Gfo

[Novicereefer]

Hi,

So, I've got my phosphates under control with constant water changes, chemipure elite, and reduced feeding the fish to every other day. I saw better growth in my corals though when I fed the tank a cube of frozen brine or mysis every day and reef roids 3x a week...MUCH BETTER GROWTH! But as I said, I cut back all together. I was wondering if I can run GFO around the clock and get back to my old feeding habits or is that not recommended? Someone recommended turning my hob into a Refugium to go natural because gfo can work too good and kill my corals

-36 bow front
-no sump (hob aqua clear)
-3 clownfish
-lps dominant (trachy, acantho, acan, Goni, euphillia, favities, favia...things like that)
-a few soft corals
-encrusting Montipora
-clam
-1 ai prime 16hd and 1 radion g4
-flow enough for a tank twice this size
-po4 0.08
-nitrate 7ppm
-i usually do 25% water change a week

 

[areefer01]

You are going to get some mixed opinions here mine included. I don't see a lot of fish in that image but I wouldn't skip feedings. We like to eat everyday and fish forage all day. Hungry fish could be aggressive or start exploring other options. Then there is the whole fish poop thing so skipping meals probably isn't the right approach.

Portion control, on the other hand, is wise. For example I feed dry, pellet, hourly between 0830 and 1830. I can do this by portion control. I feed 2 times a day frozen. Again, portion control. Works well for me and something to think about. Portion control.

Also GFO can be run via a reactor and limit the flow through it. GFO is not going to kill your fish but stripping out all of the phosphate will cause issues for sure. So maybe that is what they are talking about? So when using GFO it is all about control. How much, flow through it, etc.

I'm not one to chase numbers but to be honest I would measure phosphate over the course of a week and see how it trends. That is after adjusting your feeding a bit. Test at the same time, the same way, and document. Look to see if it is holding steady, or climbing, and then think about what you did as it relates to feeding. If you need to reduce a few pellets or split frozen over time do so. Again test and monitor until you can see the trend.

You are doing a 25% water change weekly you said it may be enough to manage it once you find the trend.

 

[Doctorgori]

I have ran GFO continuously in the past but find it better in tandem with lanthium or just lanthium…
Ditto…I wouldn’t skip feeding to lower phosphate

 

[Novicereefer]

I have ran GFO continuously in the past but find it better in tandem with lanthium or just lanthium…
Ditto…I wouldn’t skip feeding to lower phosphate

I'll look into lanthium. I haven't heard of it before. Thanks!!

 

[Novicereefer]

You are going to get some mixed opinions here mine included. I don't see a lot of fish in that image but I wouldn't skip feedings. We like to eat everyday and fish forage all day. Hungry fish could be aggressive or start exploring other options. Then there is the whole fish poop thing so skipping meals probably isn't the right approach.

Portion control, on the other hand, is wise. For example I feed dry, pellet, hourly between 0830 and 1830. I can do this by portion control. I feed 2 times a day frozen. Again, portion control. Works well for me and something to think about. Portion control.

Also GFO can be run via a reactor and limit the flow through it. GFO is not going to kill your fish but stripping out all of the phosphate will cause issues for sure. So maybe that is what they are talking about? So when using GFO it is all about control. How much, flow through it, etc.

I'm not one to chase numbers but to be honest I would measure phosphate over the course of a week and see how it trends. That is after adjusting your feeding a bit. Test at the same time, the same way, and document. Look to see if it is holding steady, or climbing, and then think about what you did as it relates to feeding. If you need to reduce a few pellets or split frozen over time do so. Again test and monitor until you can see the trend.

You are doing a 25% water change weekly you said it may be enough to manage it once you find the trend.

Yea I don't have many fish. I'm more a coral person. You raise some good points about the flow through the gfo and using a little at a time until I find the right amount. Yea I don't like not feeding the fish as it's my only real interaction with them plus it's really helping the corals grow. I like the adjust and test then document approach. Thanks!