24.12.2014

This will be an updated review as I just got the product last night. I have a 20 gallon tank and have been frustrated with how quickly algae seems to be growing on my 'fake' plants in the tank.. I have an algae eater but he can't get all the leaves due to their shape and size. Having phosphate test kit for the pool I decided to check the fish tank. The high mark is dark blue. I've never seen the test water such a dark blue color and I have problems with the pool in the summer due to trees overhead and the Florida climate. My fish tank water had even more phosphates than the pool ever had. So I bought this product after seeing a video on its use. I have an AquaClear 30 filter which uses the foam,

3.3.2019

Been using this product for a year or two and found it to be effective. Just follow the instuctions on the container.....the correct dosing rate is smaller than you might think and certainly smaller than a lot of the videos on YouTube that show people using huge quantities of this stuff. The phosphate removal is rapid (just three days) after which the beads may be exhausted. The phosphate binds with the beads to offer a one way transference, meaning that if you left the beads in the sump or filter they wouldn't leach out phosphate back into the tank. I'd recommend buying some zipped mesh bags from the online seller of your choice to hold the beads in the sump.

20.12.2014

This product works as described, and I recommend it to others.I was having a phosphates problem for a while in my salt water tank at work because some of my macro algae had broken down in a spot I couldn't reach and was decaying there. I also, unbeknownst to me for a while, had an reverse osmosis/de-ionization filter system that wasn't pulling all the phosphates out of my top-off water. Bottom line, I was able to get the problem in better control using PhosGuard. That's good because the excess phosphates were really feeding some hair algae that had sprung up in my tank.The one thing that you have to note about this product is that it really needs to be in a place where it gets good water circulation over the media.

31.1.2016

Excellent phosphate remover. I was having issues with green hair algae in my saltwater reef system. My test kits said I was at 0ppm on phosphate but the algae kept on growing, so I know there must have been some. I first tried granulated ferric oxide with no success. While I believe the GFO worked it wasn't correcting the issue with the GHA. I tried the GFO first because it is cheaper than the Seachem PhosGuard.After all the headaches with the GHA, I bit the bullet and purchased the PhosGuard. I like the pellet form. It provides excellent surface area to trap the phosphate. I also like the size of the pellet. It is being used in a media reactor and I don't have to worry about the pellets filtering though the screen and ending up in the aquarium.

2.5.2017

PhosGuard I am sure is a good product but it is not a cure for algae unless you have a problem with phosphates or silicates which I think most will not. I have several planted tanks. Plants and algae do not go well together so based off reviews I gave this a try. I tried Phosguard and traded one problem for another. What I have found out is most algae thrive on deficiencies control one cause another to pop up. One thing common to most all algae is nitrites, nitrates and ammonia I have started using Purigen and stopped with the Phosguard the plants are much healthier and I have ALL forms of algae under control. I think Seachem make some great products but it is still up to the user to determine what it is that you need.

20.12.2014

This product works as described, and I recommend it to others.I was having a phosphates problem for a while in my salt water tank at work because some of my macro algae had broken down in a spot I couldn't reach and was decaying there. I also, unbeknownst to me for a while, had an reverse osmosis/de-ionization filter system that wasn't pulling all the phosphates out of my top-off water. Bottom line, I was able to get the problem in better control using PhosGuard. That's good because the excess phosphates were really feeding some hair algae that had sprung up in my tank.The one thing that you have to note about this product is that it really needs to be in a place where it gets good water circulation over the media.

27.3.2017

Bought this to help reduce PO4 in my 150 gal saltwater tank. Made my own little reactor and only added 2/3 of what was recommended. I made sure to rinse it well and even after 4 times there was some cloudiness. Dialing in the flow to make the product move but not agitate took some tweaking to find the sweet spot. Note that to much agitation will cause more cloudiness but I cleared it all up by adding a cheap mechanical filter for a few hours. A few days later I see a very noticeable difference in the ugly brown and green algae. After 5 days my PO4 is untraceable and the die off of algae is beyond what I was expecting.

