Craziest Phosphate issue that I just can not solve

[Joedubyk]

All 3 tests have my phos at .25 for the past 3 weeks Salifert, Red Sea and hanna

Naturally, I have added gfo. Since that number has not come down, and conitnues to stay at .25 I keep adding a bit more gfo

The result is the same.

Now here's the rub... I'm starting to see dinos and some corals are starting to pale, stuff that I would see low phosphate.. What little algae I did have is all dead. My macro algae is still growing, but has slowed....


What should I do and why is phos # not changing despite adding more and more gfo?

 

[Bato367]

Man, I don’t know the answer, but I’d like to hear it because it will be a good lesson.

Perhaps the coral degradation is due to some other parameter?

Good luck, hope it gets fixed soon

 

[Joedubyk]

Man, I don’t know the answer, but I’d like to hear it because it will be a good lesson.

Perhaps the coral degradation is due to some other parameter?

Good luck, hope it gets fixed soon

No, Ive bottomed po4 out before and this is exactly what happens. Pinks on my acros start fading and you get dinos. But why am I getting high readings? really really flummoxed.

 

[lelandmarine]

Size tank? What food are you using? What livestock?

 

[Joedubyk]

525xl, i feed a good bit. but nothing crazy at all. no aminos. I definitely *add* phosphate, but they should not be this high. moreover, i should not be getting dinos

 

[lelandmarine]

i know it’s debated but i think you can get dino’s at any level. Its just that at super low levels dino’s outcompete everything else. What kind of food, the phosphate have to be coming from somewhere

 

[Dan_P]

All 3 tests have my phos at .25 for the past 3 weeks Salifert, Red Sea and hanna

Naturally, I have added gfo. Since that number has not come down, and conitnues to stay at .25 I keep adding a bit more gfo

The result is the same.

Now here's the rub... I'm starting to see dinos and some corals are starting to pale, stuff that I would see low phosphate.. What little algae I did have is all dead. My macro algae is still growing, but has slowed....


What should I do and why is phos # not changing despite adding more and more gfo?

Let’s test your tests.

Use freshly prepared saltwater and dilute a sample with tank water. Test this diluted sample. Also test the new saltwater tmke sure the PO4 content is zero. If it is lower, I would say the test is OK and look for another reason why your coral are in trouble.

 

[Joedubyk]

bump.....really, no one experienced this before?

 

[Dan_P]

bump.....really, no one experienced this before?

It is implausible sounding that is why I suggested to test your tests before going further.

 

[CNDReef]

What’s your No3 at? Without nitrate it’ll be very difficult to reduce Po4. If you are getting dinos I’d advise you to stop using the gfo.

 

[Joedubyk]

What’s your No3 at? Without nitrate it’ll be very difficult to reduce Po4. If you are getting dinos I’d advise you to stop using the gfo.

is at 20... I have stopped the GFO, as I know exactly what a phos crash looks like... Corals lose color, than they lose pe, dinos start....and then boom. It's just wild they are still reading high.

 

[Joedubyk]

Update: I hve lowered the feedings, A LOT, and I have completely got rid of the GFO

My acros are back to being SUPER hairy and Im sure the color will follow.

Going to try using carbon (Nopox) to maintain or get the po4 just a little lower

as usual, my exp with GFO is terrible. Seems like it binds too much phos and makes it not useable which is negative for all organisms that use it