- Hey! Thomas here and today we're gonna be taking a look at
Tropic Marin's Elimi-Phos Rapid.
Ultimately,
if you've got high phosphates that you'd like to bring down
quickly and safely,
and maybe don't want to have to get into carbon dosing,
or maybe just don't want to deal with the reactor full of
ferric oxide,
then this might be exactly what you're looking for.
Getting high phosphates in check is a priority for reefers,
especially for newer reef aquariums going through that ugly
phase or even systems that are mature,
but have a very high bioload.
Or even older systems that
just haven't gotten enough TLC
and need to get back on track
while GFL works well.
It does work best when used in a reactor,
which not everyone has laying around
or has enough space for.
Carbon dosing's another option,
but it takes time to see the results and is more of a way to
control phosphate on an ongoing basis.
And it's really meant to become a permanent part of your
reefing practices.
Summary first may already have a refugium going as their
main source of nutrient export,
and maybe just need something to get those phosphates down
to a reasonable level while they wait for their
macro allergy to fill out enough
to keep up with the bioload in their reef tank.
And on that note,
lanthanum chloride is a very quick and effective way to
remove phosphates from the water through binding and
precipitation.
It is dose as a liquid that doesn't require a reactor and
because it works instantly, results are immediate.
It does tend to come with a lot of caution
and warnings though,
since dosing too much too quickly can strip phosphates down
to zero, which can be harmful for your corals and inverts
and even your fish.
Which is why the average reefer will usually want to avoid
using the lancet and chloride products meant for other
industries in their reef tank.
Tropic Marin's Elimi-Phos Rapid is in fact
a lanthanum base phosphate remover,
but has clear instructions on how to measure and dose it
safely and effectively to remove those pesky excess
phosphates quickly. So you can keep algae at bay,
your corals colored up with strong growth and
spend more time enjoying your reef
and less time managing nutrients.
Which sounds great, right?
There are a couple of things to consider,
but we'll touch on those shortly.
You can pick up Elimi-Phos Rapid in a 500 mil bottle that
will remove up to 15 milligrams per liter or PPM of
phosphates from 26 gallons of water,
which works out roughly to 12.5 milligrams per liter of
phosphate from a hundred gallons of water.
And when you consider that most of us are aiming for a
phosphate level, somewhere around
or under 0.04 milligrams per liter,
and may only need to be removing, you know,
0.02 - 0.03 milligrams per liter at a time,
you start to get a really good idea of how much
phosphate roofing power a single 500 milliliter bottle has
and how long it's going to last you.
When added slowly to the aquarium,
the Elimi-Phos Rapid binds and precipitates out phosphate
from the water instantly making it unavailable to any
phosphate hungry organisms like pest algae.
It is a really important, whenever you're lowering the
phosphate level in your reef system, to take it to slow and
steady since any large swings or drops in phosphate level
can cause serious issues for your corals,
regardless of whether or not you're using lanthanum or GFO
or some other sort of phosphate remover.
Tropic Marin does also make that very clear
in their instructions as well,
which I am very glad to see.
To use Elimi-Phos Rapid, you'll always want to test
your phosphate level first,
So you know exactly how far you need to bring your
phosphates down at to get them within the optimal range.
The optimal range for most reefers is going to be somewhere
between 0.04 and 0.01 milligrams per liter or PPM.
Next you'll want to determine how much Elimi-Phos Rapid
you'll need to reduce the phosphates from where they
currently are, down to the level you'd like them to be at.
For example, if my phosphates are currently
at 0.1 milligrams per liter,
and I want to get them down to 0.04 milligrams per liter,
I need enough Elimi-Phos Rapid to remove a 0.06
milligrams per liter of phosphate.
If my tank has roughly 80 gallons of water volume,
including the Psalm and minus water displaced by sand and
rock, that means 30 milliliters of Elimi-Phos Rapid
will reduce the phosphates in my tank by roughly
1.0 PPM. I only want to reduce it by 0.06 BPM,
so I'll divide that 30 mil by 1.0 PPM,
which leaves me with one mil,
removing 0.3 PPM from my system.
Now, I know I'll need two milliliters of that to get my tank
to the target phosphate level.
You'll also want to make sure not to reduce the phosphates
by more than 0.1 milligrams per liter or PPM per day,
and although my dose of two mil will only drop my
phosphate level by 0.06.
I will want to dose that as slowly as I can over the course
of the day, just to be safe.
When you're adding Elimi-Phos Rapid to your system,
it's best to be added into or before your skimmer section.
That way the precipitated phosphate can be trapped by both
your mechanical filtration and your protein skimmer.
The precipitant is very fine and will largely pass through
mesh filter socks,
but your protein skimmers should be able to remove it from
the system. And in general,
it's best to avoid adding it directly to your display tank.
It is also a really good idea to keep an eye on your refund
habitants, like your fish, corals and inverts,
especially if it's your first time using a lanthanum product
and stop right away if you notice any odd behavior
or signs of stress,
it is far less common to experience any negative side
effects when using a Reese specific lanthanum product, but
nevertheless, Tropic Marin advises repressed to be cautious.
Which makes perfect sense,
since any tool, if misused or mishandled can be dangerous,
which is why there's so many warning labels on everything
like medications and power tools and plastic bags.
So if you're ready to kick those excess phosphates in the
face and Tropic Marin's Elimi-Phos Rapid
matches your evening mantra,
you can go ahead and pick them up yourself by clicking
right here.
(up beat music fading)