Dinos and Cyano

Basementreefer

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Hello guys!
I have had to struggle the last three weeks with some nuisance bacteria. It all began when I changed up my aqua scape a bit and added some new Marco rock. My nutrients where relatively low for the last couple months.
PO4 was always between 0.012 and 0.031 ppm and Nitrates from 2-3 ppm. It was all fine I had only very little algae and the corals were very happy. A good three weeks ago some cyano showed up on my sand bed. I added a power head aiming at the corner where the cyano was growing. That didn’t help though. The patch got bigger and I noticed some bubbles and brownish slime on the new rocks and a bit on the sand bed. I reduced the lighting intensity a bit and made the schedule 1 hour shorter. I tested for PO4 and it turned out to be 0. Tested with the Hanna Phosphorus ULR Checker. I was feeding pretty heavy before and decided to increase further. I put a timer on the skimmer so it only runs 12 hours a day now. The cyano kept growing and the days after that I still tested 0 on PO4. I decided to dose PO4 to raise it. I began with a very conservative dose and upped it every day because I kept testing 0 PO4. Yesterday I added 10ml phosphate solution which should rise the PO4 in my tank by 0.075. I tested today, 24 hours later and it was still 0.
I could imagine the cyano taking up a lot and therefore restrict PO4. I also skipped one water change as I do one every week because I heard the trace elements would further fuel dinos and strip nutrients. I also tested for Nitrate and it showed ~8,5 today. So the Nitrates increased, but phosphate stayed at zero. I am really scratching my head right now as I think they constitute another. The cyano stripping out the nutrients so the dinos can spread. What do you think? What should I do next? Should I keep increasing the phosphate dosage? I can see the dinos are getting a little bit better on the rocks, but not sure on the substrate. The cyanos keep getting worse.
I would really appreciate any advice that could help me out a little.

btw. I am not and have never been running any GFO. Just some carbon and a skimmer.
 
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Dolphins18

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Hello, You will want to look for a food that is high in phosphorous, typically these can be found in flake foods. Patience is the other thing, it may be ugly for a little while, this is the cost of adding dry rock.
I have never needed to actually dose phosphates, the generous flake feedings in addition to the typical frozen has always done it for me, the key is giving it some time.
 
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Basementreefer

Basementreefer

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Hello, You will want to look for a food that is high in phosphorous, typically these can be found in flake foods. Patience is the other thing, it may be ugly for a little while, this is the cost of adding dry rock.
I have never needed to actually dose phosphates, the generous flake feedings in addition to the typical frozen has always done it for me, the key is giving it some time.
Alright, for the next couple of days I skip feeding frozen in the morning and instead feed flakes. I will then feed flakes three times a day. I hope that should do the trick.
Thanks for your reply!
 

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Alright, for the next couple of days I skip feeding frozen in the morning and instead feed flakes. I will then feed flakes three times a day. I hope that should do the trick.
Thanks for your reply!

No problem, stick to your normal frozen routine, and just feed flakes in addition. The fish prefer the frozen. You can do this for 5-7 days before even testing PO4. It requires a little patience, but will work in time.
If you are still struggling a month from now, chemi clean is a fairly safe and reliable method. :)
 

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