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Would be interesting to see if the nitrate can be brought down. I never have anything so high. Does the phosphate go down with the dosing? Also keep in mind don't increase the dosage until it starting to work. It does take a while for the effect to kick in. You should see much increase skimmate...
Eric - for this you need to close the gate valve enough so the water goes down in siphon though the primary drain. There should be only a trickle in the secondary drain. If you cannot get the water higher than the top of the primary drain then the gate valve is too open or maybe it's defective...
I have never been able to keep phosphate at the ideal level, which is @0.03ppm according to some. In nature the phosphate level is undetectable yet corals are thriving. Nutrient is continuously produced and consumed. That's the balance I try to achieve. In my tank most of the time phosphate is...
If it's picking on rocks it should be good. I would not medicate until it eats well and gains weight. You can try feed it a mixture of frozen food, maybe some meshed up oyster. Hatching brine shrimp is easy to do as well. Mine eats everything including pellets. These guys are pigs once start...