3 Day Blackout Help

BRS
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Mike Lemming said:
I run gfo and carbon in the same reactor and dose kalk in my ato.. I didn't cure my dry rock but the tank is only 5 months old..
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It's not going to work running them like that.

GFO must tumble in it's own reactor or it hardens.

Carbon must be packed tight. It's too soft to tumble and will break down into small fines that could lead to HLLE.

My best advise: Is the buy a media reactor. Buy some Rowaphos GFO and start tumbling it. Start at about 1/4 to 1/2 of full dose so you don't bleach the corals.

Tumble GFO could help the leaching from goodies that are bound up in that dry rock.

A black out wont fix non cleaned or cured dry rock. The hair algae will just come back.

JMO :)
 
WWC
GoVols said:
It's not going to work running them like that.

GFO must tumble in it's own reactor or it hardens.

Carbon must be packed tight. It's too soft to tumble and will break down into small fines that could lead to HLLE.

My best advise: Is the buy a media reactor. Buy some Rowaphos GFO and start tumbling it. Start at about 1/4 to 1/2 of full dose so you don't bleach the corals.

Tumble GFO could help the leaching from goodies that are bound up in that dry rock.

A black out wont fix non cleaned or cured dry rock. The hair algae will just come back.

JMO :)
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BRS says that the only reason that GFO needs to tumble is to keep it from clumping up. They say that you can add carbon in there without a tumble and the carbon keeps the gfo separated enough not to clump up.
 
Deltec
Mike Lemming said:
BRS says that the only reason that GFO needs to tumble is to keep it from clumping up. They say that you can add carbon in there without a tumble and the carbon keeps the gfo separated enough not to clump up.
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You can do what you want.

I'm not the one that has algae problems from leaching dry rock :)

BRS also says it's it's not the best way to run GFO.[/QUOTE]
 
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GoVols said:
You can do what you want.

I'm not the one that has algae problems from leaching dry rock :)

BRS also says it's it's not the best way to run GFO.
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[/QUOTE]
Haha I hear ya man! Do you think I should tumble the GFO and put the carbon in a mesh bag or something?
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Haha I hear ya man! Do you think I should tumble the GFO and put the carbon in a mesh bag or something?

Yes! :)

I have a older reef.
All was well until hair started coming up on my live rock but no where else.
Test kits read fine. (LFS) tested and phos. was fine too. They said change my lighting, did nothing.
Got to thinking about the hair algae only being on my old live rock. So I googled old live rock leaching.
Came to it is possible... And tricks your test kits because the hair algae is sucking up the leaching. So the goodies aren't in testing in the water column because their bound into the hair algae.

Figured what the heck... I've tried everything else I'm going to run a GFO reactor and see what happens.

Bought the little AquaMaxx FR-SE GFO reactor for like $55.00 and a can of Rowaphos GFO.

Welp, It got'R done :)

Then I fired up a Purigen reactor to help with nitrates. It absorbs organics with my skimmer before they hit they nitrogen cycle.
If your already have nitrates in the water column Purigen does not absorb them.

I'm just saying if you have a reactor try to tumble GFO by itself so you not running it packed with the AC.

If it doesn't work you've only lost a little time.

If it works like it did for me you will be :D :D :D :D :D :D.

You could leave out your AC for a few days to see if the tumbling GFO is starting to work.

If it does work... It will be well spent money to get another small reactor and pack your AC in that one.

If it does not work :( you can pack it back with the AC in the same reactor and say you ruled that option out.
 
Last edited:
GoVols said:
Haha I hear ya man! Do you think I should tumble the GFO and put the carbon in a mesh bag or something?

Yes! :)

I have a older reef.
All was well until hair started coming up on my live rock but no where else.
Test kits read fine. (LFS) tested and phos. was fine too. They said change my lighting, did nothing.
Got to thinking about the hair algae only being on my old live rock. So I googled old live rock leaching.
Came to it is possible... And tricks your test kits because the hair algae is sucking up the leaching. So the goodies aren't in testing in the water column because their bound into the hair algae.

Figured what the heck... I've tried everything else I'm going to run a GFO reactor and see what happens.

Bought the little AquaMaxx FR-SE GFO reactor for like $55.00 and a can of Rowaphos GFO.

