Reef Discussion

[ezza]

i recently ran out of lanthanum. I had a 1L bottle bought from bunnings some time ago so went and bought the same again today. I looked over the bottle to ensure that it wasn't different, with no other additives etc. when I opened it I was mildly surprised to see that instead of the clear/whitish liquid of before, it is now a "Blue Hawaii" blue. Should I be concerned? There is nothing on the bottle that says what the colouring is. I added a small amount to the tank earlier and it's not causing any issues in a small dose. Just a point of interest in using non-tank specific chemicals.

 

[slin1977]

It so happens that I am on my way to work today (Saturday and raining) to check up on a few hot tubs , spas, jacuzzis and two lovely lap pools that I keep my eye on.
I get to test out a few Lanth products , some are effective and others are a waste of money having no effect at all...this product looks interesting though.

To answer your question, I think the blue is an additive to make the pool sparkle and look amazing, there are such products for that purpose believe it or not.
Having a slightly cloudy swimming pool caused by a treatment of lanth is unsightly for anyone to look at.

I personally would not use this product in your aquarium. I'll take a photo of all the chemicals I use for water treatment to show you.:D

 

[ReeferRob]

Some people here dye their ponds blue for algae control. I'd be very wary of the blue colouration.

 

[slin1977]

Mmm, product!!!!

 

[slin1977]

Dosing pumps , for a bit of fun!!!
Ok back to work

 

[slin1977]

The other set up I'm checking today-This pool /spa uses 1 x G size bottle that's 31kg net of CO2 a day.

 

[slin1977]

Hopefully back on track now to answer your question - here are the blue liquids

And this is the top shelf ,Rolls Royce of Lanth!!

 

[Sam Parker]

Awesome Dosing pump setup!

Ok, onto the questions.

1. Why is a spa/jacuzzi using co2?
2. Why is it using so much?!
3. Why makes that lanthium different from others? I have seen that one at clark rubber before and wondered why it was labelled as premium and more expensive.

Lastly, you've gone through a litre and straight lanthium @ezza? I didn't think that would be possible in a lifetime in a 400l tank? How much are you dosing? Also, I know a number of people using the blue bunnings one with seemingly no ill effects, but seemed risky to me.

 

[slin1977]

Awesome Dosing pump setup!

Ok, onto the questions.

1. Why is a spa/jacuzzi using co2?
2. Why is it using so much?!
3. Why makes that lanthium different from others? I have seen that one at clark rubber before and wondered why it was labelled as premium and more expensive.

Lastly, you've gone through a litre and straight lanthium @ezza? I didn't think that would be possible in a lifetime in a 400l tank? How much are you dosing? Also, I know a number of people using the blue bunnings one with seemingly no ill effects, but seemed risky to me.

The Juccuzi is located away from the pools and spas and is its own little system- it works on electolysis and uses pool salt to do so - its not connected to CO2

The first pool/spa/hot tub system showed does not use CO2 but relys heavily on acid to regulate the PH when powder chlorine gets added via the dosing hopper as shown in the second photo.

The second dosing system is hooked up to CO2 . CO2 is a highly effective way of driving down PH when calcium chloride (powder chlorine) gets added to the pool for water disinfection.
When adding this form of chlorine, calcium numbers increase and then I have to add bi carb to keep the alkalinity ratio in balance with the calcium.
Sounds very similar to keeping alk/cal ratios in check as we do in reefing hey?

 

[slin1977]

Onto the Lanths, I've tested a few out and to give the short answer, some don't work as well as others when tested against each other.
I test phosphate twice a day when I look after the pools and spas and some products fail to make any phosphate reduction over the course of the day where as others are very effective.

 

[192k]

i recently ran out of lanthanum. I had a 1L bottle bought from bunnings some time ago so went and bought the same again today. I looked over the bottle to ensure that it wasn't different, with no other additives etc. when I opened it I was mildly surprised to see that instead of the clear/whitish liquid of before, it is now a "Blue Hawaii" blue. Should I be concerned? There is nothing on the bottle that says what the colouring is. I added a small amount to the tank earlier and it's not causing any issues in a small dose. Just a point of interest in using non-tank specific chemicals.

