Phosphate Reactor

[Pads]

Hi, I am new to this. And as you may have noticed am fascinated with phosphate. By phosphate media in a reactor, what do you mean?

Hey Aqua, Welcome to MASA. By phosphate media we mean a chemical compound that we use to bind/remove phosphate from the water. Phosphate and Nitrate being elements used by Algae to grow. The reactor is a chamber in which you put the Granular Ferric Oxide(phosphate media) this has water pumped through it so that it 'percolates' and binds the phosphate. Hope that helps Why not introduce youself on the New Members thread and tell us about your tank.

 

[aqua]

Hi Pads. OK, its that granular ferric oxide that I am interested in! Is it any ferric oxide or does it need to be in a particular form? I hope I am not repeating myself too much but i am not sure yet how the forum works??

 

[Pads]

Hi Aqua, The granular form of ferric oxide allow more surface area for the water to come into contact with individual particles. This allows for great area of absorbtion. This would also increase the rate of absorbtion but the knock on effect means the GFO needs to be replaced more frequently. If the grains are too fine you run the risk of it escaping the reactor and entering the system, at which point once saturated with absorbed phosphate may leach back into the system. The popular norm is for particles between 2mm - 5mm. As someone else mentioned the percolating action of the water through the GFO can cause the particles to grind one another down into a dust, thus you need to ensure keep an eye on the reactor change the "filter wool/sieve" on the outlet so that its not clogged.