Added some new equipment and my sps is bleaching

[JTM4UG]

I was experiencing quite a bit of hair algae in my tank. In the last month or so i added very small gfo reactor to my rsm 250. Last week i added two full suze reactors with gfo and carbon. My phosphates have dropped a little faster than expected and im seeing a good amount of decrease in hair algae. This is exactly what i was going for but now im seeing some bleaching on branch tips on my sps colonies. Any suggestions on what to do?

 

[showard]

I think you depleted the nutrients too quickly. Whenever changing anything go slow, it could also be phosphate burn. If you post a picture then we could help more

 

[jokersplayground]

You could have gfo shocked your corals. It's very common and and most labels tell you to start off with a very small amount of gfo and increase it slowly till you see your phosphates drop.

 

[reefstarter]

You could have gfo shocked your corals. It's very common and and most labels tell you to start off with a very small amount of gfo and increase it slowly till you see your phosphates drop.

+1 to this , additionally when using GFO it is very important to thoroughly rinse it . what I do is set up the reactor with a 5 gallon bucket and an MJ pump separate from the tank . and let it run at least overnight if not a full 24 hours . then add the reactors to your tank . GFO can affect PH and it will drop very suddenly . and ferric is an acid . also once the water is cleaner by removing phosphates light penetration is increased . the combination causes "burnt tips "

 

[dz6t]

I don't use GFO, GFO is ferric oxide hydroxide and it binds to phosphate rapidly. Itself will be depleted quickly because only the surface is active. There are several side effects of GFO which including but not limited to:
1. Extensive precipitation of carbonates which contribute to a drop in alkalinity and possibly pH.
2. There are many reported effects on coral which include tissue recession and bleaching, possibly due to impact on symbiotic algae and rapid drops of available phosphate as nutrient.

 

[this is me]

I've ran GFO with all my tanks for over 10 years now and have no issue with running it.
The issue I see with you is that you dropped the nutrient level too fast and the corals are shocked.
If your PO4 is <0.04ppm, I don't see any issue with using GFO regardless of how fast you drop it to 0.00ppm.
If your PO4 is >0.06ppm, then there might be an issue dropping it too fast.

 

[s_kelley]

Yup yup n yup, all good info above!

 

[JTM4UG]

I went from using a small reactor with gfo to a larger one so i didnt think it was going to be so fast. I Rinsed the gfo in ro water before using it. What do you suggest i do now that ive noticed this?

 

[JTM4UG]

Been running the reactors for over a week now

 

[HuuTa]

Way too fast.When using gfo always use half of the recommendation to start off with and after a few weeks change out to the full amount.You shocked the corals by stripping the nutrient too fast.You know the saying that nothing good happen fast in this hobby is what happen in your case

 

[freakit]

+8

What is your nitrate at? FYI, low nutrients and high alk causes burned tips in sps and bleaching. If you haven't already take gfo offline.

 

[wolffman1992]

One technique I have read that seems to work well is only running the gfo for a few hours a day. Using less than the recomended amount is fine but it only means you have to change the media out more than you have to using the recomended amount. The amount of Gfo used dictates the capacity by which it can absorb phosphates. If you were to cut but running the unit to maybe two hours a day and slowly increase it every week by one hour you should be all set.

 

[this is me]

One technique I have read that seems to work well is only running the gfo for a few hours a day. Using less than the recomended amount is fine but it only means you have to change the media out more than you have to using the recomended amount. The amount of Gfo used dictates the capacity by which it can absorb phosphates. If you were to cut but running the unit to maybe two hours a day and slowly increase it every week by one hour you should be all set.

Interesting. GFO requires constant tumbling otherwise it will bind together. How would avoid this issue with intermittent usage?

 

[wolffman1992]

No sure as I dont personally run it on my SPS tank never had a reason to. I saw it written in an article featured on an olive magazine (not a forum) and the technique seemed to work for the author. I will try to dig up the article and post a link to it.

 

[dz6t]

Good point Nick, GFO caking is a big issue without a tumbling reactor.

 

[JTM4UG]

So ive already shut down the reactors, planning on doing water changes tonight. Will test all and nitrates tonight and give you the numbers. Anything else that i can do that will help?

 

[jokersplayground]

Just give it a lil time.