Need advice !! Ready to give up

[ireland425]

Also check for stray electricity

 

[James M]

Also check for stray electricity

Don’t have anything to test it with

 

[James M]

I’m a little concern on using gfo but I wanted to thank you for everyone who is helping, I appreciate it a ton.
Here’s a couple pics, It’s amazing how fast things bounce back. Lights just went off so some others are closed alreadyz

 

[ireland425]

Don’t have anything to test it with

Multi meter $20 at harbor frieght

 

[Katrina71]

Told ya.

 

[Saltyreef]

Dont let people scare you away from using GFO. Run it until your phosphates are testing zero. This could take a few days so the time you have to remove the bag of media is ample. Once you remove the bag it can no longer remove anything from the water. Of course you would fill the bag with only as much as the size of tank requires as to not cause problems. Or just buy yourself some chemiclean. Thats what i used for my nano. Now i buy in bulk and fill bags. Much cheaper.
I would reccomend what Davocean said before, get yourself some salifert mag, alk, cal, n02, p04 test kits and keep a close eye on your parameters.
Remember coral growth can ****** in as little as .02ppm of phosphate presence in the water.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

I’m a little concern on using gfo but I wanted to thank you for everyone who is helping, I appreciate it a ton.
Here’s a couple pics, It’s amazing how fast things bounce back. Lights just went off so some others are closed alreadyz

I just read this entire thread, sorry I didn't notice it sooner. I'm so glad your tank is starting to bounce back. It looks like you have been receiving help from some awesome people. I plan to follow along, I want to see your tank and corals flurish! Glad to see your sticking with it!

 

[hart24601]

I just read this entire thread, sorry I didn't notice it sooner. I'm so glad your tank is starting to bounce back. It looks like you have been receiving help from some awesome people. I plan to follow along, I want to see your tank and corals flurish! Glad to see your sticking with it!

Exactly what I was going to say! What a great community and stick with it!

 

[ZaneTer]

Dont let people scare you away from using GFO. Run it until your phosphates are testing zero. This could take a few days so the time you have to remove the bag of media is ample. Once you remove the bag it can no longer remove anything from the water. Of course you would fill the bag with only as much as the size of tank requires as to not cause problems. Or just buy yourself some chemiclean. Thats what i used for my nano. Now i buy in bulk and fill bags. Much cheaper.
I would reccomend what Davocean said before, get yourself some salifert mag, alk, cal, n02, p04 test kits and keep a close eye on your parameters.
Remember coral growth can ****** in as little as .02ppm of phosphate presence in the water.

I am sorry but I going to go directly against this advice. Do not run your phosphate to zero. I have been down this road myself. It will only end in disaster.

PO4 is critical for cellular repair and growth. If you want to see STN then strip all the phosphate out your water. It will set in pretty quickly. Also in only a 20g tank you are only going to need maybe 50g of GFO at most. If you are concerned with algae get a turbo snail or perform more regular water changes. Personally I love herbivores.

@James M
Thank you for the update pics and well done on getting everything back in order. This is probably only the first hiccup you have encountered but as time progresses it gets easier to deal with them. Please continue to keep us posted.

Enjoy your Kenya tree, it will probably be dropping babies in no time. I’m not 100% sure you will like that but it’s cool nonetheless.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Exactly what I was going to say! What a great community and stick with it!

I just read through the entire thread and I'm honored to be apart of a community that reaches out to help one another for the love of the hobby and the helping spirit of it's members! Bravo!

I'm all smiles for @James M and glad your tank is on the rebound. Hang in there! We've all been there!

Anyone that needs help and is feeling defeated, just type #reefsquad and we'll come running!

 

[Saltyreef]

I am sorry but I going to go directly against this advice. Do not run your phosphate to zero. I have been down this road myself. It will only end in disaster.

PO4 is critical for cellular repair and growth. If you want to see STN then strip all the phosphate out your water. It will set in pretty quickly. Also in only a 20g tank you are only going to need maybe 50g of GFO at most. If you are concerned with algae get a turbo snail or perform more regular water changes. Personally I love herbivores.

@James M
Thank you for the update pics and well done on getting everything back in order. This is probably only the first hiccup you have encountered but as time progresses it gets easier to deal with them. Please continue to keep us posted.

Enjoy your Kenya tree, it will probably be dropping babies in no time. I’m not 100% sure you will like that but it’s cool nonetheless.

This is for the majority of sps and a few lps....i dont see the OP having anything near what requires a little phosphate in the water.
Personally ive followed this fundimental rule of keeping my waste and toxins CLOSE to zero and it does far less damage to my livestock than slightly elevated. Everyones going to think their way is better but im just giving advice for what has worked for me. You shouldnt be scared to use GFO to quickly take care of a phosphate problem. They find their way back into the tank quite easy through many sources so a removal of a decently elevated level should be dealt with accordingly.
If his phosphate was down below .10 i wouldnt be pushing the fact but as coral continues to receed, the parameters are only pointing at a few things left.
His system is not dialed in nor stocked to worry about STN on any of his livestock at this point...

 

[DSC reef]

This is for the majority of sps and a few lps....i dont see the OP having anything near what requires a little phosphate in the water.
Personally ive followed this fundimental rule of keeping my waste and toxins CLOSE to zero and it does far less damage to my livestock than slightly elevated. Everyones going to think their way is better but im just giving advice for what has worked for me. You shouldnt be scared to use GFO to quickly take care of a phosphate problem. They find their way back into the tank quite easy through many sources so a removal of a decently elevated level should be dealt with accordingly.
If his phosphate was down below .10 i wouldnt be pushing the fact but as coral continues to receed, the parameters are only pointing at a few things left.
His system is not dialed in nor stocked to worry about STN on any of his livestock at this point...

