Corals are dying...................

Fishingandreefing

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All, for the past couple of months I have being battling high phosphate at .90. Since then I have been doing large water changes, dripping phosphate RX in a 10 micron sock at 50% strength weekly few hours before a 25% water change.

I also run 100% carbon and about 50% to 60% GFO via a reactor. It had drop down to now at around .25.

my lepto was receding slowly from the bottom since about 3 weeks ago, lost a couple heads of hammers, and a few sps are not doing so great.

What really concern me is that since last week, my favorite piece of coral, purple bonsai started receding from the bottom as well.

I tested my water and here are the parameters:

coralife marine salt.
salinity 1.025
Mag about 1480 (always high)
Alk 8.5 (being pretty steady)
Cal 438 (being pretty steady)

I set the temp controller at 77, so it always at around 76.5 (maybe increase to 78?)

i had the bonsai acro for a few month and it waS doing fine despite the high phosphate. Since I started running GFO, then it’s dying, I am thinking it’s the GFO stripping it.

currently about 20 fish, 4 shrimps and 2 gobies. I feed 1.5 cube mysis daily and add a cube of Cyclopes and sea weed once per week.

sorry for the long post, any help would be greatly appreciated.

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vetteguy53081

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Get the gfo out and add high grade carbon. Ferrous oxide (GFO) is very powerful and will strip your tank of coral.
Do a good water change, add marine pure block and bacteria to sump. Try beads instead of Rowaphos which brings down nitrate and Phos effectively
 
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Fishingandreefing

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Get the gfo out and add high grade carbon. Ferrous oxide (GFO) is very powerful and will strip your tank of coral.
Do a good water change, add marine pure block and bacteria to sump. Try beads instead of Rowaphos which brings down nitrate and Phos effectively
Why add high grade carbon? And why bacteria and which brand? Already have marine pure balls in the sump.
 

vetteguy53081

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Why add high grade carbon? And why bacteria and which brand? Already have marine pure balls in the sump.
Bacteria digests the very elements that cause nitrite/nitrate and ammonia in which the remaining elements are at risk to elevate such as Phos and other toxins.
carbon to remove the content of ferrous oxide within the tank.
 
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Fishingandreefing

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Bacteria digests the very elements that cause nitrite/nitrate and ammonia in which the remaining elements are at risk to elevate such as Phos and other toxins.
carbon to remove the content of ferrous oxide within the tank.
Got you! Any recommended bacteria in a bottle?
 

vetteguy53081

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Fishingandreefing

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Btw, the bonsai has a about 150 par and the lepto has about 70. And yes they were slowly acclimated with the lightings. Currently running at 40% AB+ wirh diffusers.
 

vetteguy53081

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should I stop GFO? Or it’s ok to run at a lower dose or a few hours a day?
I would remove. If run GFO, its a teaspoon or two and that’s for a 660 gallon tank
 

Ling_Thing

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Water temp seems to be a little low no? When my heater broke my temp went down to 74 for a couple days before I knew my tank started going downhill sps dominated
 
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Fishingandreefing

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Water temp seems to be a little low no? When my heater broke my temp went down to 74 for a couple days before I knew my tank started going downhill sps dominated
Maybe I should increase to 78. But the tanks being running at that temp for the past 2 years
 

dadnjesse

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I'm not sure how much you read the SPS problems section, but time and time again people are loosing SPS and using GFO.
 
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Fishingandreefing

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I'm not sure how much you read the SPS problems section, but time and time again people are loosing SPS and using GFO.
I did but heard also people using 50% or less are ok. Guess if this acro made it I will running only 25% to maintain the phosphate
 
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