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View Full Version : Can activated carbon and rowapohs have a negative impact?

Ifeelsick
11/16/2016, 07:28 PM
Hi all, I'm tryng to find out why my coral's look unhappy 5 to 7 day's after a 30% weekly water change. My system seem's unstable even though it has been very clean for the last 2 month's. My tank is only 80l so this could be the problem also.

Any idea's?
mcgyvr
11/17/2016, 06:16 AM
Well.. gfo/rowaphos can strip too much from the water..

Are you monitoring for changes in cal/alk/mag/salinity between water changes?

define "unhappy coral"? Got pics?
Timfish
11/17/2016, 06:43 AM
You can definitely strip out too much and with 30% water change a week I wouldn't be using either one. Like Mcgyver said posting pictures and water parameters would help.
BlackTip
11/17/2016, 09:02 AM
Your tank is only 20g and you are doing 30% weekly water change. I don't think you need GFO.
mcgyvr
11/17/2016, 09:10 AM
Your tank is only 20g and you are doing 30% weekly water change. I don't think you need GFO.

But all the cool kids use it man.. So it must be needed right..
If only there was a way to know if/when you need one.. oh wait..
BlackTip
11/17/2016, 09:34 AM
But all the cool kids use it man.. So it must be needed right..
If only there was a way to know if/when you need one.. oh wait..

I am happy I haven't had to use GFO for the past 3 months. I saved a bit of money and maintenance time. Beside electricity cost, GFO was the most expensive maintenance item. I hope I don't have to use it anytime soon.
ktownhero
11/17/2016, 09:52 AM
Hi all, I'm tryng to find out why my coral's look unhappy 5 to 7 day's after a 30% weekly water change. My system seem's unstable even though it has been very clean for the last 2 month's. My tank is only 80l so this could be the problem also.

Any idea's?

Based on the nature of your question, I'm guessing that you add things to your tank and use things to try to clean the water? Correct me if I'm wrong. But, if true, that's a big mistake on a small tank like that in my opinion. Water changes are all you need. All additives and filter media do are complicate things and increase your risk of a crash due to dependencies on them.

Reef tanks aren't nearly as complicated as many make them out to be, especially at that size. Unless you have hard corals covering every inch of your tank, you don't likely need a single supplement or any type of filtration media. Let nature run its course and stabilize and keep up with your water changes. Eventually, you won't even really need those too often.