brs.li/AquariumGFO While GFO can remove a variety of impurities from your tank, the main reason most reefers use it is because it's very efficient at removing phosphates.
Phosphates are present in your tank due to fish and coral foods, top off water, and water changes. Because phosphate is closely related to protein, so there's no such thing as a nutritionally complete food that won't add phosphates to your tank. You can control this by limiting how much you add with food and water sources, and then remove them with filtration media or other methods. Generally, water changes alone are not enough to maintain ultra-low phosphate levels. GFO is the most common method for removing phosphates because it's time-tested by tens of thousands of reefers for at least a decade, it's simple to use and cost-effective.
Why are reefers concerned about phosphate in the first place? 2 reasons:
Algae Control
Phosphate plays a critical role in all living things, including algae. GFO allows us to lower phosphate levels so low that it will inhibit the growth of algae. This helps control hair algae as well as reducing that green haze that grows on the glass. There are, of course, some more stubborn types of algae which are less responsive (such as Briopsys) but generally speaking, ultra-low phosphate levels work well to reduce algae-growth in your reef tank.
Coral Growth & Calcification
Phosphates can actually slow your corals growth and calcification by attaching itself to the surface. This makes your corals less attractive to new calcium and carbonate ions which slows growth.
This is likely something that's seriously overlooked by reefers who spend thousands on lights, additives, and equipment for coral growth only to have it impacted by phosphate (which can be solved with a few dollars of GFO!)
There are a few ways to implement GFO in your tank. The easiest way is adding some to a filter bag in a high-flow area of the sump. This isn't the most efficient way, as it will only filter the water that comes in contact with the tank which could take days or weeks to filter all the water in the tank.
Another solution is an inexpensive media reactor, which pumps water through the media. This way, we can ensure the entire systems water volume passes through the media each day.
There are a variety of reactors on the market, For the most part they are all designed to tumble the GFO which prevents the media from solidifying into a block which clogs the reactor. It's worth noting that tumbling doesn't actually make it perform any better. In fact, slower flow with more contact time will help the media work better.
If your reactor has the ability to hold media securely in place, you can mix 1/3 GFO with 2/3 carbon which will help eliminate tumbling. If you are mixing GFO and carbon, do no tumble as the GFO (which is harder) will grind the carbon into dust over time.
We offer two varieties of GFO; standard and high capacity. The high capacity is twice as dense meaning you can use half as much by volume, so you can use a smaller reactor. The denser material also creates less dusty fines. The high capacity certainly has some unique advantages but also costs twice as much, so standard GFO is your best best for your wallet.
When should you change your GFO? The best way to tell for sure is to test your water for phosphates.
Note: If you're just beginning the use of GFO, it will often take more GFO to reduce the already high phosphate levels down to acceptable than it will take to maintain your levels going forward.
Because high phosphate levels are often found in unison with high nitrate levels, it may be more wise to reduce these levels initially with a series of water changes and use GFO to maintain levels after.
Connect with us on Facebook: / bulkreefsupply
Check out our pics on Instagram: / bulkreefsupply