Help. Im dosing vibrant, dr tims, neo phos, and neo nitrate. Is that even logical?!

[LesPoissons]

Hi all,
the battle against gha continues. Quick background- 5 year old reef tank, dino and gha outbreak a couple months ago as phos and nitrate bottomed out. Started neo phos and neo nitrate. Started vibrant. Started dr tims. The idea was to have enough nutrients to support the bacteria to out compete the gha.
The gha is growing, the phos is at 0, the nitrate is at 3.
Its been a couple months. Is this all counter productive? What am I doing wrong here? Nothing looks happy.
Temp 78
ph 8.2
sal 1.025/1.026
phos 0 (hanna) (have used neo phos- going through a ton- delay in shipping so couldnt dose for 2 days, its coming today) (Also getting trisodium phosphate to dose with instead but shipping delays.)
nitrates 3
alk 8.5
ca 435
mag around 1350

Biweekly water changes

Its been 5 years and I still dont feel like Im not at all succesful keeping consistency with this tank and it brings me down looking so junky!

 

[SPR1968]

The GHA is probably using phosphate as a food source and growing and if your adding neo phos your just feeding it.

Look into rowaphos/GFO to remove phosphate from the system but it will probably take a while and you need to change it regularly

The phosphate isn’t really 0 it’s a false test reading because the GHA is using it as food

And stop all the dosing of additives unless you’ve tested/researched and it’s needed

 

[Aqua Man]

Are the Dino mostly gone now or in retreat?
How much Alga ? Plague proportions? Need a pic.

What’s your CUC?

 

[Bradley2448]

Many many reefers turn straight to additives instead of nutrient control and exportation methods like more chaeto, GFO, large water changes. Do some research on these instead of focusing and what bottle of magic comes out next. BRS JUST put out some great vids explaining nutrient/algae control in depth

 

[LesPoissons]

Many many reefers turn straight to additives instead of nutrient control and exportation methods like more chaeto, GFO, large water changes. Do some research on these instead of focusing and what bottle of magic comes out next. BRS JUST put out some great vids explaining nutrient/algae control in depth

So those things are used to remove nutrients. I dont want to remove nutrients. Unless I dose, mine are always super low or undetectable- even if there is no gha- I have to dose. The corals need phos and nitrates. I cant irradicate them and gha can survive and thrive in "0" nutrient envrioments. Chaeto doesnt grow for me to outcompete gha, Ive tried int the past and gfo does take out all the phos- but you need it.

 

[PBnJOnWheat]

So those things are used to remove nutrients. I dont want to remove nutrients. Unless I dose, mine are always super low or undetectable- even if there is no gha- I have to dose. The corals need phos and nitrates. I cant irradicate them and gha can survive and thrive in "0" nutrient envrioments. Chaeto doesnt grow for me to outcompete gha, Ive tried int the past and gfo does take out all the phos- but you need it.

In my opinion, IMO, I would use manual removal, try chaeto, maybe some good bacteria to try and beat it back. The issue here is that the nutrients SAY there is 0 but the GHA is eating ur nutrients faster than you can measure. So when you add those nutrients they are going directly to the GHA. Not the corals and the tests don’t read it because they eat it up too quick. Remove the GHA, set it back big time and outcompete it with other nutrient eaters. Implement some snails an urchin etc etc. that’s what I did and that’s what I do when I typically have most algae issues.

 

[LesPoissons]

Maybe I can clarify ,
My tank runs with low nutrients unless I dose. Ive only had 2 gha outbreaks in 5 years (this is the second) and they are brutal. When there is 0 gha and the tank is looking pristine (last 2 years) i still have to dose phos and nitrate.
The 1st time I had gha I took out all the rocks and sprayed and scrubbed with H202, I trippled the cuc, i got more tangs, urchins, sea slugs etc. I bottomed out the nutrients. I scrapped and pulled. I did fluconazole and blackouts. Nothing worked for almost a year. Then i did vibrant and gha wiped out and the tank was good for 2 more years.

