Does GFO give advantage to cyano in well fed tank?

[LouH]

I have started feeding my tank for a month or so now with good results. I've always run GFO, but never fed anything other than fish. I could never get Chaeto to grow either. Since starting my feeding regimen (1/2 teaspoon of Coral Frenzy every night just before lights out), I've gotten good growth in my corals and my Chaeto now grows as well. This past weekend I changed out my GFO in a TLF reactor. It hadn't been replaced in a month and was probably spent. I pulled out half of my Chaeto to export nutrients, and away I went. Over the last several days I've noticed less growth and some color fade in the Chaeto. I've also noticed some slime like organism in the refugium growing on the walls and on the Chaeto itself. This leads me to the question; if phospates are limited, will other nuisance organisms that are not algae or phosphate dependent increase in quantity because of nutrient availability?

Lou

 

[Breakbeats2334]

tagging along

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have started feeding my tank for a month or so now with good results. I've always run GFO, but never fed anything other than fish. I could never get Chaeto to grow either.

Your nutrient levels were likely low and not providing enoigh food for the macro. Though, I find it hard to swallow that your (any) tank is that devoid of excess organics in the water column.

Since starting my feeding regimen (1/2 teaspoon of Coral Frenzy every night just before lights out), I've gotten good growth in my corals and my Chaeto now grows as well.

Your dumping a ton of nutrients into the system that it has not thus far been asked to handle.

This past weekend I changed out my GFO in a TLF reactor. It hadn't been replaced in a month and was probably spent. I pulled out half of my Chaeto to export nutrients, and away I went. Over the last several days I've noticed less growth and some color fade in the Chaeto. I've also noticed some slime like organism in the refugium growing on the walls and on the Chaeto itself. This leads me to the question; if phospates are limited, will other nuisance organisms that are not algae or phosphate dependent increase in quantity because of nutrient availability?

Organisms come and go based on the water chemistry and compete with each other for food. What you are seeing now may be something that was kicked off when you increased feeding but took some time to ramp up in population. It could be the result of die off of the macro, or anything else. I would not "blame" the GFO, even if the timeline fits. The bottom line is that you are exporting phosphates via the GFO and other compounds via the macro, and whatever else grows in the refugium. That is a good thing.

 

[psykobowler]

I've had the same experience. I dosed vodka in addition to gfo and running a refugium. It is basically a balancing act between the 3. The other nuisance algae in your refugium is outcompeting the chaeto. Part of my weekly maintenance is to clean my refugium because detritus and other stuff build up in it. You should siphon and shake the chaeto to remove the detritus and siphon the unwanted algae. By doing so, you are cleaning the chaeto and exporting phosphates/nitrates by removing the unwanted algae/slime. Don't let the slime cover the chaeto. It will eventually kill the chaeto if you do not do something about it. Believe it or not, I use only 4 cups of gfo in a 700+ gallon system per month because a lot of the phosphates and nitrates are removed by carbon dosing/wet skimming water changes and harvesting chaeto from the refugium.

 

[LouH]

I've had the same experience. I dosed vodka in addition to gfo and running a refugium. It is basically a balancing act between the 3. The other nuisance algae in your refugium is outcompeting the chaeto. Part of my weekly maintenance is to clean my refugium because detritus and other stuff build up in it. You should siphon and shake the chaeto to remove the detritus and siphon the unwanted algae. By doing so, you are cleaning the chaeto and exporting phosphates/nitrates by removing the unwanted algae/slime. Don't let the slime cover the chaeto. It will eventually kill the chaeto if you do not do something about it. Believe it or not, I use only 4 cups of gfo in a 700+ gallon system per month because a lot of the phosphates and nitrates are removed by carbon dosing/wet skimming water changes and harvesting chaeto from the refugium.

Yep, this is exactly what I started doing. I turn off the flow to the refugium, agressivly wipe off the Chaeto with my hand, scrape the glass and then siphon the sand bed until most of the water in the fuge has been removed. The fuge holds a little over 10 gallons of water over a 3" DSB. I get most of the slime out doing this. and the Chaeto looks good again. It has only been the last several days where the Chaeto hasn't looked good/given good growth. I'll watch and see what happens.

Lou

 

[psykobowler]

FYI, I don't have sand in the sump. It is a nutrient sink and may well be the reason for your cyano issue. I have better luck removing nitrates by carbon dosing and wet skimming than adding a deep sand bed in the fuge. I siphon the fuge clean every week. I also dose Fergon to help my chaeto. Cheers.

 

[sam3113]

I had the same problem with Cyano in my sump taking over the chaeto.I tried manual removal but found it was smothering my chaeto again within a couple of days. Remembering reading numerous posts about low flow and Cyano growth I added a nano power head to my sump to stir up the flow a little instead of a straight never changing stream through.I also reduced the light period in my sump from 12 hours to 8.I have also read that chaeto grows better if constantly tumbling. Since I also have a 3 inch sand bed enough flow to do this is not an option so I manually flip the chaeto every couple days. Since I have started these new changes about a month ago the Cyano is completely gone and my chaeto has turned from a dark brownish green to a bright green.

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[psykobowler]

I had the same problem with Cyano in my sump taking over the chaeto.I tried manual removal but found it was smothering my chaeto again within a couple of days. Remembering reading numerous posts about low flow and Cyano growth I added a nano power head to my sump to stir up the flow a little instead of a straight never changing stream through.I also reduced the light period in my sump from 12 hours to 8.I have also read that chaeto grows better if constantly tumbling. Since I also have a 3 inch sand bed enough flow to do this is not an option so I manually flip the chaeto every couple days. Since I have started these new changes about a month ago the Cyano is completely gone and my chaeto has turned from a dark brownish green to a bright green.

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Way to go! I think some people think refugiums do not need maintenance. Shaking the chaeto every few days is a good thing.