SEACHEM PhosBond | 500ml

A: PhosBond Is best used in smaller quantities and changed frequently. In an environment with an excessively high phosphate reading, PhosBond will exhaust rapidly (4 – 5 days). Place the product in a high flow rate area and test your phosphate levels, changing as needed. When you see that your level is below 0.2 ppm (mg/L) leave that portion of PhosBond in the filter. Continue to test weekly for phosphate until you see it begin to rise again. You will then know that it is time to change the PhosBond. If you have low levels of phosphate the PhosBond will absorb the silicate in your system. It’s inert and safe to leave in your filter.

A: It is actually quite easy to change the apparent capacity of a GFO during testing. If the capacity of a GFO is tested at an extremely low pH with a phosphate concentration that is much higher than the media can completely, the media will temporarily absorb much more phosphate than it would under ordinary aquarium conditions. We have no interest in artificially puffing up our numbers, so the capacity we have listed is the amount of phosphate that the media can completely remove (without releasing back into the water) in a pH of 8.4.

A: We do not recommend it, as the tumbling action of a media reactor can cause this media to produce dust.

A: The main difference between these medias is capacity. PhosGuard has the lowest capacity at 0.82 mg/g of PO₄ bound, but is the most economical of the four medias. PhosBond has a higher capacity than PhosGuard at 1.19 mg/g of PO₄ bound, and combines the benefits of PhosGuard and a pure GFO (strength, high capacity, and rapid phosphate absorption) while still being very economical. PhosNet has the highest capacity of the Seachem phosphate absorbers at 1.41 mg/g of PO₄ bound, and is a pure GFO media. Our aquavitro phosfiltrum is a super-high capacity GFO (1.71 mg/g of PO₄ bound) that produces very little dust. This media has a higher capacity than any other GFO on the market.

A: In recent years, there has been speculation that aluminum oxide based phosphate removers like PhosBond release aluminum into the water and subsequently damage corals. The evidence to support this claim was largely anecdotal.

So, through a series of controlled experiments in both freshwater and saltwater, we intended to address both the question of aluminum solubility and aluminum toxicity. The results of these experiments show that under reef conditions (pH near 8) there is no detectable soluble aluminum released from alumina. Under conditions of low pH and high dosage levels, soluble aluminum can be released from alumina; at three times the label dosage rate, we detected 0.2 mg/L aluminum at a pH of 5.3.

Additionally, aluminum oxide is not easily absorbed into the cell to cause negative reactions. Even at three times the dose, soft-bodied corals such as Sarcophyton remain unaffected.

A: Not at all! If it takes a phosphate absorber several months to reach its full capacity when the tank has high phosphates, it means that the media is exceptionally slow at absorbing phosphate. PhosBond needs to be replaced every 4 days as long as there is a phosphate problem because, given an infinite amount of available phosphate, PhosBond absorbs phosphate so quickly that it reaches its full capacity in 4 days. The 4 day replacement period is a function of how quickly the media works, not a function of how high a capacity the media has.