Also, members are just trying to help out with methods that work for them. While I agree you should not be scared to use GFO but it should be used carefully as stripping GFO to quickly can and will have drastic effects all it's own.

 

[Saltyreef]

Also, members are just trying to help out with methods that work for them. While I agree you should not be scared to use GFO but it should be used carefully as stripping GFO to quickly can and will have drastic effects all it's own.

Which they should be sharing. Nobody is telling them otherwise. But they shouldnt act like im giving bad information because im not. Phosphates have their place but they do cause issues where they should be removed if elevated enough.
A very popular and trusted coral shop (some consider even famous)here in the bay area had guided me yeeeeeaars ago when they first opened on this subject and ive used their fundimental guidelines my whole reef keeping carrer.
Im not just speaking out my rear end for the heck of it lol!

 

[DSC reef]

Which they should be sharing. Nobody is telling them otherwise. But they shouldnt act like im giving bad information because im not. Phosphates have their place but they do cause issues where they should be removed if elevated enough.
A very popular and trusted coral shop (some consider even famous)here in the bay area had guided me yeeeeeaars ago when they first opened on this subject and ive used their fundimental guidelines my whole reef keeping carrer.
Im not just speaking out my rear end for the heck of it lol!

No one is accusing you of anything and you're just being defensive. You should RESPECT others advice as well. No one hear has purposely disagreed with you. Everyone has different methods and were a reefing family who loves helping eachother, no need to be that way. I've been doing this for years as well, more than one way to run tank...

 

[Flippers4pups]

Which they should be sharing. Nobody is telling them otherwise. But they shouldnt act like im giving bad information because im not. Phosphates have their place but they do cause issues where they should be removed if elevated enough.
A very popular and trusted coral shop (some consider even famous)here in the bay area had guided me yeeeeeaars ago when they first opened on this subject and ive used their fundimental guidelines my whole reef keeping carrer.
Im not just speaking out my rear end for the heck of it lol!

I understand.

Depending on what's kept in a system, general rules of water pramameters would be for available nutrients:

5-10ppm N03 and 0.02 for P04.

Not every system is the same and chasing numbers isn't always a good thing, but in relative terms keeping N03 above P04 can keep nuisance algaes at bay. This isn't always the case. Other factors of lighting, flow feeding and general husbandry weigh in on health of the tank.

On use of GFO, it's best to use if your P04 has risen above that of your N03 and your clearly experiencing nuisance algae issues. Testing your water pramameters on a regular basis is ideal, especially when a tank is very young.

 

[James M]

Guys can we all get along.. I know everyone has their own opinions but don’t get upset when someone goes against your advice, it’s their opinion too.
Why exactly am I using GFO? Algea isn’t my concern as of now. My main goal is getting the coral happy and back on track. As salty reed said that my hammer will thank me later if I run GFO. I thought 0.2 was the ideal area you want to keep them ?

 

[Saltyreef]

No one is accusing you of anything and you're just being defensive. You should RESPECT others advice as well. No one hear has purposely disagreed with you. Everyone has different methods and were a reefing family who loves helping eachother, no need to be that way. I've been doing this for years as well, more than one way to run tank...

Absolutely agree. But to quote a post and then say how you disagree 100% with me and splurge your crap like your the king of reefing? Not being defensive just pointing out something that clearly does nobody any good....but youll have your opinions too.

 

[Saltyreef]

Guys can we all get along.. I know everyone has their own opinions but don’t get upset when someone goes against your advice, it’s their opinion too.
Why exactly am I using GFO? Algea isn’t my concern as of now. My main goal is getting the coral happy and back on track. As salty reed said that my hammer will thank me later if I run GFO. I thought 0.2 was the ideal area you want to keep them ?

.02. Your about .18 over where you should target your P04. Thats all im trying to say. Try some gfo and see what happens. Trial and error is a part of this hobby. Nobody is going to solve your issues 100%.
Dont let people scare you out of using something that works. You just use some common sense and caution then youll be just fine. So will your tank.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Guys can we all get along.. I know everyone has their own opinions but don’t get upset when someone goes against your advice, it’s their opinion too.
Why exactly am I using GFO? Algea isn’t my concern as of now. My main goal is getting the coral happy and back on track. As salty reed said that my hammer will thank me later if I run GFO. I thought 0.2 was the ideal area you want to keep them ?

Agreed James. GFO can strip water of P04 quickly.

As of early this year, my system became P04 deficient. My corals became pale and growth was at a stand still. I started dosing phosphate to get them up to detectable levels and they rebounded in color and growth.

As I stated, you need some N03 and P04 in a system for your corals to be healthy. Using GFO isn't something you need to use all the time and especially if you don't test for P04.

Not saying this is the case for you. But I've seen too many hobbyist just run it for the heck of it, because someone told them too.

You may hear the term "Redfield ratio" when discussions of N03 and P04 are talked about. It's used loosely in reference to what ive stated above.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Absolutely agree. But to quote a post and then say how you disagree 100% with me and splurge your crap like your the king of reefing? Not being defensive just pointing out something that clearly does nobody any good....but youll have your opinions too.

We can agree to disagree in a civil manner. Please keep a open mind in the discussion and respectful to others in the forum. Thank you!