having problems keeping color in my sps, they pale out about a week or 2 after i put them in, dose vodka, run gfo in reactor, run gac in reactor, have 16 fish in an 80g and i still can't keep any color, was wondering if it was possible i was overdosing GAC, bout the only thing i have left to narrow it down to other than starting to try some additives. also i 2 part dose and used "eco rock" from BRS and used bio spira from IO to get it up and going, so.... can GAC be paling my corals out? i do run about 2-3 cups in my reactor, guess i never thought it could hurt.... so can it? also NO3 and PO4 are undetectable on salifert... my glass takes about 3-4 days before i see any kinda of build up on it, and its never green, just gets kinda hazy... leads me to believe i have a lack of nutrients...
Overdose GAC?
- Thread starter rireuter
- Start date
Alex T.
Active member
It may be nutrients, but I'm thinking it may be more of a lighting issue. How are you acclimating your new corals? Remember that most online frag farmers have their lights suspended a ways off the water and on light rails to save on electricity. This, coupled with 20k bulbs make us drool over the colors we buy based on a picture. When I started taking longer to acclimate my corals from the bottom to their final glue spot I had less color shifts overall. If you suspect nutrients are the issue, slowly feed a little more...but nothing drastic and see what follows.
I did vodka, but found it made my tank too clean and sterile. A little dirty (detectable to 5 ppm nitrate) can show some amazing colors without having to dose amino acids and other additives to combat a starved out system.
Good luck
I did vodka, but found it made my tank too clean and sterile. A little dirty (detectable to 5 ppm nitrate) can show some amazing colors without having to dose amino acids and other additives to combat a starved out system.
Good luck
jason2459
Well-known member
That would be for GFO. For GAC you'd just be wasting money but it shouldn't hurt anything unless you don't rinse enough and get a lot of fines escaping into the display.
wickedfish
New member
cut back feedings to one or lighter 2 a day. Over skim, better circulation. I cant nail it down but changed my skimmer which has yet to produce what the last one took out, and added 2 old school koralias, took out excess rock, raised rock with acrylic rods and voila no more brown sticks, well one but its new, the others either are great or are rebounding from the past. I also took out 3 fish one is MIA in the rescape. (rock blenny RIP) coolest looking bugger ever. I changed alot of negatives to a + all at once. Also did alk,mag, and calcium tests for 16 days straight sometimes 2 times a day to set my doser correctly. Major game player is that ALK keep it at 9 and others tend to stay close but calcium demand is always up and MAgnesium somedays gets a thirst especially 2nd day after the w/c, I do 12% w/c every week, why? why not replenishes and I won salt at the meet so its all to the good.
