Flux Rx question. Please help :)!

[maleks.reef]

Today would be the 6th or 7th day since I started treatment with fluconazole because of a GHA issue I have. As per the instructions, the chaeto had to be taken out, skimmer turned off for 3 days and no WCs for 3 weeks. So, I have 3 main concerns:

1) Will my corals be damaged in any way since I won't be doing a WC for 3 weeks, potentially 4? most of the corals are softies with only 4 LPS. I am asking this because I noticed that my coralline is turning white and dying(?)

2) Since I've had the skimmer off for 4 days and the fuge is empty, nutrients have been increasing. I did not do any tests but the GHA did almost double in size and im seeing cyano. This could've been also fueled by the fact that my bangai cardinal which i bought a week ago, "disappeared" in the tank on its 3rd day. Im feeding every other day frozen mysis only

3) The GHA does not seem to be going away or slowing, quite the opposite actually. So, should I dose more flux rx?

Please help as the GHA is starting to choke out my cloves and candy cane, and soon more corals I imagine.

 

[Spare time]

Flux takes about 2 weeks to work for gha. If you need to dose for the corals, then go ahead and do so. You can also brush the skeletons of that candy cane coral to help clean it off.

 

[MarshallB]

Today would be the 6th or 7th day since I started treatment with fluconazole because of a GHA issue I have. As per the instructions, the chaeto had to be taken out, skimmer turned off for 3 days and no WCs for 3 weeks. So, I have 3 main concerns:

1) Will my corals be damaged in any way since I won't be doing a WC for 3 weeks, potentially 4? most of the corals are softies with only 4 LPS. I am asking this because I noticed that my coralline is turning white and dying(?)

2) Since I've had the skimmer off for 4 days and the fuge is empty, nutrients have been increasing. I did not do any tests but the GHA did almost double in size and im seeing cyano. This could've been also fueled by the fact that my bangai cardinal which i bought a week ago, "disappeared" in the tank on its 3rd day. Im feeding every other day frozen mysis only

3) The GHA does not seem to be going away or slowing, quite the opposite actually. So, should I dose more flux rx?

Please help as the GHA is starting to choke out my cloves and candy cane, and soon more corals I imagine.

It needs time to work. When you start to see it dying off start testing your nitrate/phosphate every day. Also keep an eye on your alkalinity uptake if you dose. Last time I dosed reefflux the alkalinity uptake bottomed out and the levels skyrocketed.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Flux RX did not harm any of my corals (SPS, LPS, and soft)

I did see some coralline turn white, but it came back within a couple months.

Before

After

 

[maleks.reef]

Flux takes about 2 weeks to work for gha. If you need to dose for the corals, then go ahead and do so. You can also brush the skeletons of that candy cane coral to help clean it off.

It needs time to work. When you start to see it dying off start testing your nitrate/phosphate every day. Also keep an eye on your alkalinity uptake if you dose. Last time I dosed reefflux the alkalinity uptake bottomed out and the levels skyrocketed.

I do not intend on dosing manually as I really don't have the time or budget for it right now. That's why I was asking if the LPS will be ok with 3-4 weeks of no WCs.

 

[maleks.reef]

Flux RX did not harm any of my corals (SPS, LPS, and soft)

I did see some coralline turn white, but it came back within a couple months.

Before

After

Man I really hope I get similar results. I am sick of GHA. There is a chance the treatment wont work at all (depending on the strain of gha) which would be really disappointing.

 

[Spare time]

I do not intend on dosing manually as I really don't have the time or budget for it right now. That's why I was asking if the LPS will be ok with 3-4 weeks of no WCs.

Hmmm ok. Typically dosing is cheaper than water changes in terms of simply replacing elements. As long as alk doesn't dip too far below 7 and calcium below 380, it should be ok.

 

[MarshallB]

Man I really hope I get similar results. I am sick of GHA. There is a chance the treatment wont work at all (depending on the strain of gha) which would be really disappointing.

It does work well. Just use cation. It seems to hit tanks differently for unknown reasons. If you start seeing signs of corals struggling you can just throw in some carbon and remove the medication.

 

[maleks.reef]

Hmmm ok. Typically dosing is cheaper than water changes in terms of simply replacing elements. As long as alk doesn't dip too far below 7 and calcium below 380, it should be ok.

I would love to set up a doser one day and try to automate as much as possible. Im only 19 and a medical student so for now WCs it is, especially since I have this huge bucket of salt.

