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It just seems to me that we're now running one of those chemicals that were always reserved for "if you have a problem" versus everyday maintenance. Furthermore, in Borneman's "Aquarium Corals" he recommends using PO4 sponges only as a sort of last resort (my words, not his) and mentions they can negatively effect soft corals. "
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Yes, but Borneman wrote that when there was not a single PO4 remover that was not aluminum based. That stuff is nasty.
I agree with MPS9506 in that:
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I haven't had a phosphate problem with my sps tank, so haven't really really looked into phosphate "reactors"
My opinion is that once you remove the source, whether it be water supply, food, dsb or live rock leaching old nutrients, etc., and then remove available phosphate in the water column through rowaphos, etc, you should not have to run this all the time.
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However, that means getting rid of every single fish in your tank. That is not a choice most of us is willing to take.
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Most SPS keepers also run large refugiums, this should keep phosphate in check over the long run after removing most of the phosphate through a phosphate removing product.
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Actually, this is a huge misconception by most people. Most grasses we grow in refugiums do very little if nothing for phosphate levels. They are very good at adsorbing nitrates, but not the same case for phosphates.
Regardless of what anyone of us do, we cannot get rid of enough phosphates to simulate natural conditions. And while that may not affect SPS corals to the point of killing them, it does affect their growth and coloration significantly. It also affects algae growth. You want tog et rid of any algae whatsoever growing in your tank?? Get rid of the DSb, syphon detritus, skim like mad, and run a phophate absortion media. Carbon would be a plus.
Funny, pleople used to reserve carbon also for that "special moment of need only". Now everyone uses it.
