Phosphate Sink

[Freddy0144]

Good Day Reefers,

So, I just came back from a small trip, and tested the day after I returned. (it should be noted that I used an auto feeder during my time away) all of the critters did great while I was gone, however when I tested the tank nitrate was great at 6 but Phosphate was reading .62 from .20 the previous week. That is a huge jump! I was like well I guess the tank was over fed while I was gone. Then I started looking around the tank and in the over flow towers.

In the towers I noticed this white flowy mucus looking stuff forming at the bottom of the tower. I knew this was bad. I created a siphon tube out of 1/2 PVC and removed the white stuff not an issue. I threw on some GFO to run for a couple of days. Last night I tested the Phosphate again after letting the tank settle for 24 hours after removing the white stuff. Phosphate was down to .20. I would like to see it drop down further and I am still running the GFO.

My question here is I am not planning on running the GFO long term, and it will be no means be exhausted by the time I am ready to pull it out..

Can this be stored or do I just trash it?
If it can be stored some how, how do I go about it?

 

[blaxsun]

I know most GFO arrives a little damp, but I'm not sure how effective it is if you remove it early, dry and re-store in a container. My guess is somewhat. You could always try running a small portion in a media bag for a month at a time.