algae on sandbed?

[badfinger]

Ok so i am posting this here cause i figure it has to do with reef chemistry. So i introduced a sick fish into my tank and it killed 8 out of 11 fish. I was able to find 4 of the fish but not the other 4.

I have started using gfo heavy and heavy carbon and wet skimming. Plus weekly water changes. Just barely tested No3 and Po4. Nitrate was 0 and phosphate was .04. My test kit is a couple years old so maybe its gone bad.

Any suggestions? I was dosing vodka but that didnt seem to help. Should i start back up? Did my sandbed loose bacteria colonies and have to restart?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

keeping at the GFO is a good plan, even at 0.04 ppm, if there is an algae problem.

What does the algae look like?

 

[Pirates.Reef]

If you need something to clean it up while you get your numbers lower a sea cucumber works wonders. I bought one for six bucks and got rid of my diamond goby.

 

[badfinger]

Like normal hair algae. It grows in splotches not all over the sand. I do have a sea cucumber

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FOr hair algae, I'd keep using the GFO aggressively, and consider some sort of organisms that eats it (depending on the tank size).

 

[badfinger]

Its a 150 gallon