This study aims to explore a novel application of dewatered alum sludge cakes (DASC) as the main medium in a single model reed bed to treat phosphorus-rich animal farm wastewater under "tidal flow" operation on a long-term basis. It is expected that the cakes act as the carrier for developing biofilm and also serve as adsorbent to enhance phosphorus (P) immobilization. Results have demonstrated that average removal efficiencies of 73.3 +/- 15.9% for COD, 82.9 +/- 12.3% for BOD(5), 86.4 +/- 6.0% for RP (reactive P), 88.6 +/- 7.2% for soluble reactive P (SRP) and 77.6 +/- 17.5% for SS can be achieved during the two year's operation. More significantly, the "P-adsorption proportion" by DASC in the reed bed is 42% of the overall P removal. The remaining removal of P may be contributed by the trapping and filtration process of DASC. Therefore, the lifetime of the DASC in reed bed is reasonably longer than that determined from the batch isotherm test. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.