Regenerating GFO

[acroholic]

Here is an interesting article from the Chemistry forum on RC:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1734717">http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1734717</a>

I've been using NaOH in solution to kill aiptasia (reef napalm). Never thought lye could be used to pull PO4 off of GFO. Would really extend the life and decrease the cost of using it. I have just been using and discarding my GFO.

 

[ralph atl]

I'll have to check that out later after I get off work. I've thrown away a crapload of GFO! Thanks for heads up.

 

[markl]

What is gfo?

 

[acroholic]

I think the idea would be to have a quantity of GFO and do a recharge in a large batch amount, then collect the used GFO and repeat.

 

[acroholic]

On the RC thread some chemist type reefers are saying that you can use an acid wash to remove the bound up PO4 and CaCO3 and resurface the GFO. This followed by a rinse in tap water would be probably the easiest and cheapest way.

One way to evaluate it would be to get a current PO4 reading in the tank with new GFO, do the recharge on some used GFO with a documented procedure: how much GFO, how much acid, how long do you leave the GFO in the acid, etc, then monitor the PO4 levels in the tank over a couple weeks using the recharged stuff.
Dave