2.1.2021

Since adding this to my aquarium I have noticed a decrease in nuseance algae. Some algae is good. It helps eat up ammonia and gives fish, snails and shrimp plenty to eat.This will help absorb the extra phosphates we all cause by overfeeding and just makes for a safer tank that is more manageable.According to everything I have read this lasts about 3 months so I plan to change it out 4 times a year. For a 75 gallon tank one jar should last about a year.I would much rather feed my snails, shrimp and plecos a chunk of zucchini or cucumber every week to supplement the greens than have a tank where you cannot see through the glass.This allows a perfect balance. It is not a magic bullet to eliminate algae.

12.10.2016

This product worked exactly as described. Within the first several hours, my phosphate levels dropped to 0 and I no longer had to worry about my phosphate levels. According to lots of people online as well as the package description, you shouldn't let it sit inside your filter for too long so I only let it sit for about 4 days and removed it afterwards. I believe this bag is also not regeneratable so it's a one time use. Also, it seems like the price of this bag fluctuates a lot so at times, it may be really cheap and other times it may be $9+. That would probably be my only complaint because I just checked and the price has dropped by a couple dollars since the last time I bought it. For that,

10.4.2015

I put the Phosguard in my filter after fighting Diatoms for several weeks with scrubbing tank walls and 50% water changes. After several days I noticed the leaves of my African fern and other plants were turning yellow, brown spots and falling off. I looked it up on the internet and found out it could be a Phosphate deficiency! Oh great. Fix one problem and start another one! So I immediately removed the Phosguard bag and did another 50% water change. Then added Flourish and Flourish Excel to try to help. I am hoping my plants revive and the diatoms don't come back. I still give PhosGuard 4 stars because it does appear to take care of Phosphates.

22.4.2015

Works great. My phosphate was so high I had to test in the high range... even after 20% water change. I put this in the floss filter in my whisper (I just use that for water flow and extra carbon.. 55gallon reef tank here) and my phosphate was down to the low level test range in 3 days. I took it out and replaced it with fresh like the directions said after day 4, but this time I mixed half and half with the seachem matrix carbon, which is the same size and shape as this. I actually had to take it out after another week... my phosphate wasn't testing at all, and 0 phosphate is bad for corals. I guess if I complained I would say keep an eye on your levels, it worked too good for me.

20.11.2016

I've been slacking on the up keep of my saltwater nano reef tank. I had a really bad hair algae problem that I couldn't overcome. With my tank being a nano with a canopy style lid, I didn't have room for a phosban reactor, so this was the only solution I could come up with. After receiving this product after couple days of purchase with amazon prime, I simply opened up my canister filter and tossed the bag inside. I could notice a change in corals health and less hair algae in about a week. This product comes in a mesh bag, so need to figure out what to do with this after you open it. I wouldn't be afraid to put it in a back filter either.

22.2.2020

I use this in combination with GAC and Phosban because the Purigen alone didn’t seem to reduce phosphates. The trio have really made a huge difference in the clarity of my water and assist greatly with algae control. I had considered ChemiPure Elite but my lfs recommended this over it and I’m not disappointed. I’m almost to the point of replacing it and don’t think I will bother trying to reactivate it, the thought of soaking it in bleach and putting it back in my tank scares me... no matter how many times I rinse it lol. As with anything I put in my tank I err on the side of caution and always use a little less than directed.

28.8.2018

This is great stuff! My phosphate level was so far over the top I couldn’t take a reading for over three weeks! I change this out every four days, and after another couple of weeks I was actually able to get a reading on the api the phosphate test. It’s expensive to buy in the ready to go pouch if you’re in the same situation that I was. My last purchase was for the 1 L container and then I’ve just been measuring it and putting it into a little mesh bag. I will always have this in my tank just to keep my phosphate levels down to zero or almost 0. My plants are doing a lot better because the LG level has gone down

9.11.2020

I was struggling with brown diatoms (brown algae) in my tank. It was so bad that after cleaning and doing a 50% water change, it would be growing back within an hour!! I was changing water 50% every other day. While my fish were doing well (and really growing and thriving with all the frequent large water changes), I was frustrated with the brown diatoms coming back and making my tank so unsightly.1 bag of phosguard, rinsed, placed in the filter and boom- within a week the diatoms are significantly decreased. I might even be able to cut down my water changes to 80% once a week. Fingers crossed!

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