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n8rad
10/20/2009, 04:00 PM
Hello everyone.

So yesterday I started using rowaphos and this morning all my corals are extremely light alsmost white. I know they are not dead because all of the polyps on my sps and lps are out like usual.

So my question is: will the darker/richer colors return over time or are the corals screwed?

Looking for help from people who have experienced the same issue.

thanks,
Nate

jbird69
10/20/2009, 04:05 PM
Not to that extreme, but I have had corals get unhappy when Ive been too aggressive with GFO

Billybeau1
10/20/2009, 07:06 PM
Especially with Rowa and especially if you did not rinse it first.

You should be very careful when introducing an established tank to gfo for the first time. Always rinse it well and only use what the manufacturer recommends at first.

Hopefully you should start seeing color come back in a couple of days. You might do a water change if you have some water made up.

Good luck.

n8rad
10/20/2009, 09:04 PM
you know... I have always been told to wash it. But really what in your opinion does it hurt? I know it makes cloudy water for a little bit, but your skimmer takes that out in a few hours. Is that dust that comes with all GFO even more potent or something?
thanks,
Nate

bertoni
10/20/2009, 10:15 PM
The fine particles might irritate corals, but I don't know of any data on the subject.

Bryan
10/21/2009, 03:22 AM
Keep an eye on your alkalinity. GFO can drop it quickly...

recife111
10/21/2009, 04:09 AM
Make sure you add kh buffer, as it will drop your kh
You corals might also burn as rowa will remove organics so the water will get clearer so they will get more light.

kaskiles
10/21/2009, 04:38 AM
Rinsing GFO is easy. Add your GFO (and GAC) to the reactor dry, then hook it up to the system. Just direct the outlet tubing to a white bucket (instead of back to the sump/tank) and run tank water out until it runs clear (usually 1/4 to 1/2 gallon). Make that part of your weekly/monthly water change water, and you done.

n8rad
10/21/2009, 10:01 AM
thanks guys for all the info, it helped. I checked all my parametes today and everything is right where they should be/always have been. So i will just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the colors to return this week or next..thanks again!

jbird69
10/21/2009, 10:54 AM
thanks guys for all the info, it helped. I checked all my parametes today and everything is right where they should be/always have been. So i will just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the colors to return this week or next..thanks again!


It may take longer than a week or two. The tough thing about this hobby is things can take a fast turn for the worst but never the opposite. Ive had corals that never recovered their original color after a "mistake". Ive also had a couple that took on a new color after recovering from a bleeching event. Ive also had a couple take as long as a year to get back to full color.

As long as the corals still have flesh they should remain healthy and recover.

Plantbrain
10/21/2009, 11:00 AM
BTW make a reference calibration solution for PO4, or NO3...........otherwise you may end up doinn a lot of work, scrubbing, water changes for nothing.

Test kits, does not matter how much they cost, claim etc, must be calibrated to have any confidence in their readings, this applies to 20,000 Beckman's at our lab, certainly applied even more so to the cheapo 20-200$ test kits hobbyists use.

Many try to remove everything, which is not good, you want stable levels where there is less management(and mistakes we aquarist can and often make/neglect etc), so that the N&P stay relatively stable over time.
Then you get good color and health of everything.

You can use the suggestions below to make reference solutions.
You can dilute to get whatever range that you normally target.
KNO3 and KH2PO4 can be bought at www.aquariumfertilizer.com
for cheap(15-20$ with shipping).
Ebay sells decent scales for cheap also.

Likely less than many spend on test kits:idea:
Then you know what the ppm/ppb's are..would you use a pH meter without calibrating it with 2 or more points?

Why then for PO4/NO3?

How to Make NO3 and PO4 Reference Solutions

Here's a way to make 10, 20, 30 and 40 ppm NO3 reference solutions:

Add 1.631 g of KNO3 to 1 L DI/RO water. This makes a 1000 ppm NO3 solution. (It's really a 1000.29 ppm solution.)

Add 2 mL of the 1000 ppm solution to 18 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 20 mL of a 100 ppm NO3 solution.

Add 15 mL of the 100 ppm solution to 15 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 30 mL of a 50 ppm NO3 solution.

To make a 10 ppm NO3 solution:
Add 2 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 8 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 10 ppm NO3 solution.

To make a 20 ppm NO3 solution:
Add 4 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 6 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 20 ppm NO3 solution.

To make a 30 ppm NO3 solution:
Add 6 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 4 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 30 ppm NO3 solution.

To make a 40 ppm NO3 solution:
Add 8 mL of the 50 ppm solution to 2 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 40 ppm NO3 solution.




Here's a way to make 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 ppm PO4 reference solutions:

Add 1.433 g of KH2PO4 to 1 L DI/RO water. This makes a 1000 ppm PO4 solution. (It's really a 1000.09 ppm solution.)

Add 1 mL of the 1000 ppm solution to 9 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 100 ppm PO4 solution.

Add 2 mL of the 100 ppm solution to 18 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 20 mL of a 10 ppm PO4 solution.

To make a 1.0 ppm PO4 solution:
Add 1 mL of the 10 ppm solution to 9 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 1.0 ppm PO4 solution.

To make a 2.0 ppm PO4 solution:
Add 2 mL of the 10 ppm solution to 8 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 2.0 ppm PO4 solution.

To make a 3.0 ppm PO4 solution:
Add 3 mL of the 10 ppm solution to 7 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 3.0 ppm PO4 solution.

To make a 4.0 ppm PO4 solution:
Add 4 mL of the 10 ppm solution to 6 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 4.0 ppm PO4 solution.

To make a 5.0 ppm PO4 solution:
Add 5 mL of the 10 ppm solution to 5 mL of DI/RO water. This makes 10 mL of a 5.0 ppm PO4 solution.


Regards,
Tom Barr

kaskiles
10/21/2009, 12:21 PM
...Add 1.631 g of KNO3...

How much does an electronic balance that can measure 1.631 grams cost? I though ones that just 1.63 were in the $300+ range...

bertoni
10/21/2009, 02:35 PM
Hach makes nitrate reference solutions. They were used in some testing; the results are posted in this forum. I don't think it's worth making or even using standards for most of us. We simply don't need all that much accuracy in nitrate testing.

The Hach phosphate test kit was evaluated and seems to be adequately accurate for our use. I am skeptical that a 5 ppm solution is of much value, in any case, since we needs tests more in the 0.03 ppm range.

Texxxx
10/21/2009, 08:21 PM
How much does an electronic balance that can measure 1.631 grams cost? I though ones that just 1.63 were in the $300+ range...

Here is one for $75

http://www.gramscales.com/product_info.php?cPath=39&products_id=580

Billybeau1
10/21/2009, 08:31 PM
grams are reasonably converted to tsp for our purposes. I'm not sure it is worth even 75 bucks to get it that exact.

JMO. :)

Billybeau1
10/21/2009, 08:40 PM
I guess I'm wondering what use would one have for these homemade reference solutions ?

kaskiles
10/22/2009, 10:47 AM
Here is one for $75

http://www.gramscales.com/product_info.php?cPath=39&products_id=580

Hey, that actually looks like a good one. Thanks!