Amberlite

[459b]

Does anyone use Amberlite IR-400 to remove phosphates?
I just came across a rather large bottle of it, and saw on the internet that it can be used to remove phosphate. It also looks alot like the phosphate media you buy at the LPS.
Does anyone know exactly what is in commercial phosphate media?

[viper357]

Haven't got a clue, sorry.

I know you get different types made out of different materials, but what exactly I'm not sure.

[459b]

Thanks.
I wish those expensive mixes you buy would give some indication of there composition. Alot of chemicals are really cheap, and probably more pure, when you buy them from a chemical company.

[HenkHugo]

from the seachecm website:

Q: What makes PhosGuard™different from other phosphate absorbers and why is it not regenerable?
A: There are two forms of phosphate absorbers: iron oxide (rust color) and aluminum oxide (white). Aluminum oxide simply works better, and that is what we use in PhosGuard™. The use of the bead shape results in better water flow, no packing, more surface exposure, faster reaction. On a per weight basis, you would have to use more of a non-bead shaped phosphate remover than you would PhosGuard™to get the equivalent phosphate removing capacity. None of the other phosphate absorbers on the market are regenerable. Although some manufacturer’s claim that their aluminum oxide based phosphate removing products can be regenerated by intense heat, this is, unfortunately, not the case. That claim is based on a naive interpretation of the information provided by manufacturers of bulk aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide is more commonly used in gas purification to remove volatile organics and moisture; heating the material after such use will release the non-covalently adsorbed compounds. However, heat cannot result in phosphate release from aluminum oxide due to a difference in the nature by which phosphates are bound to aluminum oxide versus adsorbed gases.

[459b]

thanks.

IRA 400 Phosphate removing granular resin by Amberlite. A 500 gram tub plus a batch of loose resin adding up to approximately a kilo, Simply recharge using Sodium chloride solution every time you wish to recharge it - so will last almost forever. Great for producing specialist water conditions when breeding difficult species

[HenkHugo]

so can you get cheap cheap?

[459b]

Checked the one chemical supplier, and its costs 85 euro per 500g. This is the most expensive supplier. Im still not sure if it needs pre-treatment before it works. But if it works and one batch can be reused forever, it seems like a good option.

[jacquesb]

85 EURO's? That translates to +-R980? per 500 grams? Sorry 459b - BUT, that's not really "cheap" in my books

Anything cheaper?

BTW: I am tagging along on this one - as this looks like it might be worth reading up on....

[459b]

R980 isnt cheap, but thats from a supplier that is normally the most expensive. I also dont know how much you need, if you only need 100g in your tank then its not that expensive. How much are you paying for your current phosphate media?

Still need to find out if you can use it and exactly how it works.

[lappiesreef]

Is the Iron oxide and Aluminum Oxide bound to anything else or is it a mix of the pure chemicals?
Could you use these two compounds safely if you used molecular grade instead of other phosphate media's?

[jacquesb]

Hi 459b - Kent PhosBan (I think is the product name) costs about R250 for +-400 grams....
SeaChem PhosBan: R300 for 700grams...
At the LFS's I shopped at...

[459b]

Is the Iron oxide and Aluminum Oxide bound to anything else or is it a mix of the pure chemicals?
Could you use these two compounds safely if you used molecular grade instead of other phosphate media's?

i think the Fe/AL oxide is mixed with something else, not sure what that other stuff is. I dont see what you couldnt use molecular grade stuff - its what they put in phosphate media anyway.

Jaquesb: what did the Kent PhosBan and SeaChem PhosBan look like? Was it a pure powder or did it have little balls in it mixed with powder?

[cybervic]

"IRA 400 Phosphate removing granular resin by Amberlite. A 500 gram tub plus a batch of loose resin adding up to approximately a kilo, Simply recharge using Sodium chloride solution every time you wish to recharge it - so will last almost forever. Great for producing specialist water conditions when breeding difficult species"


Isn't Sodium Chloride saltwater? In that case this stuff will not work in a marine aquarium.

[lappiesreef]

I'll contact Merck and Sigma and see how much those are.

Maybe they have them in a pellet form already for some other use like air filtration.

[459b]

ill contact Merck and Sigma and see how much those are

i contacted Sigma, they quote 85 euros. Havent tried any of the others. ive got a full bottle of the stuff in my lab, its little amber coloured balls.

Isn't Sodium Chloride saltwater? In that case this stuff will not work in a marine aquarium

sodium chloride is the main salt in sea water, but i think the concentration needed to recharge the column is alot higher than that found in sea water.

[lappiesreef]

Which Lab you at 459?

Did you try the Local branches?

Do you know which resins they use for Nitritre/Nitrate removal?

[cybervic]

IMHO it will leech back ...I'm not scientist though. Would like to here someone like Hennie's opinion.

[459b]

Which Lab you at 459?

Did you try the Local branches?

Do you know which resins they use for Nitritre/Nitrate removal?

Im doing my PhD in Molecular Biology at UCT, specializing in Marine Biotechnology.
Only tried Sigma
HAvent looked into nitrate/nitrite resins....yet.

Found this - Server error!

Found an article where they used calcium carbonate to remove phosphate from a dam that had been polluted with sewage. Also came across a phosphate filter based on calcium carbonate.

[lappiesreef]

That would work much better for our purposes perhaps...

I'm doing my PhD in Molecular Medicine at WITS. I run a sequecing facility in PTA as well. I do allot of work for people from UCT

It might be worthwhile looking into the nitrate one. Seachem has a Nitrate remover resin type product. It looks kinda like calcium carbonate as well...

[459b]

You with Inqaba?
There alot of chemicals lying around the lab that are probably alot cheaper and better than the stuff the LPS sells.

will look into the nirate resin when i have time. I think using resins would be a whole lot more cost effective that throwing in chemicals