Acropora Newbie and bleaching tips

[Charlie’s Frags]

Gotcha. to manage the PO4 presumably that same target of <0.1 is still correct?

Not in my experience

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

yeah i saw that about the salt and got worried about that too. I asked my LFS and they suggested that since the bucket was from Turkey i should be safe? Definitely crossed my mind tho.

Was from turkey? Not good. Even German batches were questionable. I switched to redsea blue. Works for me

 

[jnels]

Not in my experience

Sheesh... That looks amazing. Thanks for the insight. I've seen quite a few folks recently talking about how GFO as a substance in general is bad for reef tanks and especially SPS. I will give it some time to correct these other things then try to take down the GFO.
Thanks for the perspective and the pix.

 

[SPS247]

It is very helpful. Thank you. Im getting the neonitro out of the cabinet as we speak...

If i were to switch from my current daytime 2Part to overnight Kalk drip, any advice with making the transition without messing up the alk too much?

I use the neonitro too. That definitely helped me out too.

As far as the kalk drip goes. Just bump the timer up everyday by a few hrs until you get to the overnight hrs your happy with. Slow and safe.

 

[jnels]

Was from turkey? Not good. Even German batches were questionable. I switched to redsea blue. Works for me

My bad just checked the bucket. It says made in Germany, but i am almost out of salt anyways and sounds like German made isn't completely safe either. Im planning on making some significant changes based on the recs here as it stands (increasing nutrients and potentially switching to alk).

Should i switch salt a the same time or let it ride for a bit longer? The rest of the tank seems to be doing well (so far).

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Sheesh... That looks amazing. Thanks for the insight. I've seen quite a few folks recently talking about how GFO as a substance in general is bad for reef tanks and especially SPS. I will give it some time to correct these other things then try to take down the GFO.
Thanks for the perspective and the pix.

I never had success using gfo. I never had much success chasing some recommended range (based on research done back in the 70’s btw). My corals are much happier without me worrying about no3/po4.

 

[jnels]

I never had success using gfo. I never had much success chasing some recommended range (based on research done back in the 70’s btw). My corals are much happier without me worrying about no3/po4.

Clearly that method has created some awesome looking coral. Do you run skimmer and refugium for export or just WC?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I really appreciate this. I have been checking alk daily (probably too frequently), but have not actually changed the dosing and it typically lands in the range of 8.5-8.9.
I am a bit concerned that the pH is too low at night (APEX measured a 7.68 last night) and would really like to switch to Kalk drip/dose overnight to maintain more stability.
Any advice on how to implement this change without completely jacking up the alk during the transition?

Ph typically drops at night and at times adding a little alk helps maintain it during the night via Doser unit.
What is your calcium level?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Clearly that method has created some awesome looking coral. Do you run skimmer and refugium for export or just WC?

Skimmer, small fuge in my middle sump chamber and monthly wc’s

 

[jnels]

Ph typically drops at night and at times adding a little alk helps maintain it during the night via Doser unit.
What is your calcium level?

Calcium seems a bit low currently at 375. I am going to bump it to 400 now.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Calcium seems a bit low currently at 375. I am going to bump it to 400 now.

slowly

 

[jnels]

Any advice on what to do with the exposed tips? It looks like there is a small tuft of brown algae on one of them? is it worth trying to brush off vs clip off vs let it take its course?

 

[Macdaddynick1]

I have a 2-3yr old mixed system ~67gal DT (4'x1.5'x1.5' echotech return and 2 Nero 5's for flow) and 15gal sump and have been struggling to care for acropora. I have other "less fussy" SPS that seem to do well (monti digitata and plating, Pocillopora and pavona) but acro success has eluded me.

Specifically im starting to see some bleaching or burning at the tips from a few of the frags and would love some tips from folks on how to treat and correct the problem (Pix attached). My theories are alk swings vs too low nutrients? I use the 4head older model Jebao dosing pump to dose ESV 2part (2ml every hour on the hour for 12hrs during the day, considering moving to the night). I feed a few PE pellets on an eheim feeder and feed mysis nightly, until the greedy Kole Tang is done. Other recs are greatly appreciated.

Parameters:
PO4: 0.03-0.07 Hannah (depending on coral feeding the day prior, running GFO)
NO3: 0.02 Salifert (hasn't moved in a while running skimmer and refugium)
pH: 7.7-8.0 on APEX (Considering switch to alk, other measures have failed to increase pH)
Alk: 8.5 - 8.9 Hannah depending on time of testing, usually from 6-9pm (considering moving dosing to after lights go out)
Ca: 325-375
Mg: wnl

These pictures are before lights come up in the AM. Can take more if helpful.
Thanks in advance,

Here are a few things i

#1 Ca is wayy too low, raise it to 420. This alone could cause issues. Your alk is fairly high for that Ca level.
#2 NO3 is too low for your alk.
#3 stop running GFO and try dosing KNO3. Your Po4 is likely creeping up due to the lack of no3.
#4 you can spread out 1ml/hr in alkalinity to stabilize things.
#5 if you are able to, get the biggest skimmer you can fit into the sump and run air intake outside.
#6 PH is wayy too low, you need to solve this. You can also try dosing Kakwasser at night, on an hourly basis in lieu of your topoff. This is what helped me keep my tank alive while I was battling low PH.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Here are a few things i

#1 Ca is wayy too low, raise it to 420. This alone could cause issues. Your alk is fairly high for that Ca level.
#2 NO3 is too low for your alk.
#3 stop running GFO and try dosing KNO3. Your Po4 is likely creeping up due to the lack of no3.
#4 you can spread out 1ml/hr in alkalinity to stabilize things.
#5 if you are able to, get the biggest skimmer you can fit into the sump and run air intake outside.
#6 PH is wayy too low, you need to solve this. You can also try dosing Kakwasser at night, on an hourly basis in lieu of your topoff. This is what helped me keep my tank alive while I was battling low PH.

