So, if not a phosphates/GFO issue (which seems to be the consensus in the thread so far) sps color may be influenced by other factors, right? What kind of lighting do you run? That's a variable in sps color, right?
Running GFO/ Carbon?
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Do you have a phosphate checker or a phosphorous checker? If it's phorphorous, you need to multiply by 3.066 to convert P to PO4.
ahtatt
Active Member
i would say you might not need it.
I have a 125g mixed reef with sps, lps, and softies. I had run gfo for about 6 months after I upgraded, and my phosphates went crazy, along a nasty silicate brown slime over everything. My phosphates went down, as did my silicate problem, but after a while I believe it began stripping too much out of my water.
I think the gfo was keeping the levels of nutrients the corals need so low, my sps began to brown out.
Now, I dont run gfo, I feed my corals more often, and only run my skimmer at night.
The results are slow, but definately positive.
I have a 125g mixed reef with sps, lps, and softies. I had run gfo for about 6 months after I upgraded, and my phosphates went crazy, along a nasty silicate brown slime over everything. My phosphates went down, as did my silicate problem, but after a while I believe it began stripping too much out of my water.
I think the gfo was keeping the levels of nutrients the corals need so low, my sps began to brown out.
Now, I dont run gfo, I feed my corals more often, and only run my skimmer at night.
The results are slow, but definately positive.
DrewBrees713
Well-Known Member
You meant .o3-.05?
mos90
New Member
the hanna phohate meter does have an error of .04 +/- if your getting a reading of .06 your actual phos levels could be as high as .1 or as low as .02. big difference. i would get a second test, i prefer salfert and double check.. the salfert test is accurate enough to clarify the hanna's results. .1 is getting close to higher then desirable.
OP
OP
RedReefer
2500 Club Member
I also took measurements by dropping the water level during maintenance and using a tape measure. I only have about 42-45 gal in my display and 12 gal in my sump. I was changing 20gal a week and running a way oversized skimmer. I also was running the BRS recommended amount of gfo and carbon.( when researched is too much). Five small fish and all of the above leads me to the conclusion I'm stripping my water. I took the carbon& GFO offline. Cut my water changes to 10 gals a week and I already see improvements in color. Its been one week so we'll see. Time will tell.
