When to stop GFO?

[mbarber87]

I had super high phosphates a few days ago, so I got some GFO running. Within a few days, it went from .41(tuesday) to .06(friday morning).

Should I turn it off or let it keep going? I'm newer to this so I really don't know the best way to maintain .06.

 

[SMSREEF]

I had super high phosphates a few days ago, so I got some GFO running. Within a few days, it went from .41(tuesday) to .06(friday morning).

Should I turn it off or let it keep going? I'm newer to this so I really don't know the best way to maintain .06.

I would turn it off for now.
See what happens with your level. You can always turn it back on when needed.

That’s a huge drop really quick and could cause problems if you go lower, and certainly will cause problems if you get to a real 0.

 

[mbarber87]

I would turn it off for now.
See what happens with your level. You can always turn it back on when needed.

That’s a huge drop really quick and could cause problems if you go lower, and certainly will cause problems if you get to a real 0.

Ok great thanks. yeah I've been using NOPOX and it does a really good job on nitrates, not so much phosphates.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

I'll second that advice. If you've acropora in your reef tank, going from 410 ppb to 60 ppb in a two or three days is often problematic, and in some cases can actually cause RTN in that genus. Other stony corals seem to be more resilient to large changes in inorganic phosphate.

If it were my tank, I'd take the GFO completely out of the system, and feed heavily for a few days to get the inorganic phosphate >/= 200 ppb.