Gfo questions ???

MattL22 · Jan 15, 2015

Hello I finally beat cyano now I'm getting hair algae I've been pretty aggressive I thought with the Gfo but I just can't seem to get the po4 low enough so I'm not fighting algae all the time with sps some do good , hold color decent color but growth not there IMO

I just bought 4lbs of Gfo from brs what would be a good way to bring po4 down in a 220 I do 40 gal wc a week run tlf mostly full with Gfo swapped every 2 weeks already

How much Gfo can I use safely on a 220 40 gal sump and 60 gal fuge

At this point I don't really care about the cost of Gfo ill swap my reactor every other day if that's the trick until I can get it under control I tried lanthanium chloride in past wasn't happy with it

Please lmk how guys with a tank full sps utilize Gfo when Gfo high

KoleTang · Jan 15, 2015

The main concern is dropping phosphate too fast and/or too much.

Use the BRS Reef Calculator to give you an idea of the dosage.

MattL22 · Jan 16, 2015

Ok Ty I'll check it out
Looking for guys who keep sps get there input ??

cginter · Jan 16, 2015

Are u running a skimmer, carbon source? Flow? Flow alone can get rid of algae in certain low flow areas. Cleanup crew?

I run my GFO for about a month or whenever my glass seems to have algae buildup after a day. I run two reactors, one for carbon and one for GFO. Carbon gets changed out bi weekly and GFO about once a month. As far as how much I use a lil more than what BRS recommends only cuz I feed heavy.

Never expect quick changes. It literally took me close to 2-3 months before all the algae was gone.

Rob.D · Jan 17, 2015

cginter said:
Never expect quick changes. It literally took me close to 2-3 months before all the algae was gone.

I agree 100% with this statement, you can be aggressive with your Po4 level but there is the risk of shocking your corals that possibly have acclimated themselves to the high Po4 level. It is popular opinion that it's best to slowly lower the levels, kind of like re-acclimating them to a lower Po4.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 17, 2015

MattL22 said:
Hello I finally beat cyano now I'm getting hair algae I've been pretty aggressive I thought with the Gfo but I just can't seem to get the po4 low enough so I'm not fighting algae all the time with sps some do good , hold color decent color but growth not there IMO

I just bought 4lbs of Gfo from brs what would be a good way to bring po4 down in a 220 I do 40 gal wc a week run tlf mostly full with Gfo swapped every 2 weeks already

How much Gfo can I use safely on a 220 40 gal sump and 60 gal fuge

At this point I don't really care about the cost of Gfo ill swap my reactor every other day if that's the trick until I can get it under control I tried lanthanium chloride in past wasn't happy with it

Please lmk how guys with a tank full sps utilize Gfo when Gfo high

Are you measuring phosphate, or just observing the tank?

MattL22 · Jan 18, 2015

Hi I don't have a po4 test just observing algae on glass and hair in my low flow fuge getting crazy !!
I've been using Gfo pretty regularly for a whole my carbon I run in a bad and swap 1 time a month maybe I need to step that up but on 1-2 occasions I've bleached Montis out after swapping carbon out

jackson6745 · Jan 18, 2015

Matt, IME use Rowaphos. It is much more effective than BRS, and I never got weird STN like I did from running BRS GFO. I tossed my BRS GFO in the garbage.

mike007 · Jan 18, 2015

You have to test or you will not be able to pinpoint your Issues. You need to test for nitrates and phosphates. Most algae problems are caused by excess nutrients .Most of the time it is caused by over feeding of the tank.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 19, 2015

If you are not measuring phosphate, I'd start slow and slowly increase the amount over time, carefully watching the tank.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 19, 2015

jackson6745 said:
Matt, IME use Rowaphos. It is much more effective than BRS, and I never got weird STN like I did from running BRS GFO. I tossed my BRS GFO in the garbage.

Most people find BRS GFO to work just fine. I use it.

I also toss mine in the garbage, but not until after I use it.

Maximo · Jan 19, 2015

lets not forget about alkalinty dropping if you are using gfo. I find when i run gfo i have to step up my dosing to almost double the amount! It is not going to turn around over night, or over the course of 2 weeks really. Dont get discouraged if your still battling this in a month, just stay persistent.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 19, 2015

Maximo said:
lets not forget about alkalinty dropping if you are using gfo. I find when i run gfo i have to step up my dosing to almost double the amount! It is not going to turn around over night, or over the course of 2 weeks really. Dont get discouraged if your still battling this in a month, just stay persistent.

FWIW, that is because of increased deposition of calcium carbonate, both by corals and abiotically on pumps, heaters, and especilly on the GFO and just downstream of it, presumably by soluble iron catalyzing the deposition. The GFO itself is not binding significant alkalinity.