder if the precipitation can actually happen more over time than I initially suspected.

As always, thanks for everything you do for our community :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey Randy -

Do we have any sense of how long that precipitation process takes?

I always figured it was relatively quickly because often you can visually see a cloud and then it dissipates.

But I had a scenario a couple months ago where I put in a very small amount only once, tested the next day and observed a drop.... and then tested a few days later and saw even more drop. It made me wonder if the precipitation can actually happen more over time than I initially suspected.

As always, thanks for everything you do for our community :)

It is fairly fast at first or socks would have no value. As both the lanthanum and phosphate concentrations decline, it slows,

Was that later drop of yours from the lanthanum, test variability, variable inputs relating to feeding times, or something else, I do not know.