Phosguard and Fluconazole

[Danthefishman]

Hi everyone,

I’ve dosed fluconazole to kill my bryopsis, and it’s working. 6 days in and it’s 80% gone, which is great. However, my phosphate went from .03 to .24, and nitrates from 0 to 4.5. Is it safe to use phosguard during this treatment period? I’ve heard some say it won’t affect the medication and others say it can absorb it. AI says it’s safe to use. I’m just wondering what the consensus is. Thank you all.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

#reefsquad

 

[Fish Styx]

GAO media is safe to use alongside fluconazole treatment. However, given how large your PO4 spike was/is, I would caution against dropping it too quickly and causing another swing.

I would instead manually remove as much of the dying algae as possible to prevent further nutrients* and run GFO for a slower, more sustained approach to lowering your numbers.


*stay on top of this and continue to remove it as it dies.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Fluconazole will not bind to phosguard and there's no other reason to think there's a problem using them together that I know of.

FWIW, the current phosphate is still within my recommended target range and I personally would not use phosguard at this point.

 

[Danthefishman]

GAO media is safe to use alongside fluconazole treatment. However, given how large your PO4 spike was/is, I would caution against dropping it too quickly and causing another swing.

I would instead manually remove as much of the dying algae as possible to prevent further nutrients* and run GFO for a slower, more sustained approach to lowering your numbers.


*stay on top of this and continue to remove it as it dies.

That makes sense. Thank you for the help.

 

[Danthefishman]

Fluconazole will not bind to phosguard and there's no other reason to think there's a problem using them together that I know of.

FWIW, the current phosphate is still within my recommended target range and I personally would not use phosguard at this point.

Okay, I’m going to test it again today and see where it’s at. Thank you.

 

[Rocks reef]

GAO media is safe to use alongside fluconazole treatment. However, given how large your PO4 spike was/is, I would caution against dropping it too quickly and causing another swing.

I would instead manually remove as much of the dying algae as possible to prevent further nutrients* and run GFO for a slower, more sustained approach to lowering your numbers.


*stay on top of this and continue to remove it as it dies.

I agree with @Fish Styx and removing as much of the dying algae as possible. You can even pull rocks and scrub them off. As far as your nutrients, I'm in the same boat as Randy and wouldn't really worry about it. People get too tied up in numbers.

 

[Danthefishman]

Fluconazole will not bind to phosguard and there's no other reason to think there's a problem using them together that I know of.

FWIW, the current phosphate is still within my recommended target range and I personally would not use phosguard at this point.

I tested the levels and this is what I got;
Nitrate 4.7
Phosphate 0.79
Alkalinity 9.8

Should I still leave it alone or should I start putting in some phosguard? The bryopsis is like 95% gone. Thank you for your help.