Now im back to square 1 but its been a couple months and nothing is working?

 

[PBnJOnWheat]

Maybe I can clarify ,
My tank runs with low nutrients unless I dose. Ive only had 2 gha outbreaks in 5 years (this is the second) and they are brutal. When there is 0 gha and the tank is looking pristine (last 2 years) i still have to dose phos and nitrate.
The 1st time I had gha I took out all the rocks and sprayed and scrubbed with H202, I trippled the cuc, i got more tangs, urchins, sea slugs etc. I bottomed out the nutrients. I scrapped and pulled. I did fluconazole and blackouts. Nothing worked for almost a year. Then i did vibrant and gha wiped out and the tank was good for 2 more years.

Now im back to square 1 but its been a couple months and nothing is working?

I think dosing is a good idea with a ULNT. Or whatever the acronym is lol. Ultra Low Nutrient Tank. Cant remember, anyway dosing is good then but dosing now isn’t gonna help the corals it’s going to the GHA because their growth rate is much faster and higher than the corals. IMO I would rid of the GHA then start dosing again, or lower nutrient export AFTER you rid of that nasty green hair algae. That stuff is resilient.

 

[LesPoissons]

In my opinion, IMO, I would use manual removal, try chaeto, maybe some good bacteria to try and beat it back. The issue here is that the nutrients SAY there is 0 but the GHA is eating ur nutrients faster than you can measure. So when you add those nutrients they are going directly to the GHA. Not the corals and the tests don’t read it because they eat it up too quick. Remove the GHA, set it back big time and outcompete it with other nutrient eaters. Implement some snails an urchin etc etc. that’s what I did and that’s what I do when I typically have most algae issues.

Right, so Ive pulled tons of gha and then i alternate vibrant and dr tims (which are jus bacteria blends) to try to do that and dose the phos and nitrate to keep enough nutreints available for the corals and the bacteria to survive. Its not like I pull 20 handfuls of gha and the phos level suddenly comes up? So i dose? And chaeto hates me. Wont grow.

 

[LesPoissons]

I think dosing is a good idea with a ULNT. Or whatever the acronym is lol. Ultra Low Nutrient Tank. Cant remember, anyway dosing is good then but dosing now isn’t gonna help the corals it’s going to the GHA because their growth rate is much faster and higher than the corals. IMO I would rid of the GHA then start dosing again, or lower nutrient export AFTER you rid of that nasty green hair algae. That stuff is resilient.

So stop dosing and just do the vibrant and dr tims? Even if the tests say 0?

 

[Aqua Man]

Are the Dino mostly gone now or in retreat?
How much Alga ? Plague proportions? Need a pic.

What’s your CUC?

 

[PBnJOnWheat]

So stop dosing and just do the vibrant and dr tims? Even if the tests say 0?

Yeah I would stop dosing the nutrients just Bc the GHA is gonna eat it up quick. Then hopefully cut back the GHA as u have said with the successful manual removal so far. I’d definitely do more of that bacteria blend alternating thing u got going also. That works really well IMO. Then once you start to see the GHA go away potentially start dosing again. When you see the GHA start to go away I would higher recommend attempting chaeto. I couldn’t grow it for awhile and I was only successful post GHA/Cyano/Dinos. It helped me beat them in my experience and it’s been growing since then!

 

[LesPoissons]

Okay thank you!!!

 

[LesPoissons]

Dinos are pretty much gone. The tank is at 220 gallon. I don’t know if it qualifies as plague proportions yet it’s messing with my power heads and overflows and filtration etc. It’s on pretty much every single rock in the tank and that is a lot of rocks.

 

[Aqua Man]

Does not look that bad to me. Couple water changes ,tooth brush. Will look good!

 

[Garf]

Is your fox face fat and lazy?

 

[ZoWhat]

If you dosed tetraselmis phyto you wouldn't need all that crap

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