Question: 

 

I have changed my ROWAphos and the water is cloudy, will this clear?

 

Answer: 

 

There are a few possable reasons for clouding of the water after adding ROWAphos.

If the media has not been rinsed, if it used in a media bag, or flushed, in the case of a reactor, there will be fines released in to the water. This will generally clear within 24 hours if a protein skimmer or fine particle prefilter is used. ROWAphos is non toxic so this should not cause any issues.

Due to its open pore structure is is possible to grind ROWAphos down by over fluidising it. When used in a reactor it should look like the surface of the media is lightly boiling or simmering. This will allow maximum efficiency. As in the point above ROWAphos is non toxic but this sinario can cause fines to be deposited around the aquarium making an unsightly mess. Check that the ROWAphos is not being over fluidised and use a fine prefilter.

If the water is milky looking it could be a small amount of calcium precipitation, this would be rare and is connected to water chemistry rather than the actual product.

Phosphate can actually inhibit precipitation of calcium in seawater and works in a very similar way to Magnesium in that it can prevent seed crystals of calcium carbonate from forming within the water column. If high PO4 is reduced abruptly when tank KH is on the high side seed crystals can form either at the water to media interface or within the system, normally near a heat source. If calcium is also high this can kick start a cascade effect where Alkalinity and calcium with continue to fall out of solution. If this is the case the water will clear naturally.
 
If there is calcium precipitation a few things that can be done to prevent this in the future.
 
1. Reduce the levels of Calcium and Alkalinity and try to keep both in balance.
2. Do not overdose Rowaphos especially if PO4 is on the high side i.e over 0.03ppm.
3. Keep good levels of magnesium within the aquarium. Magnesium at correct levels will supress precipitation by means of interrupting the formation of calcium carbonate seed crystals.