Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
light: not sure, probably around 125 par?Parameters and lighting?
my tank has been set up for 3 months. my cycle was over 2 months ago, so i added soft corals. all good. they are healthy, so i added in some more. still good. then my first lps (acans and some duncans that are fine). did a 25% WC.Did you just start this tank? Corals should wait a month or so after fish are added. Even then they don't really thrive until even later. If intending on being serious about corals I'd get yourself some salifert kits instead of the tetra. How big of a water change do you do?
my alk is ~8 dkh and my salinity is 0.025 SG. just lowered it down out of high lightId lower it down on your rock structure. Maybe too much flow? It being up top in the open... ppl will want to know your alk and salinity.
D
that's a great point. however, my duncans look super healthy. it just seems to be the acan (for now). and as for range, it honestly depends on the day. i don't really know what i can do to stabilize ph as it fluctuates a little throughout the day?Softies doing well but LPS not doing well points to a possible pH issue since LPS has bones so will be more sensitive to pH instability.
Get a better test. The current range ofb7.8 to 8.2 is wayy to big of a fluctuation to be a good environment for stony corals.
this is my first reef tank so i just put the HOB filtration, heater, etc. in the main tank vs plumbing a sump right off the bat so there's no chaeto bed running right now and i have no plans to add one.I'm sure my Ph fluctuates like that and it doesn't cause issues. Anyone who doesn't have chaeto on an opposite light schedule will see the same swings.
i just moved the acan out of high light and i'll probably relocate it to low flow if it continues to recede.Newly added corals, start low in the tank and then acclimate to higher par and flow. Acans in my tank typically like lower light levels and lower flow, though. Also directly feeding them meaty foods 1-2 times per week hello then to grow a bit faster.
that's super informative, thanks! how would i stabilize my ph without a sump though?please note that pH scale is exponential - the CO3-- concentration (the ion that coral use to form Calcium Carbonate, or calcification) at a pH of 7.8 is approx 3x or 4x less than the concentration at 8.2.
Corals may be able to tolerate a daily swing of this but it doesn't mean they'll like it. If all the rest of your parameters, lighting, and nutrition is spot on, most likely this swing will not make a difference. However, this swing significantly decreases your margin of error in terms of what you need to maintain to keep your corals healthy.
There are countless evidence that maintaining a stable pH towards the 8.2 range can significantly boost stony coral growth and health.
in other words, 7.2 - 8.2 is OK if everything else is perfect. stable 8.2 gives u a much bigger safety blanket and generally promote better health and hardier corals, everything else equal.
so this is where it will take some work/research to do investigate and do it right b/c blindly chasing pH can do more harm than good and thats why generally many folks on this forum is more on the side of "just worry about your alk" as long as pH is "in range". Without a sump, your options will be limited, so maybe there's not much you can do right now and just have to live with the swings. However, if you want to just understand more on pH, keep reading.that's super informative, thanks! how would i stabilize my ph without a sump though?