Refugium or not?

[fishnugget1]

My phosphates are between .03-.08

My nitrates are at 0. I hate to dose nitrate. My refugium grows like crazy.

Am I better off eliminating refugium and do frequent wc for nitrates and use GFO.

New philosophy is to keep some level of nitrate.

Confused

 

[JoshH]

You could trim your algae more frequently and take out more than usual. Starting much smaller will slow the consumption of nitrates

 

[serwobow]

+1 on eliminating refugium. I got rid of my algae refugium because it was too effective and corals were starving for nutrients. Now I have corals in my refugium instead, which is cool. Nitrates and phosphates have slowly started to increase. Corals are happier.
GFO is good for phosphate control, but maybe not necessary either.

 

[o2manyfish]

Before removing the refugium, just slowly lower the amount of time your refugium gets light -- Slow changes in this hobby are always better than drastic. Drop your refugium lighting by a few hours and then wait a few weeks to see the effects. Keep lowering till you find the balance that works for your tank. And if you want more Phos and Nitrate....More Fish!!!