rowa phos 500g

What is Rowaphos?

RowaPhos is a unique man made ferric hydroxide material specifically produced for efficient removal of phosphates, arsenic and silicates from fresh and salt water, having initially been developed in
Germany for treating mains water supplies. As such it should not be confused with natural materials, which are generally based on aluminium oxide, (zeolite).

How much should I use?

Each pack of RowaPhos clearly states the volume of water that the contents of the pack will reduce in phosphate concentration by 3 ppm. Note that it is 2 times more effective in fresh water than in salt water.

Many people take this stated volume, often on the smaller packs, and see that it is the same size as their own tank. They then hand over their money, take it home and pop it into their tank to be forgotten about for the next few months before beginning the cycle again.

In reality most people starting to use phosphate removers for the first time will probably have concentrations of phosphate in excess of 5 ppm in their systems and even more bound up within the rocks and media requiring a pack size suitable for removal of 3 ppm from 2-5 times their tank size or more to bring the initial concentration under control.

The reality for someone blindly using RowaPhos is that they start off at 5 ppm and reduce it to 4 ppm by using the wrong sized pack, which they replace after 2 – 3 months by which time the concentration has returned to or exceeded its original level.

Reduction to 4 ppm was a total waste of their time and money, as the phosphate levels must be ideally reduced to almost zero or at least below 0.01 ppm as PO4 (0.03 as P) in order to starve out the algae.