Coral Shrinking after Adding GFO...why? *video*

I don't doubt your observation ;just don't know how it would happen absent some significant acidification from organics on the rock and CO2 production; even then some rock would dissolve adding carbonate alkainity and calcium , The aragonite itself mostly is calcium carbonate. Is coraline growing on the new rock?
 
Received PO4 test today, it tests .03 on GFO still.

That coral still looks real bad, everything else is fat an happy. Will it get used to the "normal" PO4 level?

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RIP Devils Finger coral... it didn't make it.

That coral is considered a moderately difficult one. My tank was too new for it, and the wife didn't really know when she bought it.

On to more "easy" corals.
Everything else is fat and happy and PO4 normal with 1/3 cup GFO.
 
Devil's hand,aka finger coral is lobophytum. Sorry for the loss.
 
I'm still amazed at the difference in opinions in this hobby. Here we have some saying to have some phosphate in the water. Some say to not do dosing, but to just do water changes. I feel more confused everytime I research something. At this stage, I think I'm going fish only because I get so many different ideas.
 
Main thing, test your water: eliminates a lot of guessing, which is why answers are all over the map. If you have tests (Salifert is a good brand) for Salinity (tester), Nitrate, Phosphate, Alkalinity, Calcium, and Magnesium, you're pretty well supplied. If you test mg every other week, and alk and cal if mg falls; plus test nitrate and phosphate and salinity monthly, you'll be able to tell WHAT is going on and how to fix it at any given time. Corals are actually easier than fish, but you do have to establish a baseline for your water conditions and then test if you suspect water quality has veered off. Fixing it is usually a matter of putting in a teaspoon or so of the correct supplement powder.
 
It only seems difficult in the beginning. As for dosing, the tests tell the story in an unambiguous way. If your depletion rate gets to where your standard water change routine can't keep stable parameters, you have about 5 ways to address it.

-Automated 2 part dosing
-Dosing 2 part by hand
-Kalk
-Calcium Reactor
-Do nothing and thru tial & error keep corals that can live & grow in your natural conditions. These will most likely be soft corals and polyps.
 
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