What should I expect to see after dosing Reef Flux?

[hllb]

I've had an increasing issue with GHA. My nitrates were always around 2 to 5, and my Po4 was around .05. But the GHA continued to spread and grow. Then, I needed to catch a rouge sally lightfoot out of my tank so I had to set a trap. I had food in there for a week, which of course increased my nutrients. My nitrates climbed to around 20 and my Po4 was at .156. Not ideal, but I had planned on dosing reef flux. So on Saturday, I dosed Reef Flux and removed the trap (caught my rogue crab another way). Per directions, I stopped my skimmer and took out my carbon and purigen. On Sunday, I tested and my nitrates were 25 and my Po4 was .258.

I have some phosguard and new carbon to put in after the 3 days (per reef flux directions) and can also turn the skimmer back on at that point. What should I expect over the next 2 weeks or so? I assume I'll see a big increase in nutrients as the GHA dies off? I'm a little concerned about not doing my weekly water changes, so is there anything I should be doing in the mean time?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

That's not a product I'm familiar with, but maybe someone else will know. @ReefSquad

 

[Billldg]

As the Reef Flux kills off the algae, the algae will release the trapped nutrients back into the tank. Their really isn't a whole lot you can do until it runs its course. I actually kept my skimmer off for a week before turning it back on to get rid if bryopsis algae.

 

[Silver14SS]

I didn't take any measurements of NO3 and PO4 after dosing Reef Flux, but the turf algae I had slowly turned white and got thinner. It eventually started disappearing in patches and my filter pad needed to be replaced daily. I don't usually run carbon, but I did for days 4-14 of treatment. Skimmer didn't overflow or even need adjusting after turning it back on after day 3. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary over those two weeks and started dosing Vibrant at the same time.

The green turf algae took probably 2 months or so to completely disappear, it may have gone quicker with an additional round of Reef Flux. I kept seeing improvement though so figured I'd be patient

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Good evening

I had good results with the product. I did not really see big results though until day 10-13. I held off the water change until about day 15-16.

As you mentioned the first 3 days is the recommended period to shut down the skimmer and media. After that you can turn on the skimmer but it will probably go bonkers. I may hold off on the gfo and run carbon first. (Just my opinion) my thought is carbon will help pull out any nasties from the meds and give your Po4 a chance to settle in to a stable #.

like mr bill said nutrients will be all over. Run socks or fill to catch big partials. once most of the free floaters are out and you have a stable Po4 hit the gfo and tune the skimmer back in

 

[hllb]

I’m going to be out of town on Wednesday and Thursday so maybe I’ll wait until I’m back to turn the skimmer back on.

 

[lapin]

Its fluconazole. I will try to find the youtube video of the two gay guys who did it. It worked for them and I think the skimmer was off for 2 weeks.

Ok found it. It has no words just music and text.

 

[dadnjesse]

I used it. I left it in my tank for a couple weeks even redosing it. took a couple of weeks for me but it slowly turned white and I removed what I could manually, eventually I had no more Hair Algae.

 

[Ranjib]

Reefflux is pretty effective at killing of GHA (most algae) in a shortspan. But you have to fix the nutrient export problem, otherwise its just coming back, and you may have cyano or some other issues before GHA establishes back.
Don't skip on water changes, its the simplest and surest way to get back to a normal state of low nutrient. Add some good bacteria (whatever you think is best, Jake at reef builders was psyched about the new micro bacter). Stay vigilant for the first few weeks with the goal of establishing beneficial bacteria. It may sound hard, but water change with mechanical removal of GHA alongside natural remedies ( mexican turbo snails) are best. Chemical means (such as reefflux) are only best to give you a sudden advantage, but they almost always have negative effects (in this case altering the existing biological system) and are never long term solutions. They are good to give the first hope when your tank is full of GHA and mechanical removal is not an option. So employ them, but remember they are only the first step of a long term strategy that you have to execute.

