Help Me Color My Sticks!!!

[hotnickz07]

If I was troubleshooting this in my tank with your numbers OP I would say I would look at to low of nutrients and try bumping up your UV settings. I run my Hydra 52 at 35% UV and I have some friends that run it way higher. Think of it this way when you go out and suntan, your skin darkens and colors up to protect you against the suns UV. The same happens with color in corals. The color pigments help protect from UV damage. I found when I first got into LED I originally kept my UV lower around your levels and my color in my SPS was not as good as I had expected. I adjusted the UV higher at a maximum of 2% per week and they colored up. I made no other adjustments at this time only UV. Watch for any distress at this time closely and hold if you see any negative reactions for an extra week before continuing. If you go slow it will allow your corals to accumulate to the new levels and the color should increase. At 2% a week I have not noticed any issues with adjusting the light levels or UV higher. If you have experience with LED and are good at judging coral health you might be able to get away with 3% to 5% a week. If you do not stick to the safe 2% a week. This issue with UV is something unique to LED I find as you can't and don't need to mess with T5 or MH for UV.

I don't add any products for color in my tank and I always caution against adding products it unless it is absolutely needed. (Not saying they don't work just saying I choose not to put more cash in other people's pockets that I done have to.) So I would try upping your nutrients a little and adjust the UV first before making other changes or resorting to products. If this doesn't resolve your issue then look at other options. When troubleshooting tank issues and I am not 100% sure on the cause I like to rule out what is not causing the issue as it makes the pool of causes smaller and helps you focus on the more likely causes. Keep in mind making drastic changes to your tank can make your color issue worse so judge if it is worth it or not before taking any steps.

Thank ill took that uv pointer into consideration, however i always thought people kept them low. At least from the hydra forums , due to browning effect. But your theory does make sense.

Also, i bumped up my doser to dose 7ml a day of acropower. On a good note i just noticed today , that my acros had nice p e something they never have during day. Could be that last night i dosed coralvits and reefbooster, or the new light schedule. Which is similar, just whites 5% less and only 8 hrs now.

 

[WetWhistle]

I have been running mine at 35% for quite some time now with no negative effects. If you go slow you can see any issues usually. I find the corals adjust well. You should watch all your corals for signs of distress. LPS and soft corals show signs like shrinking or pulling in. Watch for burnt tips and bleaching in sps or any signs of getting lighter in color. Back off a few % t what you were at. I would make the changes on a days you can be around. So you can check regularly throughout the day.

 

[Fitz_bizZle]

New schedule

Are you using coral acclimation mode still?

 

[hotnickz07]

Are you using coral acclimation mode still?

No, not with this schedule

 

[hotnickz07]

So i got my hands on some KNO3(spectrazide tree stump) , and i want to dose it to raise no3. I tested again today and im at 0 salifert. Can someone please tell me the mixing instructions, and the amount to dose. Also a safe amount of ppm i can raise it to

 

[twilliard]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/potassium-nitrate-spectracide-stump-remover-dosing-steps.215730/
This is the easiest without being a chemist

 

[Diesel]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/potassium-nitrate-spectracide-stump-remover-dosing-steps.215730/
This is the easiest without being a chemist

HAHAHA, you just were a step ahead of me.
I was looking for your thread but got distracted by my maids.

 

[hotnickz07]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/potassium-nitrate-spectracide-stump-remover-dosing-steps.215730/
This is the easiest without being a chemist

Wow thank you . That was fast lol, that the main reason i switched over to r2r. You guys are splendid.

 

[hotnickz07]

HAHAHA, you just were a step head of me.
I was looking for your thread but got distracted by my maids.

Thank you to Diesel . I just dosed 10ml since my total water volume is pretty much the same as his. I have been feeding 3 times a day a mix of mysis, brine , oyster feast and coral frenzy and toguether mixed. However im afraid this will raise p04 more than nitrates so i rather dose them for the time being.

 

[twilliard]

Yes that will raise po4

 

[Diesel]

Just keep testing on a daily schedule.
You don't want to create another problem.
And remember if you think you going slow, slow down even more.
Only bad things happen fast in this hobby.

 

[hotnickz07]

Ok. So i tested no3 an hour after dosing kno3 and got a 2ppm. Not bad , it was undetectable this morning. Realy dislike this salifert for no3. Those lower numbers all look to alike lol. Anyways within that hour, i noticed better p.e from my SPS. On a the downside, i have noticed some rtn on some of my new frags . Guessing is due to the extreme drop in nutrients. They seem to be RTN at the base, if it guess worse i will frag them to see if they make it. Besides that my chemistry is spot on calcium, dkh and mag are holding steady. Was able to lower temp also to 80f by turning down my ac a bit. Not a big deal, however thats as low as i can bring it that way , without my wife kicking me out for having and igloo home lol.

 

[Fitz_bizZle]

I've been dosing stump killer as well just try and make sure it doesn't go from like 10 ppm to 0 over night I had this happen over night due 2 refugium eating up all the nitrate. Coral did not like the sudden drop. I now have 5ml being dosed automatically just to keep it from hitting 0 but still am testing and dialing in my tanks no3 uptake.
Hope this helps

 

[hotnickz07]

I've been dosing stump killer as well just try and make sure it doesn't go from like 10 ppm to 0 over night I had this happen over night due 2 refugium eating up all the nitrate. Coral did not like the sudden drop. I now have 5ml being dosed automatically just to keep it from hitting 0 but still am testing and dialing in my tanks no3 uptake.
Hope this helps

are you dosing 5 ml a day? all at once or throughout. also what is your total water volume

 

[hotnickz07]

Im debating on either changing out my Acro Power from my doser and replacing it with this KNO3, or keeping the AP and just dose KNO3 manually. I really don't like adding things all at once, much rather space them out throughout the day for better stability.

 

[KritikaL]

i have known some people to dose nitrate when at 0 nitrate and its sparked phos removal in bacteria which has stripped po4 too quickly and bleached their corals..... i would watch out dosing nitrate i know your just starting but watch your po4 as well... Make sure you have some phos in there if you can.

i am no expert just heard things

 

[KritikaL]

do you have any algae in the tank? i would personally cut down on the phos removal for a bit and see what happens

 

[Fitz_bizZle]

I Dose 5ML A Day All At Once. My total watter volume is about 75 gal. I have dosed as much as 30 ml at once with no ill effects just don't dump in display I dumped it down my overflow. I know Ppl that keep there no3 at 10-20 and have great color.

 

[hotnickz07]

do you have any algae in the tank? i would personally cut down on the phos removal for a bit and see what happens

Unfortunately I do, I have from GHA in some places but not much. probably because I lost most of my snails. My filefish thinks its cool to kill them, that *******!!!

 

[Fitz_bizZle]

My p04 stays around 0.03 - 0.04ppm Hanna checker