ID please .. NASTY green ... cyno?

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Well I def do not over feed. I feed a pinch of flake food every other day, and a seaweed strip on a rock for my tang once a day. I also use RODI pure water.

The live rock that is in there now was in there when the outbreak of high nitrates and phosphates occurred. So would these same live rock now be soaked in nitrates and phosphates and thus leaking them into the tank? Annnnnnd ... if so, how do I fix that situation? Take all the live rock out and soak it in something? Replace it..?

"Overfeeding" is not the issue with foods, although many folks misunderstand this. Any N and P in the food that goes into the tank ends up mostly as nitrate and phosphate, whether a fish eats it or not.

It is usually just a matter of exporting more than is being added.

How much GFO?

When did you last change it?

 

[specialk]

"Overfeeding" is not the issue with foods, although many folks misunderstand this. Any N and P in the food that goes into the tank ends up mostly as nitrate and phosphate, whether a fish eats it or not.

It is usually just a matter of exporting more than is being added.

How much GFO?

When did you last change it?

I used the recommendation for gfo. I ran it for a week and then it clumbed up into an almost solid mass. Changed it and replaced it with more and ran it for another week. Then once again changed and has now been running for a little over a week going alongside dosing red sea Nopox. Nitrates are now 0 and phosphates have been slow but steady coming down. Juat did another water change...consistently 25% every 2 weeks

 

[specialk]

I am NOT running carbon however...although I am about to start and put a filter bag full of it in my sump

 

[Hunter S Thompson]

I think it would be worth your time to read this thread on Hydrogen Peroxide: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef2reef-pest-algae-challenge-thread-hydrogen-peroxide.187042/

Since you don't know for sure what type of green this is, you might want to try a sample rock dipped outside the tank first.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I used the recommendation for gfo. I ran it for a week and then it clumbed up into an almost solid mass. Changed it and replaced it with more and ran it for another week. Then once again changed and has now been running for a little over a week going alongside dosing red sea Nopox. Nitrates are now 0 and phosphates have been slow but steady coming down. Juat did another water change...consistently 25% every 2 weeks

How high were the actual phosphate values? If it is significantly elevated, GFO can deplete in less than a week.

 

[specialk]

How high were the actual phosphate values? If it is significantly elevated, GFO can deplete in less than a week.

It was high. But again could mot get super accurate readings cause i did not have the hanna checker. But by generic tests it was dropping and I was changing the gfo often.

If it was high do you think the rocks are now saturated in phosphates and needs to be cleaned?

 

[specialk]

I think it would be worth your time to read this thread on Hydrogen Peroxide: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/reef2reef-pest-algae-challenge-thread-hydrogen-peroxide.187042/

Since you don't know for sure what type of green this is, you might want to try a sample rock dipped outside the tank first.

Thanks Hunter! Gonna check this out right away!

 

[NeptuneGarden]

The live rock that is in there now was in there when the outbreak of high nitrates and phosphates occurred. So would these same live rock now be soaked in nitrates and phosphates and thus leaking them into the tank? Annnnnnd ... if so, how do I fix that situation? Take all the live rock out and soak it in something? Replace it..?

ding ding ding ....... correct answer.

there are chemical phosphate remover dips, but no experience with them. Live rock can definitely soak up a LOT of phosphates and then leach it back out over time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It was high. But again could mot get super accurate readings cause i did not have the hanna checker. But by generic tests it was dropping and I was changing the gfo often.

If it was high do you think the rocks are now saturated in phosphates and needs to be cleaned?

Phosphate, yes, nitrate, no, it does not bind to calcium carbonate.

Just keep at exporting the phosphate and it will decline.

 

[specialk]

Phosphate, yes, nitrate, no, it does not bind to calcium carbonate.

Just keep at exporting the phosphate and it will decline.

Thanks Randy ....so in your opinion just keep running gfo and it will slowly get back to normal and there will be mo need to take the rocks out and clean them etc?