 

[Spare time]

I would love to set up a doser one day and try to automate as much as possible. Im only 19 and a medical student so for now WCs it is, especially since I have this huge bucket of salt.

I completely understand the budget. You can actually use some pretty cheap DIY stuff for dosing. People have historically used things like baking soda for alk.

 

[ColoredRock]

Check out the reef chemistry forum.. lots of good inexpensive ways to dose.. If it were me I would start with Kalkwasser

Im not promoting for BRS... but here is fairly good explanation of what it is.

How to Mix & Dose BRS Pharma Kalkwasser - Using Calcium Hydroxide In A Reef Tank

Kalkwasser is a hobby term for calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 powder that when mixed with freshwater it creates a solution that will maintain both calcium and alkalinity levels in a reef tank.When Kalkwasser solution is added to saltwater, the CO2 in your aquarium water will react with the hydroxide ions

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[homer1475]

I completely understand the budget. You can actually use some pretty cheap DIY stuff for dosing. People have historically used things like baking soda for alk.

100%.

Look up @Randy Holmes-Farley DIY 2 part recipe on google. It's as simple as plain jane arm and hammer baking soda, measuring once a day, and adding by hand.

As far as the original question.....

I've dosed flux RX twice now for bryopsis(haven't had a GHA issue per se, but some is present when treating for bryopsis). I had no issues with my corals, and ALK and CAL consumption stayed the same. I did have an upswing in nutrients, but a large WC after the treatment knocked those back to acceptable levels.

If your worried about ALK and CAL, just hand dose them after testing. Your making this harder then it actually is.

 

[homer1475]

FWIW my normal nutrient numbers are 0.1 to .02 phosphates, and 10 to 20ppm nitrates.

I got as high as 45ppm nitrates and nothing was effected. Dropped it down to 15 in one large WC, and still everything is fine. I did control phosphates with a little bit of GFO, so that never got out of range for me.

 

[MaxTremors]

100%.

Look up @Randy Holmes-Farley DIY 2 part recipe on google. It's as simple as plain jane arm and hammer baking soda, measuring once a day, and adding by hand.

As far as the original question.....

I've dosed flux RX twice now for bryopsis(haven't had a GHA issue per se, but some is present when treating for bryopsis). I had no issues with my corals, and ALK and CAL consumption stayed the same. I did have an upswing in nutrients, but a large WC after the treatment knocked those back to acceptable levels.

If your worried about ALK and CAL, just hand dose them after testing. Your making this harder then it actually is.

My experience has been about the same. The only difference is I was treating cladophora and the treatment took nearly two months. But it did work. I saw the same massive upswing in nutrients, so I did several water changes over the 2 months, I just redosed the rough percentage of the dose relative to the percentage of water I took out (so for a 20% WC, i redosed 20% of the initial dose). I think this actually helped as it lowered the available nutrients for the algae and reinvigorated the dose. After the two months I just went back to regular maintenance, WCs, and skimming. I did wait until the 3rd month before I added any carbon. My advice is to just stick with it, it should work, just be patient.

 

[maleks.reef]

100%.

Look up @Randy Holmes-Farley DIY 2 part recipe on google. It's as simple as plain jane arm and hammer baking soda, measuring once a day, and adding by hand.

As far as the original question.....

I've dosed flux RX twice now for bryopsis(haven't had a GHA issue per se, but some is present when treating for bryopsis). I had no issues with my corals, and ALK and CAL consumption stayed the same. I did have an upswing in nutrients, but a large WC after the treatment knocked those back to acceptable levels.

If your worried about ALK and CAL, just hand dose them after testing. Your making this harder then it actually is.

I am more worried that the nutrients will spike and make the gha even stronger than i am worried about the alk and ca, especially with the dead bangai.

 

[maleks.reef]

My experience has been about the same. The only difference is I was treating cladophora and the treatment took nearly two months. But it did work. I saw the same massive upswing in nutrients, so I did several water changes over the 2 months, I just redosed the rough percentage of the dose relative to the percentage of water I took out (so for a 20% WC, i redosed 20% of the initial dose). I think this actually helped as it lowered the available nutrients for the algae and reinvigorated the dose. After the two months I just went back to regular maintenance, WCs, and skimming. I did wait until the 3rd month before I added any carbon. My advice is to just stick with it, it should work, just be patient.

This is what i was looking for. I will just do as you did soon and hope it works for this gha. Thank you so much!