GFO

[brownjoshua475]

Need help my GFo isnt lowering my phosphates I did a test on the hanna checker ULR and its reading .06ppm it started out at .08ppm I did a water change then waited a couple days and did another water change it went down to .06ppm and that's where it's been. I do have green algae growing on rocks and cyano on sand I always clean sand and suck out as much as possible during water change but it wont go away also i manually pull as much hair algae as i can during water change. Just dont know how to keep phosphate in check and lower and keep the algae gone. If anybody has advice that would be awesome the high phosphate and algae is starting to kill my zoas and sps

 

[Hemmdog]

How do you have the gfo set up? Reactor? Media bag? What are you feeding, maybe it is removing it, but you are feeding something super high in phosphate to keep the levels elevated?

 

[fcmatt]

Is this a new tank and where did the rock come from? Perhaps it is releasing phosphate?

 

[Bramzor]

What you need to understand is that if you have algae and you measure your PO4, you do not include any growth of that algae, you just check the amount that is unused in the water. When you start pulling out algae, you remove PO4 that was taken up by the algae BUT you also remove a source that consumes PO4. So what you did was replace algae with GFO which is a good thing but you forget that if you feed and things die off, they release PO4 over time. So you removed algae which will make PO4 go up over time, and you put GFO in and the value stays the same and you say GFO isn't working? It is, else algae would just grow back quicker or PO4 would go up instead of down.

So you need to up your game. Try to lower PO4 SLOWLY!!!!!! because else you will have a problem that your PO4 is too low. PO4 is buffered in the rock so it takes time to lower it. Keep pulling out algae because they are bad for the corals. Allow the GFO to pull it out or just add a double dosis for now to lower PO4 (you need double because you want to lower PO4 while you are removing algae which also lowers your PO4 so basically you removed one method (algae) to put in another (GFO) without actually increasing PO4 removal. So if it's stable you know the amount you need to keep you from growing more algae. You need a bit more to lower it over time. But it might drop suddenly once it's not buffered in the rock anymore.

 

[brownjoshua475]

How do you have the gfo set up? Reactor? Media bag? What are you feeding, maybe it is removing it, but you are feeding something super high in phosphate to keep the levels elevated?

I have it in a media bag in an AIO system. I've been feeding reef nutrition R.O.E and oyster feast and mysis shrimp

 

[brownjoshua475]

What you need to understand is that if you have algae and you measure your PO4, you do not include any growth of that algae, you just check the amount that is unused in the water. When you start pulling out algae, you remove PO4 that was taken up by the algae BUT you also remove a source that consumes PO4. So what you did was replace algae with GFO which is a good thing but you forget that if you feed and things die off, they release PO4 over time. So you removed algae which will make PO4 go up over time, and you put GFO in and the value stays the same and you say GFO isn't working? It is, else algae would just grow back quicker or PO4 would go up instead of down.

So you need to up your game. Try to lower PO4 SLOWLY!!!!!! because else you will have a problem that your PO4 is too low. PO4 is buffered in the rock so it takes time to lower it. Keep pulling out algae because they are bad for the corals. Allow the GFO to pull it out or just add a double dosis for now to lower PO4 (you need double because you want to lower PO4 while you are removing algae which also lowers your PO4 so basically you removed one method (algae) to put in another (GFO) without actually increasing PO4 removal. So if it's stable you know the amount you need to keep you from growing more algae. You need a bit more to lower it over time. But it might drop suddenly once it's not buffered in the rock anymore.

Ok thanks

 

[Backreefing]

I would discontinue GFO it is a well known SPS killer .
1 get it out tonight
2 stop feeding so much
3 step up on cleaning crew . Get some Mexican turbos, trochus snails, cerith snails. These guys are angels. Get blue legs red legs ect.
Other posters are correct about phosphate. But natural controls are best IMO. good Luck

 

[Fishfinder]

I wouldnt lower your phosphate any more. .06 is prefect fine reading. And it certainly isn’t killing your coral, the GFO probably is. Leave the phosphate in the tank and use snails to remove the algae