One disaster after another

[Whiterabbitrage]

Ever since I upgraded to a larger tank I've had nothing but problems. I hope someone can please help.
My two biggest concerns are, the corals have not used any Ca in weeks. I've stopped dosing because the Ca, Alk and Mg never change.
My other problem is a huge outbreak of bubble algae and GHA. The GHA is fuzzy and nothing seems to eat it, even seahares. It removes easily but grows back almost instantly.
The tank is 150 gallons with 30 gallon sump and 30 gallon refugium
Temp 77
SG 1.025
Using carbon and doing a wet skim
PH 8.4
Ca 450 ( has been all month with no dosing)
Mg 1440
Alk 11 by Red Sea and 8 by API
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 0.0 by Red Sea low detection. Isn't this too low? Red SE recommends having nitrate over 0.25
Phosphate 0.36
Iodine 0.03
Have been dosing No3PO4X to try to get rid of algae.

Please help! There is no way a clam let alone the corals should not use Ca for a month. Oh yes, lighting is two Radion Pro G3.
I hope someone can help.

[Sk8r]

How deep is your tank and are the lights programmed for that depth? Sometimes a startup takes a while to wake up and eat, but I agree, you should at least see them expanding and looking good. My first suspicion would be the lights, either too much or too little.

[thegrun]

The phosphates are high.

[Sk8r]

true. THe algae is full of it and you still have a measurable amount in the tank.

[Flippers4pups]

Sk8r point ^ Pin point the source of the PO4. Questions: water source, rock sand source and possible over feeding?

[tkeracer619]

Phosphate that high can stop calcification. How are you testing it? I recommend a hanna 736 ulr checker.

Stop dosing the No3PO4X and use plain old gfo. It will exhaust rapidly so use a little at a time and change it frequently, you want to bring it down slowly. BRS is a good source.

Also, where did your rock come from for the upgrade?

[nuxx]

GFO is a great tool for fighting PO4.

We still get a little GHA from time to time even with 0 PO4 and GFO.

Trying to run a type of algae scrubber as well. We'll see.

[Whiterabbitrage]

Thanks for all the input. SK8R, I would have guessed the lights too, but everything was growing and fine for the last 6-7 months until about a month or two ago.
I am hoping maybe it was the high Phos that caused everything to stop. I started dosing nitrate and now the Phos is down to 0.02- 0.00. (I have been using Red Sea to test. )It's hard to read which color. I need a Hanna Checker. But at least the Phos is down now. So I'm crossing my fingers that the corals will start growing again.
I think the Phos came from over feeding. I feed fresh seafood I freeze. I was feeding 3-5 times a day.
TKeracer69, the rock came from my old tank. I thought using it would mean a shorter cycle since I tried to keep the bacteria alive.
Yes, I've been thinking about running GFO. I bought the reactor from BRS, but was hesitating setting it up. I've been considering a mangrove instead but am not sure. Still thinking. A mangrove would be more natural, but GFO would be more reliable. And I've been thinking about jerry rigging an algae scrubber, but haven't done it. I guess I really don't know which way to go.

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by Whiterabbitrage

Ever since I upgraded to a larger tank I've had nothing but problems. I hope someone can please help.
My two biggest concerns are, the corals have not used any Ca in weeks. I've stopped dosing because the Ca, Alk and Mg never change.
My other problem is a huge outbreak of bubble algae and GHA. The GHA is fuzzy and nothing seems to eat it, even seahares. It removes easily but grows back almost instantly. I'd bet my paycheck that's all caused by phosphates.
The tank is 150 gallons with 30 gallon sump and 30 gallon refugium
Temp 77
Personally I'd increase to 78
SG 1.025
I'd bump to 1.026, but not the issue at hand
Using carbon and doing a wet skim
PH 8.4
Test at night and again at peak lighting schedule. If it is swinging a lot, it could cause problems and affect your corals ability to process calcium effectively. Along with other detrimental effects on corals and marine life.
Ca 450 ( has been all month with no dosing)
Mg 1440
A little high...at least by my standards. I'd lower to 1350...but again, probably not the issue at hand.
Alk 11 by Red Sea and 8 by API
Ammonia 0.0
Nitrite 0.0
Nitrate 0.0 by Red Sea low detection. Isn't this too low? Red SE recommends having nitrate over 0.25
Phosphate 0.36
Phosphates should be 0.00. I know phosphates have negative impacts on coral. I haven't read how much it affects coral growth. I think we can assume that it is not helping coral growth, in this scenario.
Iodine 0.03
Have been dosing No3PO4X to try to get rid of algae.

Please help! There is no way a clam let alone the corals should not use Ca for a month. Oh yes, lighting is two Radion Pro G3.
I hope someone can help.

How often do you do water changes? What % of water volume?

[Cdodge1]

Originally Posted by Whiterabbitrage

Thanks for all the input. SK8R, I would have guessed the lights too, but everything was growing and fine for the last 6-7 months until about a month or two ago.
I am hoping maybe it was the high Phos that caused everything to stop. I started dosing nitrate and now the Phos is down to 0.02- 0.00. (I have been using Red Sea to test. )It's hard to read which color. I need a Hanna Checker. But at least the Phos is down now. So I'm crossing my fingers that the corals will start growing again.
I think the Phos came from over feeding. I feed fresh seafood I freeze. I was feeding 3-5 times a day.
TKeracer69, the rock came from my old tank. I thought using it would mean a shorter cycle since I tried to keep the bacteria alive.
Yes, I've been thinking about running GFO. I bought the reactor from BRS, but was hesitating setting it up. I've been considering a mangrove instead but am not sure. Still thinking. A mangrove would be more natural, but GFO would be more reliable. And I've been thinking about jerry rigging an algae scrubber, but haven't done it. I guess I really don't know which way to go.

Glad to see the phosphates coming down! Another smaller water change in a few days will probably mop up the rest. I had similar issues from overfeeding. I actually had a few mangroves in an old tank of mine. They grew so fast I had to take them out! While I never established how effective they were, I can only assume that their rapid growth was being fueled by the phosphates and other nutrients in the tank.

[Whiterabbitrage]

Still not a budge in calcium. It hasn't moved. I just checked with two different brands of kits and they agree. Still 450. What's going on?!! I'm getting very frustrated.
I checked the lighting, and the clam has 150 PAR. Arg! The only thing growing is the Toadstool and a couple of the mushrooms. And of course, the algae.
The pH shouldn't be wandering. I have the refugium on the opposite lighting schedule on purpose to stop the nighttime pH drop I was getting. Now it's steady. I also took my Magfloat out in case it was leaching something.
In the meantime, lost another chalice, the favia is on its last legs, and the bubble coral looks horrid. The Lobo has started looking a bit puffier though. Maybe things are turning around?