Gfo, Good, Great, Not sold?

[Reef Lobster]

Whats everyones take on the ol' beloved GFO?


Do you think its a waste?

Dangerous to a reef?


Useless?


Awesome?



Who's running it and why, and who isnt and why? lets hear those reviews!
seems many people have mixed feelings

 

[cmantis]

GFO I don't think anyone will say is bad. Just make sure to rinse it... Now if you are asking about bio-pellets thats another story.

 

[b-ridge]

I run rowaphos and it works very well for me. Very strong

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

I us gfo in part with carbon both in separate reactors tumbled by the same pump , works great and I notice my tanks glass is cleaner a day or two later.

 

[pauliwalnuts]

I use it as well whenever needed. Rinsing it very well and I actually put the return hose from my reactor into the filter sock on the sump. I also start off with half of the recommended amount of GFO if I haven't used it on the system for a while.

 

[jackson6745]

Gfo is great, if you actually need it. I see a lot of guy stripping their po4 and killing corals with it though. IME/IMO you shouldn't use it at all if you have .05 or less po4.

 

[oh207]

Whats everyones take on the ol' beloved GFO?

I like it.

Do you think its a waste?

No, I don't think it's a waste.

Dangerous to a reef?

No its not dangerous to a reef. But like everything else, it should be used in moderation and/or according to manufacturer specs. But also need to take into account the unique requirements of your tank.

Useless?

No, it's not useless. It's helpful.

Awesome?

Yes, awesome indeed.

Who's running it and why, and who isnt and why? lets hear those reviews!
seems many people have mixed feelings

I'm using it. Because it serve as a form of nutrient export.

 

[Moneymaks24]

Too bad you can't test reliably for phosphates Jackson. Otherwise good idea. GFO is cool phosphates test kits are useless

 

[vio]

Gfo is great, if you actually need it. I see a lot of guy stripping their po4 and killing corals with it though. IME/IMO you shouldn't use it at all if you have .05 or less po4.

Well said. +1

 

[dubs]

gfo /phosban is great one of the the better way of controlling phospate if u know how to use it .... there is def a few way of using it and not just by the instrution as matter of fact i dont follow too many instuston with these chemicals i try them a few different way few different ways and it def works am a renegade i like trie things out side the box and even tho i too have killed a few corals i def found few different way of making these things work better ... gfo work it def does u just have start from the basic instruction and then u have throw some renegade on it tweak it to mater work better for u and Ur good to go every system different so the instruction is only a guide it wont work the same way for every one renegade people u will get good results just go slow and steady

 

[Moneymaks24]

So renegade before you renegade to renegade your renegade? Ok cool

 

[jackson6745]

Too bad you can't test reliably for phosphates Jackson. Otherwise good idea. GFO is cool phosphates test kits are useless

Not all are useless. The better ones will give you between .04-.1 accuracy. I know that's not great, but it will still give you a better idea if you need gfo or not. Guess what happens if your po4 is .1? Nothing!!! Corals will be healthy. Now if you strip with gfo you get all the bad stuff associated with gfo use. We have to work with the tools we have.

 

[Kworker]

Stopped running it after I took fish out to go fallow. Corals look much better color and PE. Just my personal usage.. I may try it again in very small amounts in the future but will try not to.

 

[salpet]

well said mr.Dubs

 

[Moneymaks24]

Nothing people say here is supported by actual evidence just 1 or 2 guys/mods sharing what they think. Thts how terrible advice is spread in this hobby. I wish an actual study or a professional opinion showed up once in a blue moon instead of links to other forums with more opinions guesses and a bunch of know it alls who are still reefing like its 1992.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

The community shares their own personal experiences. That's why it's a hobby and not lab grade answers. Except for PrattReef or Boomer, who else has a degree or profession in the field?

I'm sure like any other hobby, you have your own experiences and you share them. You take everything with a grain of salt. You read and read based on your assumptions of good and bad reviews you come up of your own way of reefing.

If you want to go by the book and need answers by the book then please go read a book instead of hobbyist experiences and/or advice.

I don't get why people cry about people sharing their advice.

Purchase GFO and test it yourself? Amazon and ebay sells it cheap and watch your PO4 drop. Easy to come to a conclusion. It just cost money for X product.

Someone who wants to create a more clearcut study or professional opinion should purchase X amount of brands, take x number of samples from the same tank and confirm which brand makes for the best GFO based on Y variables.

I'm sure it's already been done. A lot of people like BRS HC gfo, BRS GFO is half as "strong"/capacity and Rowaphos strips it pretty quickly and doesn't leach from what I've seen as well as read.

I run rowaphos and carbon so again only a hobbyist experience.

 

[Moneymaks24]

Tell you why I "cry". It's funny 2 years ago I asked the same question thinking I can trust te answer since these people are in the hobby longer than me.

All these "experts" said to buy GFO and a reactor this and that and I need all this crap and it was the reason my corals did bad bla bla bla. Now the same ppl are saying GFO is bad and coral do better without it lol. It's like useless asking for opinions unless you like wasting your money away.

Only thing u need Is a skimmer ( if that). I'm done listening to people. My best success in this hobby was before I joined this forum and did nothing but weekly WC everything did great.

Now I got a reactor a doser a controller 5 dozen test kits and guess what...... No difference in growth color size or anything. Still can't keep chalices, sps, most zoa or Palys alive.

It's all a freaking scam to take our money all this junk is useless and is marked up 700%.

The only piece of equipment I didn't buy yet is a UV sterilizer, I'm waiting for an " experts" to tell me thts all I'm missing to get good results.

 

[Moneymaks24]

I run RowaPhos also, useless junk. With or without it glass gets dirty and corals don't grow. but have fun testing out this theory yourself. Especially without a reliable phosphate kit. ( doesn't exist)

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

This sucks wrote a great reply then firefox crashes.

Anyway, sorry for your bad experience but there are some of the people I would trust that posted in this thread that have AMAZING tanks and can keep their coral alive. I would honestly go with 90%+ of reefers who use or have used gfo vs someone who just showed he cant keep anything alive with that much success.

The amazing thing about this hobby is you dont have to do it by the book to get an amazing tank.

Some get by with great husbandry and that is great but the harder the corals the likely you need better, more stable water quality. which may require more equipment or use other methods. again all personal preference.

 

[jackson6745]

Moneymaks, why do you always blame everyone for your lack of understanding?
No one is targeting you, the purpose of these forums is to share experiences, facts, and opinions to make your own educated choices. You make it out like you are paying someone for their expertise and they're not delivering.