675 gallon glass display / 1,100 + gallon system in LA

HmoneyReefOkc · Feb 21, 2018

Yikes! Sorry to hear you were dealing with that!! Glad you found and caught the culprit though!

Kinggeorge818 · Feb 22, 2018

dragon99 said:
Exallias brevis

https://www.freshmarine.com/leopard-blenny.html
"A 50 gallon or larger reef aquarium with small-polyped stony corals as a food source is ideal." "Doesn't eat prepared foods well in captivity, but will eat corals."

Sounds like someone sold you the wrong sailfin blenny.

Wow, thank you for that link...and yes I feel like an idiot for purchasing a fish that helped destroy my coral! I was under the assumption that all blenny’s were “reef safe” but apparently this one happens to have SPS on its diet!

Kinggeorge818 · Feb 22, 2018

Bouncingsoul39 said:
People are so hyped on dosing phosphate and nitrate and thinking that is such an issue on this forum. Basic reefing hasn't change much in ten years and we NEVER used to have to dose nitrate or phosphate. Sunny-X, one of the popular reefers who helped popularize Vodka dosing and bacteria driven low nutrient systems never dosed nitrate of phosphate. Even in Zeo-vit, a truly low nutrient system, corals lighten in color but do not die or bleach out completely. Zeo Vit does not include nitrate or phosphate dosing. But it does include feeding your fish and corals. Phosphate is bad for corals and that is a proven fact. It inhibits calcification and leads to algae growth. Your corals in a tank with high phosphate will have very porous and brittle skeletons compared to a wild coral. It's not good. Don't believe me? Read it from R2R own expert:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

In freshwater planted aquariums it is an established fact that phosphate and nitrate fuel algae growth and there is a fine balance between co2, light and nutrients. Get a slight imbalance, and you've got green water and a mess of a tank. However, plants absorb nitrate and phosphate for their actual growth. They need it and it is a limiting factor in plant growth. Nitrate and Phosphate are not limiting factors for coral growth and elevated levels are not needed for healthy corals. Corals don't need it to grow. It is true however, that if Nitrate or Phosphate dip below natural NSW levels that this can stress the coral leading to bleaching. However, this does not kill the coral outright and can easily be prevented, slowed, or reversed with good feeding habits.
So, what happens if nitrate and phosphate drop so low that you suspect it is stressing out the zoaxanthelle in the coral? Feed your fish more and feed your coral appropriate coral foods. If you are totally against feeding your fish more, then dose Amino Acids and feed the coral at the very least. This will go a long way further in helping you have a healthy tank with happy and healthy fish and coral including improved coral growth. Much better than dumping planted aquarium fertilizers in your tank.

Thank you so much for that link and cheat sheet for the parameters...I also don’t think that coral need such “exact” number for phosphate and nitrate but until now I wasn’t sure about why my corals were dying but now I do.
By the way I’ve heard people say recently that if you’re phosphate is too low (.01-.03) and nitrate is too high (30-40) then them being “out of equilibrium” can kill coral. Would you agree??

Fudsey · Feb 22, 2018

I believe that's my problem right now. PO4 was very low and N was 20. Monti caps would not survive and birdsnest and slimer were struggling. Started to let PO4 rise and they all seem to be recuperating.

Brew12 · Feb 24, 2018

Kinggeorge818 said:
By the way I’ve heard people say recently that if you’re phosphate is too low (.01-.03) and nitrate is too high (30-40) then them being “out of equilibrium” can kill coral. Would you agree??

I would not agree. The nutrients not being in balance isn't going to kill coral. It will open the door to nuisance bacteria. Those can eventually outcompete coral and kill them. As long as the nutrients are there the coral will be ok, even if not optimum color/growth.

Kinggeorge818 · Feb 24, 2018

Brew12 said:
I would not agree. The nutrients not being in balance isn't going to kill coral. It will open the door to nuisance bacteria. Those can eventually outcompete coral and kill them. As long as the nutrients are there the coral will be ok, even if not optimum color/growth.

Thanks for that, a lot of people attributed my issues to “imbalance” of phosphate and nitrate but I think you’re correct about the nutrients not being killers.

Denisk · Feb 24, 2018

Sorry to hear about the loses you have been going through. My tank was started 6 months ago with all dry rock and I went straight into sps like I usually do. I don’t think your nutrients are the causeses of the deaths. I’ve had my parameters all over the place when it comes to phosphates and nitrates but none of that ever caused any deaths. Only lose in colors or slow coral growth occurred from that but I did always check my alk everyday. Since the moment coral growth haulted so did the consumption rate of two part.

jasonrusso · Feb 26, 2018

Kinggeorge818 said:
Thanks for that, a lot of people attributed my issues to “imbalance” of phosphate and nitrate but I think you’re correct about the nutrients not being killers.

What is a balanced ratio?

Brew12 · Feb 26, 2018

jasonrusso said:
What is a balanced ratio?

The most common ratio is 16(or 17):1 of N to P. And yes, I didn't use the N: P because if you don't leave the space between the colon and P it give you this

This is what is referred to as the Redfield Ratio which is the naturally occurring balance of N to P found in most ocean phytoplankton. And, since you are what you eat, it is also very similar to what is found in most life that eats phytoplankton. Keep in mind... this is not a ratio of NO3 to PO4. It is all sources of N and all sources of P. It is also calculated with molar weights, not number of molecules. We are unable to test for these accurately with hobby level kits. Where I find it helpful is to look for nutrient deficiencies that hint at reaching a limitation. As an example, some common forms of Cyanobacteria have an N to P ratio of 2:1 and do well when a system is NO3 limited. Some common dino's have a ratio of 50-1 and can be an indication of using GFO too aggressively.

mattgsa · Feb 28, 2018

Just finished reading all 22 pages, what a great build, and an amazing tank. Thanks for sharing.

Vicki Marcue · Feb 28, 2018

Beautiful tank... Cant wait for more pictures.

ycnibrc · Mar 2, 2018

Have you send out your water for testing? I went through a period that most of my sps seem dry and not happy plus dino are present then I shut down my skimmer and feed a lot with frozen food after a month or so my corals recover and now I keep phosphate at .12 and nitrate at 10 and my tank is doing great. When I have my water test it was low on iodine, molybdenum and strontium so I correct those 3 and everything is good.

hybridazn · Mar 3, 2018

I'll be reading up on this build later haha.

Recklessryan904 · Mar 4, 2018

kresDFW said:
Wow, really nice job on the rockwork.

What kind of rock is this ?

Kinggeorge818 · Mar 10, 2018

My new calcium reactor from Aquarium Engineering that I purchased thru Aquarium City. The reactor is rated up to 1,500 gallon sps tank. It’s about 3’ tall and I love how heavy duty it is. I was dozing BRS calcium and kh but I think this will be better!

najer · Mar 11, 2018

Monster!

Fudsey · Mar 11, 2018

That is a BEAST ! ! !

HmoneyReefOkc · Mar 11, 2018

Kinggeorge818 said:
My new calcium reactor from Aquarium Engineering that I purchased thru Aquarium City. The reactor is rated up to 1,500 gallon sps tank. It’s about 3’ tall and I love how heavy duty it is. I was dozing BRS calcium and kh but I think this will be better!

Awesome!! I almost went with that same reactor. I went with MRC commercial cal reactor instead. I think you made a great choice!