Gfo with Sps dominant

[vetteguy53081]

I run it with carbon at low amount and No issues

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Lots of people do stuff that people say don’t do and say stuff works but won’t work for others you just have to try everything and see what works for you every tank is different

 

[Scorpius]

Whatever you do take it slow and then run half of what you think your slow is. GFO is potent stuff and can nuke a tank quick. I run 1/4 of what the label says and test every 2 weeks.

 

[PatW]

GFO is a tool for removing excess phosphate in your aquarium. High phosphate levels result in growth of algae and adversely affect SPS corals. GFO is so efficient that it rapidly can take phosphate down to 0 in the aquarium and keep it there. SPS corals require some phosphates and nitrates for growth. It is a matter of avoiding both extremes. It sounds as if the article you read was someone who had damaged his system by overuse of GFO. I generally read that under 30 PPB phosphates is good for SPS. But some people seem to do OK at higher levels and some at lower levels. It really depends on the dynamics of each individual system.

 

[zack801]

I run it and I love my sps.rowa phos in a reactor 24/7

Which reactor do you use with rowaphos?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Which reactor do you use with rowaphos?

For mine, I use two little fishies unit.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Which reactor do you use with rowaphos?

I use the vertex reactor.

 

[Reefcowboy]

I think this is where most sps keepers mistake(myself included). The best sps keepers Ive ever recently seen dont run gfo. Gfo can pull too much and sps will reflect that in coloration.

I fear not running and having algae get a hold of my tank. Question is finding the balance of how much is enough so color is there and algae cant climb.

Im running smaller amounts in a reactor now and am also running an algae scrubber. The second one is just starting to ticken up so once it is established I might start cutting back on the GFO, and end up with something like 50-25% of the recommended gfo amount.

An algae scrubber and refugium cant strip completely Po4 so as long as I notice algae growth, there should be some PO4 present and I guess will keep dialing that with more of less gfo.

In theory it sounds like it woukd work. Im going to try and hope I see results. Sps color will be a good sign

 

[dankreef]

I’m in this boat myself . Been having HA issues that keep dragging down my levels so I started running a little gfo *12* hours a day so idk if someone is going to tell me something about that but it seems my Corals are coloring up and algae is going away .

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I think this is where most sps keepers mistake(myself included). The best sps keepers Ive ever recently seen dont run gfo. Gfo can pull too much and sps will reflect that in coloration.

Jut like dosing, in exporting you need to use appropriate amounts for the system. I used GFO for years and my phosphate never got too low.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Jut like dosing, in exporting you need to use appropriate amounts for the system. I used GFO for years and my phosphate never got too low.

Randy

What brand do you use and how much of the recommended dose?
Do you have sps?

 

[dankreef]

I’m now trying to use the appropriate dose to keep it stable with a reading .

 

[Reefcowboy]

Tested my PO4 yesterday and it came back zero. Nitrates at 2ppm. Algae scrubber moving way too slow...

Will keep the gfo I have as changing things often make sps spiral downwards. My sos are looking great now. Im dosing ME coral’s aminoacid to help out while the nutrients are settling where I want them
Im hoping as the gfo exhausts through the next weeks the scrubber will gain momentum. I will only do 25% of the recommended gfo amount next round

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy

What brand do you use and how much of the recommended dose?
Do you have sps?

I had a mixed reef for 20 years.

I used either of two types from BRS.

Dose can best be determined for any given system by trial and error, but its nearly always better to start slow. High phosphate is better than too low.

 

[sgrosenb]

Hi folks - I just started using GFO in order lower my phosphates from 0.1 to 0.02-0.03. I've ready many times to do things slowly, but I'm wondering what speed I should start at. My tank has been up for 3 years and I have mainly SPS (no big colonies yet).

If I understand it correctly, there are phosphate "reserves" in my rock and sand, so I could run GFO for a while and still show the same phosphate reading. Can I start running it 24/7 right off the bat to try and get those reserves out and not worry too much about speed of reduction, or should I take it slow and let those reserves get drawn out over a long period of time? I am checking phosphates daily to ensure they don't get fully depleted. I know @jda and @Randy Holmes-Farley have had thoughts on this in the past but I can't find them!

Thanks!
-Scott

 

[jda]

The key with GFO is to use a very small amount and change it often. ...like so little that you barely notice your levels going down in the short term. If you can see your water level of P drop a bunch and go back up a few days later, then you used too much.

In a reactor, the GFO will bind to saturation probably overnight. It will also unbind if you change water and lower the water level, so be sure and change it with water changes or if you use another type of phosphate remover.

Maybe a tablespoon or two and change it in 2 day? Hard to know without knowing tank size and throughput.

Whatever you do, keep feeding and importing. Your corals need this still and the goal is to increase export and not decrease import. I use multiple skimmers in each tank (3, to be exact) and grow chaeto which keeps my residual P level low at about 2-5 ppb on a Hannah Ultra low, but I still feed a ton.

Going too fast can cause issues. Stopping importing can cause issues. Nearly all of people's problems with GFO have been because of one of these two things.

 

[sgrosenb]

Fantastic info @jda thank you. My system is 165g with a sump. I have an oversized skimmer and chaeto that grows like crazy, so I already have some decent exporting going on. But my PO4 has just been sitting at 0.1 for months. My corals are doing better than when it was a 0.2++, but I'd like to get it down to 0.02-0.03 consistently.

 

[sgrosenb]

In a reactor, the GFO will bind to saturation probably overnight. It will also unbind if you change water and lower the water level, so be sure and change it with water changes or if you use another type of phosphate remover.

Sorry - one more clarification here @jda - I have my GFO in a reactor with a pump that I'm only turning on for a few hours per day. Is that acceptable, or should I either be running it 24/7 or not at all? I wasn't sure what you meant by unbinding. Thanks!

 

[jda]

Once it is saturated, it will stay that way as long as the water level of P does not change. If the P in the water level goes down, some will unbind from the GFO (and aragonite and Aluminum Oxide). If the P in the water level goes up, more will bind. It does not matter how long you run your pump, once saturated, it is done. There was some testing more than a decade ago by Bertoni (I think.. my memory sucks, but it was somebody smart) on RC and GFO can become coated with organics and film that makes it less able to bind P if it sits for a long time (like in a bag or a reactor unused). I think that it is best to use it up quick and get it out. A low tumble overnight with a small amount should bind it all up and 24 hours is certainly enough time... so maybe plan to replace it at the same time every day until you hit your goal. Remember, too quick is an issue and you should see the levels just barely dropping every day. If you drop it too much in 24 hours, take the GFO offline for a few days and see if it goes back up after a possible aragonite release. If it does, then you perhaps used a bit too much.

I assume that you have a Hannah Ultra low to track and observe all of this? This is really the only tool worth trusting for this job and the rest are really not even a good swag.

 

[sgrosenb]

Awesome - that sounds good - I'll do exactly what you mentioned re: using a small amount and replacing it every 24 hours. Yep - I have a Hanna ULR tester. I've been sitting at 25ppb for months and I have not seen a decline from that even after running small amounts of GFO, so it seems I'm not running too much. Thanks again for all the help this is great. I'll report back with my findings in a few weeks!