Help! Added gfo, torch&hammer not looking good!

[alvssaxo]

So I added Brs regular gfo in a media bag in my biocube, because I was beginning to get gha. My phosphate was up to .5 and now it’s back down to .03. But since I’ve added the gfo, my hammer and torch are showing skeleton. I’ve read in a few places how they like more phosphate. But now I’m torn with either taking media out and saving corals, or keep media in for lower phosphate and gradually brush off gha. Should I try doing half the recommended dosage in gfo? Or does it not work like that? Any tips and tricks would be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Spare time]

They don't "like" more phosphate. That just isn't true. They may have a higher demand, but a higher value in the water isn't the same thing. If phosphates dropped rapidly, it may have stressed the corals out. Why this may be I have no clue, but its a common thought around here.

 

[Super Fly]

how much gfo was used and how quickly was PO4 lowered from .50 to 0.03?

 

[alvssaxo]

how much gfo was used and how quickly was PO4 lowered from .50 to 0.03?

I got a reading of .5 December 7th. Managed to get it down with wc’s & the lowest reading was .17 on December 28th. It started rising again as I tested .25 before I added gfo the same day on January 7th. I was testing twice a week and on Jan 22nd I was at .03.

 

[alvssaxo]

how much gfo was used and how quickly was PO4 lowered from .50 to 0.03?

Also, I added 5 & 1/2 tablespoons for 32gallon

 

[Super Fly]

I got a reading of .5 December 7th. Managed to get it down with wc’s & the lowest reading was .17 on December 28th. It started rising again as I tested .25 before I added gfo the same day on January 7th. I was testing twice a week and on Jan 22nd I was at .03.

the reduced PO4 level and speed appears to be ok. I think whats happening is the GFO is absorbing the PO4 that used to feed corals leaving less nutrient for them now. what do u have for CUC and how are u addressing the GHA removal other then GFO?... also I think 5.5 tblspn of GFO for 32G may be too much

 

[alvssaxo]

the reduced PO4 level and speed appears to be ok. I think whats happening is the GFO is absorbing the PO4 that used to feed corals leaving less nutrient for them now. what do u have for CUC and how are u addressing the GHA removal other then GFO?... also I think 5.5 tblspn of GFO for 32G may be too much

I have a pincushion urchin, conch snail, Halloween crab, half a dozen blue and red leg assorted hermits, 10 astrea, 4 nassarius, 15 trochus, & a green emerald. I’ve just been scrubbing the algae with a toothbrush when doing water changes and taking a fish net to remove. How much gfo should I put in? Also should I feed ab+ more frequently? I feed twice a week

 

[Super Fly]

CUC list sounds very good. Sorry, ur GFO amount is ok, I was thinking of Rowaphos that I use in my tank. I've done same as u, brush and fish net. then after cleaning I'd place snails on the rocks with GHA. Have u tried siphoning the GHA out instead of brushing? Sorry, don't have experience using AB+, when using it do corals seem better? If so then yes.

 

[Super Fly]

here's a post from me on another thread who's also going thru GHA outbreak.

Just read entire thread and oh wow. Have to give you credit for not giving up yet, bravo.

GHA thriving in ur tank at the expense of coral growth, esp euphyllia, shows they are consuming all nutrients faster than the corals can take up. Refugium is clean bc the DT GHA is taking up all nutrients. I recently went through GHA outbreak on a 5 yr old tank due to rogue serpent starfish that wiped out most of CUC. GHA was growing in DT and refugium, out competing the previously thriving caulerpa. I removed the starfish, added appx 40 snails to 90 cube (yes 40, bc u need a lot of snails to keep tank clean) and plan to add at least 2 more dozen snails. Siphoned GHA while doing massive WC's and scrubbing rocks/refugium. Ramped up the refugium light from 12 hrs/day to 24/7. Finally GHA has receded while chaeto is thriving and growing rapidly to outcompete GHA. ALso added 2 bottles of Copepods after noticing they had disappeared during GHA outbreak. U should contact @hollback to see if he ships to Canada, he has excellent pods at very reasonable price.

Here's also a very good video by Rich Ross re. algae control
GL

 

[alvssaxo]

here's a post from me on another thread who's also going thru GHA outbreak.

Thank you so much! I haven’t siphoned because I don’t have a small opening suction. I just have a gravel vac that’s all one piece if that makes sense. Also my rock is very poress, so the gha is nearly impossible to scrub in those hard to reach places. It’s growing deep within holes that were drilled for frags. I may need to buy a smaller opening suction to reach those areas. I’ll watch the video. Thanks for the link !