View attachment 55302

Here is the product I use:
Starver

It mentions it is safe for fish and animals on the label.

 

[somethingfishy76]

Here is the product I use:
Starver

It mentions it is safe for fish and animals on the label.

I might look into this... I use the blue bunnings stuff... seems ok to me. But if its mentioned fish and being safe then its a better product.

 

[somethingfishy76]

Here is the product I use:
Starver

It mentions it is safe for fish and animals on the label.

What is the mixing ratio and how much did you find controls a medium stocked tank? I mix 20ml/1000RO of the blue stuff. Dosing about 8 ml a day. Just wondering what your dosing is like.

 

[Sam Parker]

What is the mixing ratio and how much did you find controls a medium stocked tank? I mix 20ml/1000RO of the blue stuff. Dosing about 8 ml a day. Just wondering what your dosing is like.

Sounds about right if not using any GFO as well. 0.16ml a day, 1L bottle should net you 6,250 days use or a bit over 17 years.

Hence my concern you've gone through a bottle Erin?

 

[192k]

What is the mixing ratio and how much did you find controls a medium stocked tank? I mix 20ml/1000RO of the blue stuff. Dosing about 8 ml a day. Just wondering what your dosing is like.

The dosage is 500ml per 50 000L.

The tank I used it on was 1000L.
So 50 000L / 1000L = 50
So 500ml / 50 = 10ml

10ml per 1000L of total tank volume.

I was not comfortable doing a 10ml dose in one go, as from past experiences, it drops the phosphate to zero very quickly.

I ended up putting 0.2ml into 20 L containers with RO/DI and dripping it slowly over a few days. This method allowed me to monitor the drop gradually and didn't cause such a rapid reduction that stressed everything out.

Just take it slow. I would even consider doing half the dose if your levels are high and see how you go from there.

 

[slin1977]

On the photo of the blue liquid it lists the ingredients as non toxic natural polymers ,bio degradable.

 

[Sam Parker]

The dosage is 500ml per 50 000L.

The tank I used it on was 1000L.
So 50 000L / 1000L = 50
So 500ml / 50 = 10ml

10ml per 1000L of total tank volume.

I was not comfortable doing a 10ml dose in one go, as from past experiences, it drops the phosphate to zero very quickly.

I ended up putting 0.2ml into 20 L containers with RO/DI and dripping it slowly over a few days. This method allowed me to monitor the drop gradually and didn't cause such a rapid reduction that stressed everything out.

Just take it slow. I would even consider doing half the dose if your levels are high and see how you go from there.

True, however that is to drop levels of phosphate from 1ppm to zero. Maintaining around 0.02-0.08 should require a fraction of that. As you mentioned, take it slow, test often and you should be sweet

 

[slin1977]

Looking at the MSDS of the Lochlor Starver says about 10 percent Lanth where as the Lochlor Starver X is up to 30 percent Lanth. When I used it in the pools the Starver X was more effective and certainly turned cloudy where as the Starver did not turn the water cloudy - as it said on the bottle.

 

[ezza]

@Sam Parker i'm at church so can't write a huge response. I don't know why you're getting so aggressive about my use of lanthanum. It took me 2 years to use 1L. The calculation I used showed 14ml would reduce my phos by 3ppm. My phos has been testing at 0 for a long time, but the algae that grows on my rocks and in the overflow compartment has always made me wonder if the phos is hiding. I haven't had any ill effects from dosing lanth weekly. In fact, if you compare my aquarium from 2 years ago with now, you will see significant improvement. I have healthy corals and long time fish residents.

 

[slin1977]

I would like to know the strength of the Brightwells phosphate E
Compared with these pool starvers.

When I used the Brightwells product I went through a couple bottles before exploring the Bunnings pool version.