What is Phoslock?
Phoslock is a granulated combination of bentonite and lanthium that is design to eliminate available phosphate from the water column and lock it away. This is great for fisheries with high phosphate levels, bad algae blooms or consistent issue with weed growth.
How Does it Work?
Phoslock works by utilising the ability of lanthanum to react with phosphate. Removal of phosphate by lanthanum is highly efficient and has a molar ratio of 1:1 which means that one ion of lanthanum will bind with one ion of phosphate. This binding forms the mineral Rhabdophane (an insoluble and biologically inert compound) which strips phosphate from the water.
What Happens When Phoslock is Applied?
Once on the sediment, Phoslock, and the lanthanum phosphate within it, remain as in inert mineral component of the sediment. The nature of the bond between lanthanum and phosphate is such that it will not be broken under any naturally occurring pH range (pH 4-11). Even more importantly, the bond will not be broken under anoxic (low redox potential) conditions, which are prevalent in most lake sediments and many overlying waters. Most other phosphorus binders, especially those containing iron, will release phosphate under anoxic conditions.
