Question about GFO

[wampuscat]

The first time I used GFO "Rowaphos" I used only about a half an inch in a 2LF's reactor and the hair algae was gone in a few days. But since then every time I have used it, my hair algae seems to get worse. Thinking back over the past year, I have put more Rowaphos in the reactor than I did when I first started using it. And when the hair algae would not go away, I would add more GFO. Well, after a while I decided I would stop using Rowaphos because my algae just kept getting worse. I decided I would try the BRS high capacity phosphate reducer to see what it could do. Sooooooooooo.........

About six weeks ago I moved and put my tank on the back burner for a while until everything in the house founds its place. Once everything found its place about a week ago, I started paying more attention to the tank. I notice a little spot of hair algae in the tank and figured I would add some of the BRS GFO. Well I put about 16 tablespoons into the reactor and the tank is 150 gallons. "The instructions say to add one tablespoon per 8 gallons of water". And to make a long story short....... After a few days the algae had gotten worse, so added some more GFO and now three more days later, it is broken out even worse.

SO WHAT THE HECK IS IN THE GFO THAT MAKES MY ALGAE GET WORSE AND NOT BETTER?????????

[wampuscat]

Is the iron in the GFO what is feeding the algae???????

[Orr2003]

Are you rinsing the the GFO before running the reactor in the main system?
And if so how are you rinsing it?

[wampuscat]

The Rowaphos I would put into the reactor and run ro/di water through it until it was clear and then hook it up to the tank. The BRS I usually just run tank water though the reactor and discard the exit water into a bucket until it runs clear. The BRS is pretty clean stuff, probable not even a gallon of water and it is clear

[tmz]

Iron may be feeding the algae a little . More likely inorganic phosphate is still available in the water , it's coming off the rock.and/ or there is sufficient organic material in the tank breaking down fast enough to replace the PO4 as you are take it out.If your PO4 is very low, below ..02ppm. , algae will be limited by a lack of it . It may still pick it up of the rock for a time,particularly if the rock was expsed to high PO4 levels at some point.What is our PO4 level?

[Percula9]

What are the present nitrate levels? Even though PO4 fuels algae so does nitrate. When were the bulbs last changed in the lighting system? Remove the GFO and see what happens. The move probably caused a nutrient release therefore fueling your algae problems. Right now I would remove as much detritus as possible and do a series of water changes. Reduce feedings and skim wet.

[HighlandReefer]

In most cases the biggest contributor of phosphate in a tank is the fish food you add. I would use a low phosphate food.

GFO may add some iron to your tank water, but I don't believe it would be enough to be concerned about. FWIW, iron is tied up fairly quickly in organic matter & will be skimmed out. Certainly you will want to make sure that the method you use GFO does not allow the release fo the GFO particles in your tank water. If GFO ends up in your tank water, then the iron will be released slowly into your water column.

Depending on your phosphate levels, GFO can get used up within 24 hrs, especiall if your phosphate is high. In many cases GFO will get coated with calcium carbonate fairly quickly and become useless. You don't want to have the GFO in an area where the pH can get high like where cetain alk additives or kalk are added.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are a lot of hobbyists in your same position. Reducing your nitrate and phosphate levels to a zero reading will help in getting rid of many type of algae pests. IME, reducing nitrate and phosphate levels too low can kill or cause problems for many types of coral. Running GAC & GFO will all help in reducing the growth of these type of pests. In many cases they will not eradicate the pest. Vodka dosing will help reduce the nitrate and phosphate levels also, but will not necessarily eradicate the pest either.

A common problem is being able to identify your pest to a catagory correctly: true algae, cyano, dino, bacteria & other assorted pests that look similar. In many cases a micro look at your pest is best to properly ID it to one of these catagories.

IMHO, if you are faced with an algal type pest problem, it is best to implement an algae pest control program strategy:


1) Wet skimming with a good quality skimmer. Clean your skimmer cup at least once per week.

2) Reduce your nitrates and phosphates to a zero reading using the hobby grade test kits. See Randy's articles regarding this:

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...t2003/chem.htm

3) Proper lighting. I find that the higher wavelength bulbs are less conducive to algae growth. I now run 20,000 K bulbs from using 10,000 K bulbs.

4) Proper day length is a good thing also. I would not run your lights for more than 12 hrs total. Keep in mind that light entering from a window nearby is added to this figure.

5) Running GAC is a good practice in my book. It will help reduce the total dissolved organic carbons in your tank water and this is a food source.

6) Proper 30% per month total water changes will help export the DOC as well as some of the pests in the water column. It will help maintain the micro-nutrients as well.

7) Physical removal of the pest by hand, scrubbing and siphoning is important as well. If the amount of pest in your aquarium is overwhelming, perhaps dealing with one section at a time is a better idea.

8) Proper water circulation in your tank to prevent dead zones. When dealing with cyanobacteria pests increasing the flow where it grows seems to help.

9) Use RODI water for all top-off, salt mixing, additive mixes... etc.

10) Dosing iron may have benefits for macro-algae, but if you are experiencing algae pest problems than I would stop dosing it as it can add to the problem in many cases.

11) If you are dosing other supplements such as vitamins, amino acids, or others that contain a mix of supplements other than the basic alk., calcium and magnesium, I would stop these until you gain control of your pest. This includes many of the store bought products with unknown ingredients. Dosing Vodka or sugar to reduce your nitrates and phosphates would be an exception in my opinion.

12) Proper feeding habits. This can be the number one problem when trying to reduce your nitrate and phosphate levels. Use low phosphate fish foods.

13) IMHO, lighted refugiums may be a problem when trying to deal with an algae type pest problem. They are wonderful when it comes to reducing nitrates and phosphates. However, the light over most refugiums is conducive to the microalgae type pests. If the refugium becomes infested with a microalgae pest, I would clean it throughly of all pests as best as possible, remove the macro and turn off the lights until you gain control of your pest. Re-using the same macroalgae later may serve as a source for re-infestation of your pest.

14) Adding fish and other creatures that will eat your algae pest will help.

15) There are other items that can be added to this list if others care too share and some of the items listed may be disputed.