Massive GHA problem + cannot get phosphates to drop

[jmNoles]

I'm currently battling a GHA problem on my 45 AIO cube and am just completely at a loss. Willing to hear any and all advice and would prefer not to use Vibrant since I've read horror stories. I used Reef Flux to fix this in the past but would prefer not to run it again and just figure out where all this excess phosphate is coming from.

Parameters:

Nitrate - between 5-10
Phos - .18. It was .16 after performing a water change last night. Added new phosguard after WC.
Ca - 460
Alk - 8.3
Mg. 1270

Light is a Reefbreeders photon 24-V2+ running about 35% power. Stocking: 2 clowns, 1 banggai cardinal, 1 royal gramma, 1 coral beauty angel. LPS/soft corals, no SPS. System is over a year old.

 

[jx.reef]

Imo herbivores and a strong cleanup crew will be more impactful than trying to drop nitrate phosphate. My tank has now shot up to 50 nitrate and 2+ phosphate but I don’t have a spec of algae anywhere. Corals also much happier than when I was battling 0 nitrate/phosphate. My scopas, lawnmower blenny and army of snails/hermits decimate all plant matter lol

 

[jx.reef]

And just to add, manual removal to give your CUC and herbivores a head start is also key if you try that approach

 

[Bato367]

I'm currently battling a GHA problem on my 45 AIO cube and am just completely at a loss. Willing to hear any and all advice and would prefer not to use Vibrant since I've read horror stories. I used Reef Flux to fix this in the past but would prefer not to run it again and just figure out where all this excess phosphate is coming from.

Parameters:

Nitrate - between 5-10
Phos - .18(!!!). It was .9 after performing a water change last night, meaning it doubled overnight and AFTER adding new Phosguard!
Ca - 460
Alk - 8.3
Mg. 1270

Light is a Reefbreeders photon 24-V2+ running about 35% power. Stocking: 2 clowns, 1 banggai cardinal, 1 royal gramma, 1 coral beauty angel. LPS/soft corals, no SPS. System is over a year old.

Is your sand dirty?

 

[jx.reef]

Is your sand dirty?

Pristine white. I hired a diamond goby that does an amazing job

 

[jx.reef]

Whoops misread that last message. Apologies!

 

[Cell]

.9 doubled is not .18, did you mean 1.8?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Imo herbivores and a strong cleanup crew will be more impactful than trying to drop nitrate phosphate. My tank has now shot up to 50 nitrate and 2+ phosphate but I don’t have a spec of algae anywhere. Corals also much happier than when I was battling 0 nitrate/phosphate. My scopas, lawnmower blenny and army of snails/hermits decimate all plant matter lol

This is the way.

I have had a fox face, scopas, and Lm blenny Clean up every piece of green hair algae in an overrun tank, in 3 weeks.

 

[jmNoles]

Is your sand dirty?

It’s not. I siphon it out during each weekly WC. It’s crushed coral substrate

.9 doubled is not .18, did you mean 1.8?

lol oh no — It’s .18, I just can’t do basic math. So it must’ve actually dropped by .02

 

[Cell]

.9 to .18 is a drop of .72

 

[brahm]

.09 or .9? Once your phosphates are up and bound to everything it will take time to get them out, specially if you haven’t identified the source. You can pull them out of the water test and then they’ll leach from your rocks etc and each time though it should be at a total reduction for a net loss.

I use GFO and haven’t used phosgaurd but it looks like a decent GFO alternative but needs to be changed frequently. Some folks swear by lanthanum chloride but I don’t have any experience with it yet.

What are you feeding, have you tested your new salt water? Once you can reduce where it’s being added it sounds like your on the right track but need time.

 

[Lavey29]

Your numbers aren't high at all. How old is the tank? perhaps it is part of your maturing process? Get an urchin to wipe it out. Turn your light down to 6 hours and run blues only no white.

 

[Cell]

Careful with GFO and phosguard, they work very quickly. That's a fast drop.

 

[Pistondog]

For 0.18, phosgard is good. 2 tablespoons. Get a blenny, tailspot or lawnmower

 

[jmNoles]

After looking back at my notes I actually typed the phos # wrong. Was .16 before WC and adding new Phosguard last night. It's .18 tonight

 

[Rmckoy]

The sand is clean …
I’d consider removing the rocks , giving them a good soak and scrub .

phosphates are coming from somewhere . More likely leaching from the rocks .

 

[Cell]

Is that pukani?

 

[Mal11224]

You have to understand that GHA is something you will be dealing with for a while before it is gone. With that in mind, it is not necessary to reduce your nutrients so fast if at all. Although your tank is over a year old, there is something going on in it that is causing this. constant rise and fall of nutrients causes an imbalance in the tank. Just like growing corals, the tank needs to be stable not only for alk and cal, but also no3 and po4 as well. Feeding the same types of food on schedule Will help to keep nutrients level. You can win the battle with some Hard work. Fish will not touch it. You will need to pull out as much as you can, use a toothbrush to scrape it. I would also let it grow to the point where you can grab it with your fingers or tweezers. Once the tank becomes balanced, the gha will start to fade and die off. this will take some time but it can be done. This is what I did when I had it and my no3 and po4 was near zero.

 

[Bato367]

I'm currently battling a GHA problem on my 45 AIO cube and am just completely at a loss. Willing to hear any and all advice and would prefer not to use Vibrant since I've read horror stories.

My first reef tank was a failure and mostly because of GHA. This was because I was being cheap, and I made a huge mistake. I reused my 55-gallon tank which was previously an African Cichlid tank. Since they had aragonite sand, I thought I could save a bunch of money. Months in, I battled GHA, and I would pull it out weekly by the handfuls. Several months later after research, and learning even what Phosphates were, I tested for them. They were off the charts and that's when it dawned on me, the sand was the culprit. A stupid rookie mistake. I eventually eliminated the GHA but then it all just turned into Bubble Algae lol.

It sounds like you however are way past the rookie level of reefing and it's not as obvious as my experience was with GHA. So, I don't know...Maybe foods that you're feeding? Your levels aren't that high. Maybe recheck levels with another kit? Since they're not that high, I am sure you can beat it.

 

[fishgutz]

Hair algae is really one of the easier problems to deal with. Don't do anything fast that will destabilize your tank. This includes chemicals, taking rocks out, or any other significant changes to what you are doing now.

Do your best to remove what hair algae you can manually without removing rocks. I like to do this just prior to or during a water change.

In addition to this, invest in a good cleanup crew. I'm not talking about snails. I'm talking about some nice hungry tangs.

Between manual removal, the tangs, and consistent maintenance the hair algae will disappear in no time.

Don't let the tang police discourage you from tangs. If they outgrow the tank, trade them to back to your LFS or give them to some friends with larger tanks.

Be patient. If you start to feel frustrated, remind yourself it could be dinos.