GFO and Zoa's

[SaltyStlouis]

i added a gfo and carbon reactor from bulk reef supply yesterday and i added their recommended amount of media. today i come home and my 3 colony's of zoas are all half open ( showing centers but no finger extension at all). is this normal for adding gfo or carbon to a tank that has never had it before ?

i added the reactor cause i could see some hair algae starting to pick back up after my recent heavy feedings for trying to get a sick fish to eat plus i added my first 3 sps frags 2 weeks ago and i figured this would help them thrive.. well back to the point the fish died and now there's hair algae and the tang cant keep up !!

Thanks, Jason

[phurst]

The carbon and GFO themselves shouldn't cause it, but if you haven't run carbon in a while, and don't use O3 or UV, the carbon can clarify the water to an amazing degree. It can mean your corals are getting a good bit more light then they were before.

[SIR PATRICK]

Also, if you havnt ever used gfo and phosphates were high prior to use, you can get what I call gfo shock. Rapid drop in phosphates that can do serious damage to your reef tank inhabitance. I wiped a tank full of sps a few years ago this way, and know a few people that did the same thing. I always start very slow when starting up a new phos reactor for this reason. I use 1/4 of the recomended dose and work my way up as time passes.

[phurst]

Isn't that more of a concern for SPS? I've seen people do the same thing, but don't recall any issues with their zoas. May not have been paying attention though.

[SIR PATRICK]

LPS is efected pretty bad, and I have seen iritated zoas from it. Never lost a zoa from it, but pretty irritated for a while.

[kruxy]

some report ph shifts with a fresh batch of gfo, which can stress the tank, decent chance that is what happened

[SaltyStlouis]

well update is i come home today to the only lps piece i have dead!! it was a nice little frag that ive had for a few weeks now so i know this caused it ..

i know my ph has remained pretty stable as i have a reef keeper controller and have been keeping a close eye on it.

zoas look better and are open so thats good news, also it dont look none of my sps has been shocked but im still holding my breath

so my new question is will i not be able to add any lps frags while running GFO?

[SIR PATRICK]

With the right aclimation, you should be fine.

[SaltyStlouis]

well whats the right acclimation?

[SIR PATRICK]

Just take your time getting the coral into the tank. You can also look into drip aclimation if you want to be extra carfull. Unless there is a huge difference between your parameters in the bag, whatever aclimation you are using should be fine. A fast change in parameters will be bad for your new corals, regardless if you have been running gfo or not. Also aclimate to lighting. Start at the bottom and work your way up till the coral is happy.

[SaltyStlouis]

well thanks Sir Patrick ill keep all those tips in mind.

i checked phosphate today and the tank level and the level from the output of the reactor matched so i guess its time to change it out. i have a water change to do tomorrow so ill do it then ....i can see a difference already tho so i guess im on the right track ill just keep it up !!

i had one sps rtn on me but im not to upset i fragged it up and i think some of the pieces will make it. the lps i thought was dead is looking alittle better each day so i got my fingers crossed that when i change media it dont take a turn for the worse again !!

[thebest3]

the same thing happen to me and everything turn greenish yellow..i have to do a 50% water change and take out the gfo,lost couple polyp and about a week later everything seen to go back to normal..i dont recommend using gfo unlast you know what you are doing...