 

[hllb]

Reefflux is pretty effective at killing of GHA (most algae) in a shortspan. But you have to fix the nutrient export problem, otherwise its just coming back, and you may have cyano or some other issues before GHA establishes back.
Don't skip on water changes, its the simplest and surest way to get back to a normal state of low nutrient. Add some good bacteria (whatever you think is best, Jake at reef builders was psyched about the new micro bacter). Stay vigilant for the first few weeks with the goal of establishing beneficial bacteria. It may sound hard, but water change with mechanical removal of GHA alongside natural remedies ( mexican turbo snails) are best. Chemical means (such as reefflux) are only best to give you a sudden advantage, but they almost always have negative effects (in this case altering the existing biological system) and are never long term solutions. They are good to give the first hope when your tank is full of GHA and mechanical removal is not an option. So employ them, but remember they are only the first step of a long term strategy that you have to execute.

Well aware of that, and open to suggestions. I do weekly 15% water changes (only missed one while on a trip). I run a skimmer (though my old one wasn't as efficient as I'd like, new one should be better once I turn it back on). I have about 35 lbs of live rock and run carbon and purigen. Set the tank up in August and my nutrients were never above No3 5 and Po4 .05, testing at least once a week (until the last week when I had decaying food in a trap). I am considering a drop in algae scrubber (santa monica)

 

[Ranjib]

Do you have sandbed ?

 

[hllb]

Do you have sandbed ?

I do - maybe around 2.5-3" deep aragonite. I vacuum what I can about every other water change, but due to the rock, I don't have a lot of access. I have nassarius snails and a conch that keeps it pretty clean.

 

[Ranjib]

Ack, Unless you see cyano on the sand bed, probably they are not trapping too much detritus,

 

[Reefahholic]

@Brew12 likes playing with algae pills. Might ask him.

 

[Brew12]

@Brew12 likes playing with algae pills. Might ask him.

Or I really dislike playing with them but I've found it necessary. Either one could be true.

My experience is that I would rather use Vibrant from Undewater Creations for most GHA, especially since you can keep your skimmer on, and run GAC in a reactor to absorb any contaminants your algae my release while dying.
For Bryopsis or a specific type of GHA I battled, the combination of Vibrant and Fluco (Reef Flux) was hard to beet. I wouldn't wish that type of GHA on anyone. I'd take Bryopsis any day.

 

[Reefahholic]

Well aware of that, and open to suggestions. I do weekly 15% water changes (only missed one while on a trip). I run a skimmer (though my old one wasn't as efficient as I'd like, new one should be better once I turn it back on). I have about 35 lbs of live rock and run carbon and purigen. Set the tank up in August and my nutrients were never above No3 5 and Po4 .05, testing at least once a week (until the last week when I had decaying food in a trap). I am considering a drop in algae scrubber (santa monica)

An algae scrubber would be a good idea to outcompete it, but sometimes when algae is already established in the display it's hard to outcompete it down below unless you have really strong light and start with more algae below than you have above. It may or may not work, but you could always give it a try. Best of luck!

 

[hllb]

An algae scrubber would be a good idea to outcompete it, but sometimes when algae is already established in the display it's hard to outcompete it down below unless you have really strong light and start with more algae below than you have above. It may or may not work, but you could always give it a try. Best of luck!

I’m hoping the reef flux will work and then I can make sure it doesn’t come back...we’ll see.

 

[Reefahholic]

I’m hoping the reef flux will work and then I can make sure it doesn’t come back...we’ll see.

I'm currently using Vibrant and find it to be fairly safe dosing once every 7 days. If you dose every 4 days it gets a little hairy. It really starts to strip the water column from what I've seen. I keep nothing but Acropora, so it got a little uncomfortable for me. If you do decide to try vibrant I would keep a close eye on N&P as I've found it does impact them and I've had to dose more NaNO3 and feed heavier to keep detectable levels.

 

[TK_KW]

How did this all work out for you? I'm about to dose reefflux for Bryopsis.

 

[hllb]

How did this all work out for you? I'm about to dose reefflux for Bryopsis.

It didn’t work at all for me. I dosed a second time and gave up after 3 weeks. My GHA got worse during treatment. It should work better and faster for bryopsis. It didn’t bother anything in my tank, including the GHA ;Hilarious;Hilarious