Gfo leading to more algae issues

[Faulkner’s maze]

Initially I had a nitrate/phosphate issue where nitrates were at 30 and phosphates were at 1.5.

changed feeding (including feeder, food types) and nopox and got the nitrates down to 10-12. Fine with with that. Phosphate still was hanging at 1.1 and just not coming down. Added HC GFO to a media bag and stowed underneath a high flow area.
Now that it hit .8-.9 (and below) I see a huge area of algae (cyano?) on the front glass that blots out everything -it’s red and stringy when I clear it but the tang eats it off the glass-so cyano or something else?
Either way I wonder if this caused by an imbalance of n : p or something entirely else. I have taken out the gfo for now.


Right nitrate at 9.8 and phosphate at 7.3-both Red Sea and tropic Marin’s n : p solutions tout a 10:1 ratio so even if use either one it will mean that I still have 1 ppm phosphate (at 10 which seems to be prohibiting growth in the sps. The lps seem fine with it. Any input /recommendations appreciated.

 

[Lavey29]

Mixed reef should have nitrates at 10 and phosphate at .05 to .1. Yes a sudden drop in phosphate from GFO could trigger and imbalance resulting in nuisance algae but if you stabilize your parameters in proper areas, siphon out what you can, cut lights to 6 hours for a week or two with blue and uv only it will probably be gone.

 

[Faulkner’s maze]

Thx. The phosphate was coming down slowly about-.1 a week but perhaps the imbalance suddenly caused issues. Fortunately the algae is on the glass so easy to contend with.
Lights pretty much at blue only now during the day but i can certainly cut them back to 6 for a week.

 

[Lavey29]

Thx. The phosphate was coming down slowly about-.1 a week but perhaps the imbalance suddenly caused issues. Fortunately the algae is on the glass so easy to contend with.
Lights pretty much at blue only now during the day but i can certainly cut them back to 6 for a week.

No whites for week or two should be gone. Watch the GFO doesn't bottom out your phosphate or that opens the door to bigger problems.

 

[Faulkner’s maze]

GFO has already been pulled so no threat there..

 

[Lavey29]

GFO has already been pulled so no threat there..

Try to determine what caused your phosphate to skyrocket. Pellet food. Coral additives like roids, etc.... all boom phosphate and water changes remove nitrates but have little or no affect on phosphate.

 

[Faulkner’s maze]

Try to determine what caused your phosphate to skyrocket. Pellet food. Coral additives like roids, etc.... all boom phosphate and water changes remove nitrates but have little or no affect on phosphate.

I was using pellets and the auto feeder (Neptune) would sometimes dump a ton of food. Or none. So I changed out the feeder , the pellets to freeze fried food (that seems to have no impact on nitrates or phosphates) -I actually feed more often but there is certainly much less food

as to water changes -after numerous ones (I do 2x a week totaling 10% a week) I have discovered that all to be too true.

thanks for the input -it is much appreciated

 

[Peter Houde]

No whites for week or two should be gone. Watch the GFO doesn't bottom out your phosphate or that opens the door to bigger problems.

What bigger problems?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What bigger problems?

Starving corals and higher risk of dinos.