I don't know how many in the club are using lanthanum for phosphate control, but I have been experimenting with it for many months. Presently I have not been using it very much because dosing vodka and zeo stuff keeps the phosphates pretty much under control. Also, when I was using the lanthanum, I couldn't get the phophates down to or below 0.02. I think I discovered the reason for this though, and found a really super effective way to dose the lanthanum with no chance of any precipitate going back into the water.
I have a vortex diatom filter. I use it anywhere from once a month to once a week depending on what I'm doing in the tank. When charged with norit powdered carbon it's unbeatable for polishing the water or removing organic or chemical contaminants. It's the same stuff they flush down peoples stomachs in the Emergency Room when they have OD'd on something. Anyway, I have been injecting the diatom filter with a diluted solution of lanthanum chloride at about the rate of 2ml per hour. The results have been the best I've seen. Phosphates went from 0.04 to 0.0 (500gal water volume)with a single treatment. Best of all there are no worries of any precipitate getting into the tank, and everything looked great . By the time it was finished, the output from the filter was almost nil, being glogged with the precipitate.
I think I couldn't get the phosphate levels down to where I wanted them before because some precipitate was still getting back into the water, even with the use of the 10 micron filter socks. This is also sooo much easier than filter socks.
There are probably not thay many people out there using a diatom filter, but this worked so well I figured I'd share the info.
I have a vortex diatom filter. I use it anywhere from once a month to once a week depending on what I'm doing in the tank. When charged with norit powdered carbon it's unbeatable for polishing the water or removing organic or chemical contaminants. It's the same stuff they flush down peoples stomachs in the Emergency Room when they have OD'd on something. Anyway, I have been injecting the diatom filter with a diluted solution of lanthanum chloride at about the rate of 2ml per hour. The results have been the best I've seen. Phosphates went from 0.04 to 0.0 (500gal water volume)with a single treatment. Best of all there are no worries of any precipitate getting into the tank, and everything looked great . By the time it was finished, the output from the filter was almost nil, being glogged with the precipitate.
I think I couldn't get the phosphate levels down to where I wanted them before because some precipitate was still getting back into the water, even with the use of the 10 micron filter socks. This is also sooo much easier than filter socks.
There are probably not thay many people out there using a diatom filter, but this worked so well I figured I'd share the info.