Questions bout dosing Aquaforest and GFO

[onetootreefor]

Hello Group!

I have a few questions about aqua forest dosing and GFO. I have been dosing for almost a year now, and in the beginning I could dose equal parts of all 3 Aquaforest chemicals and they would deplete at the same or close to the same rate. I didn't need to continue checking all 3 parameters as long as my alkalinity was in line.

Well long story short my tank husbandry got neglected for a little while and my phosphates and nitrates started getting out of control. In late November I began using GFO to control my phosphates, and I have also dosed Vodka since I started dosing Aquaforest almost a year ago.

Lately I noticed that my dose is spot on for my Alkalinity, but my calcium is near 600 regularly when I dose equal parts of all 3 chemicals. I stopped dosing the Calcium for a little while to get back to 450 range, but my question is this....Since Aquaforest is balling method do I have to dose all parts equally or can I balance out the calcium and alkalinity depending on my reef levels.

2nd question about GFO: I started GFO late november, and it has really helped wrangle in my phosphates....from about .3 to hovering around .03-.05 on a regular basis. I can't seem to get it consistently down below .03, and it usually stays around .05. Should I be adding more GFO to my reactor now that my tank has had a chance to adjust to it?

A little bit about my tank...I have a 30 gallon JBJ all in one with about 10 pounds of live rock. Tank has been running for about 4-5 years. I use Hanna checker to check all my parameters. Pictured below is a picture of my test results since November:

(First column is Date, next is Alkalinity in dKh, next is Calcium, next is Phosphate, next is Phosphorus ULR amber, next is Nitrate, next is Nitrite, next is PH, next is Temp, next is Salinity)

 

[RobZilla04]

#1 Perfectly acceptable to dose only the amount the system needs of each element. Don't continue to dose Cal if it is already high and you trust your test results. Rather you'd be correct in backing off until consumption increases then increase dosing accordingly.

#2 .03 Po4 is totally fine. If there is no algae in the tank, no need to continue GFO unless you want to continue to feed heavily both fish and coral food. Some do run GFO 24/7/365 with no adverse effects to the system. On the other hang running it occasionally when needed is popular as well.

 

[onetootreefor]

#1 Perfectly acceptable to dose only the amount the system needs of each element. Don't continue to dose Cal if it is already high and you trust your test results. Rather you'd be correct in backing off until consumption increases then increase dosing accordingly.

#2 .03 Po4 is totally fine. If there is no algae in the tank, no need to continue GFO unless you want to continue to feed heavily both fish and coral food. Some do run GFO 24/7/365 with no adverse effects to the system. On the other hang running it occasionally when needed is popular as well.

I do run GFO 24/7 in a reactor. The reason being I want it to be so low is because my macros are really struggling in both color and growth. Most turn brown within 3-4 weeks of adding to my tank. Nothing else stands out to me.

 

[onetootreefor]

macros=acros lol

 

[RobZilla04]

I do run GFO 24/7 in a reactor. The reason being I want it to be so low is because my macros are really struggling in both color and growth. Most turn brown within 3-4 weeks of adding to my tank. Nothing else stands out to me.

Look to other solutions than extremely low Po4. Flow, Alk, Light Intensity, all play an important role. If you drive and maintain Po4 extremely low everything is going to starve.

Checking your chart, after 4 scoops of Reef Roids (huge dose for a 30g BTW) Po4 doubles. Be aware of these coral foods and how much you dose.

 

[onetootreefor]

Look to other solutions than extremely low Po4. Flow, Alk, Light Intensity, all play an important role. If you drive and maintain Po4 extremely low everything is going to starve.

Checking your chart, after 4 scoops of Reef Roids (huge dose for a 30g BTW) Po4 doubles. Be aware of these coral foods and how much you dose.

yeah I noticed too, I haven't added any reef roids since the last time it was mentioned in the chart and just been feeding fish.

I have Vortech MP10, and it's set to an extremely randomized schedule majority of the day is on ReefCrest though near 90%. It should be PLENTY of flow for my tank.

My alk is very consistent, and has been for years. I have never measured the PAR of my lighting but I use a Radion 4th Gen XR-15 pro. I have done the math with the height of the tank and how far off the light is from the water and I feel like I have the intensity adjust correctly, but ALL other corals are great in color real just my acros and sticks.

 

[onetootreefor]

Also the scoops I am using to measure is from a tiny spoon I got out of a RedSea Nitrate test kit....not like a teaspoon or anything. I actually measured out 4 scoops on a small digital scale to get the exact dosage the reef roids recommended for my tank.