GFO and refugium?

[Angela2016]

Can u provide more information on your system? You want to get to the bottom of the high phosphate. Gfo is a bandaid on a bleeding wound. Need to find source of your high phosphates. .48 is way to high for nitrates to be at 5. Nitrates actually help eliminate phosphate, research it.

How old is system?
How big?
How many fish?
What are you feeding and dosing?
What test kits are you using?
What kind of lights?
Old bulbs?

My tank is 120g with a 30g sump. Set it up valentine's day with dry rock and mostly dry sand, 1 20lb bag of live sand and 1 bottle of start smart bacteria. Running a very large vertex skimmer. Unfortunately I didn't cure the rock first (which is probably where a lot of my phosphates are coming from.) I have two very small clown fish, 1 bta, 1 toad stool leather the size of a quarter. I direct feed frozen mysis strip to the clowns once daily and small pieces of raw shrimp to bta. I did have old MH lights but replaced them with the new AP700 3 weeks ago. It's on the daily program at 60%. Not dosing anything now. Monthly 20% water changes. I forgot to add that I have 15 snails and 15 hermit crabs. I'm using red Sea and Hanna tests.

 

[abinder]

My tank is 120g with a 30g sump. Set it up valentine's day with dry rock and mostly dry sand, 1 20lb bag of live sand and 1 bottle of start smart bacteria. Running a very large vertex skimmer. Unfortunately I didn't cure the rock first (which is probably where a lot of my phosphates are coming from.) I have two very small clown fish, 1 bta, 1 toad stool leather the size of a quarter. I direct feed frozen mysis strip to the clowns once daily and small pieces of raw shrimp to bta. I did have old MH lights but replaced them with the new AP700 3 weeks ago. It's on the daily program at 60%. Not dosing anything now. Monthly 20% water changes. I forgot to add that I have 15 snails and 15 hermit crabs. I'm using red Sea and Hanna tests.

How much are you feeding the bta?
You shouldn't have to feed it more than once a week and probably not that much if you have enough light.


Allen

 

[Angela2016]

How much are you feeding the bta?
You shouldn't have to feed it more than once a week and probably not that much if you have enough light.


Allen

2-3 times a week but only a very small piece.

 

[Rodmad4]

Sounds like you have 2 options:
1. Run gfo for God knows how long til rocks decide to clean up plus buy a seahare to eat the gha.
2. (Which is what I would do considering they're full of gha anyways) pull out all the rock and acid wash them.

Either way reduce feeding to anemone to once a week to a tiny piece of shrimp and start feeding your fish every other day. GL