Welp, It got'R done :)

Then I fired up a Purigen reactor to help with nitrates. It absorbs organics with my skimmer before they hit they nitrogen cycle.
If your already have nitrates in the water column Purigen does not absorb them.

I'm just saying if you have a reactor try to tumble GFO by itself so you not running it packed with the AC.

If it doesn't work you've only lost a little time.

If it works like it did for me you will be :D :D :D :D :D :D.

You could leave out your AC for a few days to see if the tumbling GFO is starting to work.

If it does work... It will be well spent money to get another small reactor and pack your AC in that one.

If it does not work :( you can pack it back with the AC in the same reactor and say you ruled that option out.
Click to expand...

Thanks bro! I will give it a try!
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Had green hair algae in 300 gallon reef for months the phosphate and nitrate levels were 0 and I removed alga to many times to count only to have it come right back then a friend said to add a uv .Installed a 55 watt uv and in a week algae was gone and has never returned it's been 9 months now
 
What carbon are you using? I was using carbon that claimed no phosphates, finally tested it and found phosphates were being released. Changed carbon brands..made a big difference.
 
I did a black out a few months ago just about the time my tank was a year old. It was covered in green hair. Like almost taking over. I can say it did not work. So I got rid of it the hard way. Hand picking off the rocks everyday. Cleaning the rocks with a toothbrush and turkey baster. Now at this point of doing this my phosphates were a little high but not crazy around .08. Nitrates were zero. So I stuck with it. I stuck with it till it was all gone. I also got a new pump. I had 3 crappy ones going and took them all out. I replaced them with one (1) mp40. My tank is a 55 mix reef. I now run that mp40 at about 30-40%. I run it on reef crest, transport, and tidal swell. I also run no socks. Never have. But I did use sponges. I took them out and don't run them anymore. I've also tried GFO that didn't do anything more then take up room in my aquarium closet. My tank has never looked better. The sand is almost always clean. I have little to no green hair. My 9 fish, 50 or so corals are growing, crabs, sea star are looking great. My clam is growing. Moral of the story. It's all what works for you. Good skimming, water changes and good flow is the key to any happy tank. Paying $370 for a pump after taxes sucked butt. But I believe that's what's doing it. That and no more sponges. I now want a mp10 for the other end.
 
Robert Vacchiano said:
Had green hair algae in 300 gallon reef for months the phosphate and nitrate levels were 0 and I removed alga to many times to count only to have it come right back then a friend said to add a uv .Installed a 55 watt uv and in a week algae was gone and has never returned it's been 9 months now
Click to expand...

Thanks man! I'll look into it!
 
AS
JP79 said:
I did a black out a few months ago just about the time my tank was a year old. It was covered in green hair. Like almost taking over. I can say it did not work. So I got rid of it the hard way. Hand picking off the rocks everyday. Cleaning the rocks with a toothbrush and turkey baster. Now at this point of doing this my phosphates were a little high but not crazy around .08. Nitrates were zero. So I stuck with it. I stuck with it till it was all gone. I also got a new pump. I had 3 crappy ones going and took them all out. I replaced them with one (1) mp40. My tank is a 55 mix reef. I now run that mp40 at about 30-40%. I run it on reef crest, transport, and tidal swell. I also run no socks. Never have. But I did use sponges. I took them out and don't run them anymore. I've also tried GFO that didn't do anything more then take up room in my aquarium closet. My tank has never looked better. The sand is almost always clean. I have little to no green hair. My 9 fish, 50 or so corals are growing, crabs, sea star are looking great. My clam is growing. Moral of the story. It's all what works for you. Good skimming, water changes and good flow is the key to any happy tank. Paying $370 for a pump after taxes sucked ***. But I believe that's what's doing it. That and no more sponges. I now want a mp10 for the other end.
Click to expand...

You might be right, maybe I just need to put in the work!
 
One thing I would point out is that, IMO, a 3 day black out should be a last resort to resolve a major issue with problematic algae. I have done it and it can stress out SPS, causing them to lose a bit of color. Yes, the color will typically return but a frag that is in a weekend state can die. I also once lost a Black and White Maxima clam. As others have said, the source of the problem has to be fixed or eventually the algae will return. So finding the source and fixing it IN CONJUNCTION with a 3 black out can be very effective.
 
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