High phos in sps tank. Which gfo

[bonomo53]

So i recently came back from vacation and became lazy for a week. I ended up not doing a water change for three weeks and started losing sps from the base up. I tested everything and saw my phosphates were .06 now i have a few questions first is this high enough to cause stn from the bases of my sps most of them are still colored up and showing pe but I've lost 2-3 in the past week. My second question is do you think my bioload is two high? I have never had phos issue till now i currently have a 57 gallon with a proflex model 2 and 10 gallon frag plumbed together. My current fish are a flame wrasse, rhomboid wrasse, mimic tang, leopard wrasse, sunburst anthias and a pair of clowns. My last question is im going to set up a gfo reactor and was thinking about using the high capacity gfo from brs. Would this bring the phosphates down too fast cause even more stress on my corals? Thanks in advance

 

[pickupman66]

start off below recommended ammount and work your way up if you are concerned about stripping it too fast.

 

[jduck]

Higher phosphates typically just cause sps to brown out. Are you using hanna checker?
I would look at your alk and nitrate levels.
Are you carbon dosing? (biopellets, vodka, vinegar)

 

[mcarroll]

[...]My second question is do you think my bioload is two high? I have never had phos issue till now i currently have a 57 gallon[...]. My current fish are a flame wrasse, rhomboid wrasse, mimic tang, leopard wrasse, sunburst anthias and a pair of clowns. My last question is im going to set up a gfo reactor and was thinking about using the high capacity gfo from brs. Would this bring the phosphates down too fast cause even more stress on my corals? Thanks in advance

If you never had a problem with phosphates before this, and nothing weird or catastrophic happened while you were away, you might be able to get back on top of the situation just by doing a more intensive water change schedule for a while.

Having said that, I do think your bio-load is too high. Hopefully there are at least several juveniles among those fish given the small tank, but that also means you're up against an ever-increasing bio-load as they all grow up, eat more, and poop more.

If you want things to get back to the way they were AND STAY THERE, you just need to consider reducing the number of fish a bit over time to keep nutrient levels in check. If you want to keep all the fish, either a bigger tank is needed (my recommendation) or you've got more gadgets and more maintenance ahead of you to keep nutrients in check.

You can definitely harm corals by removing phosphates too fast....go slow with any strategy you decide on!

Higher phosphates typically just cause sps to brown out. Are you using hanna checker?
I would look at your alk and nitrate levels.
[...]

+1

-Matt