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what episodes does rich talk about how much lanthanium he uses
"Based on the sources and our conversation history, Rich discusses his use of lanthanum chloride and the amounts he uses primarily in episodes focusing on water chemistry, nutrients, and phosphate control.
Here's a breakdown of where he mentions his lanthanum dosing and method:
- Episode 12 - Underwater Eyeball Roach: This episode is the first detailed discussion of Rich's lanthanum use.
- He states he uses it to precipitate phosphate, which is then caught by mechanical filtration (filter floss or sock).
- He mentions injecting a diluted solution into his skimmer body.
- He gives initial numbers: 40 ml of concentrated lanthanum chloride diluted in 3000 ml (3 liters) of distilled water.
- He started dosing this solution at 100 ml a day.
- He notes that public aquariums (like the 200,000-gallon tank at the Academy) used it, giving an example of 750 ml into 30 gallons of water pumped into a sand filter.
- He describes it as a slow, long-term project (over almost three years at that point) to get ahead of phosphate potentially bound in the rocks of his older tank.
- He shares data showing his phosphate level dropped relatively quickly after starting, from around 1.68 to 1.23 in one to two weeks, and then eventually to around 0.3-0.4 when consistently dosing.
- Episode 19 - Dr. Craig Beeferman (Bingman): This episode features Craig Bingman discussing Rich's lanthanum approach.
- Rich reiterates his dosing method: diluting concentrated lanthanum chloride into a solution and dosing it slowly.
- He provides slightly different initial dilution numbers than Episode 12, stating he used 30 ml of concentrated lanthanum chloride diluted in 3 liters of distilled water, dosing 60 to 80 ml of that solution a day. (Note: While there's a small discrepancy in the initial concentrated volume (30ml vs 40ml), the dilution ratio of roughly 1:100 is consistent across the descriptions, and the daily dose of the diluted solution is given as 60-100 ml/day).
- Craig explains the chemistry of lanthanum binding with phosphate and emphasizes the importance of dosing slowly and ensuring excess phosphate is present in the water column relative to the lanthanum to prevent issues like precipitation on fish gills.
- Episode 7 - Lord Mark Callahan Flies with Angels: Rich briefly mentions using lanthanum, stating he's doing a final push on it to see if he can easily lower levels and if it makes a difference. He again notes he's dripping it into the skimmer at a very low, constant dosage. He doesn't give specific numbers here but confirms the ongoing, low-dose approach.
- Episode 77 - Kalk Snowstorm Recovery: Rich discusses his tank recovery and revisits the lanthanum, noting that he started it very slowly as a "two-year project" and emphasizing the slow approach because his tank looked good despite high phosphate. He doesn't provide current dosing volumes.
- Episode 134 - Göne with Adam Staude: Adam Staude, a hobbyist using Rich's method, mentions his own tank (310 gallons) where he keeps nitrate around 20-24 ppm and phosphate at 1 ppm using "Rich Ross' lanthnum method." Adam states he is dosing 550 ml a day of his lanthanum solution (the concentration of Adam's solution is not specified in the source). Rich is present during this conversation and describes the method generally as going slow, dosing into the skimmer, checking phosphate weekly, and adjusting based on results, reinforcing the pragmatic approach over strict adherence to volume numbers.
In summary, you can find discussions about how much lanthanum Rich uses and his method in:
- Episode 12 (initial method and dosing details)
- Episode 19 (clarification of initial dose and chemistry discussion with Craig)
- Episode 7 (brief mention of ongoing low-dose)
- Episode 77 (reiterating slow, long-term approach)
- Episode 134 (discussion of the method as used by another hobbyist, including their specific dose volume).
The key elements of his method consistently mentioned are the slow dosing, injecting into the skimmer body, and adjusting the amount based on phosphate test results rather than adhering to a rigid dose volume, especially since his system has high nutrient inputs from heavy feeding."