 

[Super Fly]

Thank you so much! I haven’t siphoned because I don’t have a small opening suction. I just have a gravel vac that’s all one piece if that makes sense. Also my rock is very poress, so the gha is nearly impossible to scrub in those hard to reach places. It’s growing deep within holes that were drilled for frags. I may need to buy a smaller opening suction to reach those areas. I’ll watch the video. Thanks for the link !

u can use a 1/4" or 1/2" tube as siphon, probably will have stronger suction then a gravel vac w wide mouth. I treated tank w half the recommended dosage of Phosphate RX to weaken the GHA root, then few days later siphoned them out. Most came off rocks/glass/corals easily but few still left roots. Just read the instruction carefully when using PO4 RX, as some have complained it killed their Tang (I believe it was from over dosing). However I've used this product many times w/o issue. For GHA deeply buried in rock holes, after manually pulling out as much as u can just cover the hole w reef glue or putty to kill them.

 

[alvssaxo]

u can use a 1/4" or 1/2" tube as siphon, probably will have stronger suction then a gravel vac w wide mouth. I treated tank w half the recommended dosage of Phosphate RX to weaken the GHA root, then few days later siphoned them out. Most came off rocks/glass/corals easily but few still left roots. Just read the instruction carefully when using PO4 RX, as some have complained it killed their Tang (I believe it was from over dosing). However I've used this product many times w/o issue. For GHA deeply buried in rock holes, after manually pulling out as much as u can just cover the hole w reef glue or putty to kill them.

I’ll need to do some research on po4 rx, I don’t know much about it. Would that replace gfo?

 

[Super Fly]

I’ll need to do some research on po4 rx, I don’t know much about it. Would that replace gfo?

it could, however PO4 RX is one time use and not something to use on a regular daily basis. Here's a video for u re. its use

 

[alvssaxo]

it could, however PO4 RX is one time use and not something to use on a regular daily basis. Here's a video for u re. its use

Luckily I got rid of a lot of algae over this weekend from scrubbing with a tooth brush. It was only really on the right side of my tank and wasn’t super bad. I’m mainly worried about my torch. I have a short video that shows the rocks after scrubbing where I was battling the most hair algae, and think I did pretty good. But if you wait til the end of the video it shows how my torch is doing. Idk if I should just be patient and ride it out and just keep feeding at night or what to do. ):

 

[alvssaxo]

it could, however PO4 RX is one time use and not something to use on a regular daily basis. Here's a video for u re. its use

That video I posted wouldn’t play for me so don’t know if it will play for you so here’s a couple pictures showing how the torch was before I added gfo, and how it looks right now.

 

[fish farmer]

So I added Brs regular gfo in a media bag in my biocube, because I was beginning to get gha. My phosphate was up to .5 and now it’s back down to .03. But since I’ve added the gfo, my hammer and torch are showing skeleton. I’ve read in a few places how they like more phosphate. But now I’m torn with either taking media out and saving corals, or keep media in for lower phosphate and gradually brush off gha. Should I try doing half the recommended dosage in gfo? Or does it not work like that? Any tips and tricks would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I had a similar shock to my frammer when I was dropping from 1 ppm to anything below that. I think I used about half as much gfo as you, less than recommend. In a few days there was a noticable drop. My tank is a 29 with sump. I didn't like the fast action of the gfo so I resorted to chaeto in the sump, took several months to get down to "accepted" levels. It took awhile for my frammer to get used to the lower levels, it wasn't full and may have lost a head or two. It was doing well at 1 ppm, go figure.

 

[alvssaxo]

I had a similar shock to my frammer when I was dropping from 1 ppm to anything below that. I think I used about half as much gfo as you, less than recommend. In a few days there was a noticable drop. My tank is a 29 with sump. I didn't like the fast action of the gfo so I resorted to chaeto in the sump, took several months to get down to "accepted" levels. It took awhile for my frammer to get used to the lower levels, it wasn't full and may have lost a head or two. It was doing well at 1 ppm, go figure.

Dannggg, I’m wondering if I should take half the gfo out or leave it alone? I don’t want to cause anymore shock to the guy tho. I’ve had chaeto for months and it didn’t help with po4 as much as it did with nitrate. It’s crazy because my hammers doing well. It looks stressed but not showing any skeleton.