Good advice @jnels.

 

[jnels]

Here are a few things i

#1 Ca is wayy too low, raise it to 420. This alone could cause issues. Your alk is fairly high for that Ca level.
#2 NO3 is too low for your alk.
#3 stop running GFO and try dosing KNO3. Your Po4 is likely creeping up due to the lack of no3.
#4 you can spread out 1ml/hr in alkalinity to stabilize things.
#5 if you are able to, get the biggest skimmer you can fit into the sump and run air intake outside.
#6 PH is wayy too low, you need to solve this. You can also try dosing Kakwasser at night, on an hourly basis in lieu of your topoff. This is what helped me keep my tank alive while I was battling low PH.

I really appreciate your thoughts and the recs. Im able to do all except buy a new skimmer but i have set the intake to outside of the house.

#1 its on the way. i got it to 400 and will add the rest this PM.
#2 just got it to 5 and will push it to 10 with another dose of Neonitro this PM
#3 Done hopefully one less thing i will need to purchase
#4 Im trying to transition the alk dosing to overnight at the moment, currently halfway through the transition. I will hopefully be all overnight by tuesday
#5 I can't purchase a new skimmer at the moment, but have run the skimmer intake outside. Unfortunately i still have not seen any bump in pH. I finished the line setup around 5:30p and my pH peak is lower today that it was yesterday. Im hoping the trough doesn't go crazy like it did last night. I am also considering a 30-40% WC this PM.
#6 Im feeling like Kalk is my only way out of the pH purgatory im in right now. Any advice on making that addition/transition?

I can't remember being this frustrated with a parameter in the past 4years haha
Thanks again

 

[Lionfish hunter]

They require 3 things, proper flow, proper light, and good stable water. Seems like you have the light and flow down so we can pinpoint something in the water. Which means one of 3 things. Either it is not stable and there are swings, or there is a pollutant, or a particular element is too low or high including salinity and temperature.

It is certainly possible one of your test kits is giving you a bad reading. You woul be very surprised how often this happens. I have had particularly bad luck with nitrate tests and with yours staying consistently low, I would check with another test as this happened to me at it was 40 ppm. Showed 0 on nyos and api test!

My advice is to get an icp test, 30 to 40 bucks and it will give you a very good idea what is going on with your water. Which we more or less pinpointed as the problem. I believe ATI tests for nitrate in their icp and they are one of the more trusted ones.

 

[Lionfish hunter]

I really appreciate your thoughts and the recs. Im able to do all except buy a new skimmer but i have set the intake to outside of the house.

#1 its on the way. i got it to 400 and will add the rest this PM.
#2 just got it to 5 and will push it to 10 with another dose of Neonitro this PM
#3 Done hopefully one less thing i will need to purchase
#4 Im trying to transition the alk dosing to overnight at the moment, currently halfway through the transition. I will hopefully be all overnight by tuesday
#5 I can't purchase a new skimmer at the moment, but have run the skimmer intake outside. Unfortunately i still have not seen any bump in pH. I finished the line setup around 5:30p and my pH peak is lower today that it was yesterday. Im hoping the trough doesn't go crazy like it did last night. I am also considering a 30-40% WC this PM.
#6 Im feeling like Kalk is my only way out of the pH purgatory im in right now. Any advice on making that addition/transition?

I can't remember being this frustrated with a parameter in the past 4years haha
Thanks again

I don't run a skimmer and I don't believe it is required.

 

[CaptPatrick]

I really appreciate your thoughts and the recs. Im able to do all except buy a new skimmer but i have set the intake to outside of the house.

#1 its on the way. i got it to 400 and will add the rest this PM.
#2 just got it to 5 and will push it to 10 with another dose of Neonitro this PM
#3 Done hopefully one less thing i will need to purchase
#4 Im trying to transition the alk dosing to overnight at the moment, currently halfway through the transition. I will hopefully be all overnight by tuesday
#5 I can't purchase a new skimmer at the moment, but have run the skimmer intake outside. Unfortunately i still have not seen any bump in pH. I finished the line setup around 5:30p and my pH peak is lower today that it was yesterday. Im hoping the trough doesn't go crazy like it did last night. I am also considering a 30-40% WC this PM.
#6 Im feeling like Kalk is my only way out of the pH purgatory im in right now. Any advice on making that addition/transition?

I can't remember being this frustrated with a parameter in the past 4years haha
Thanks again

I had low ph I couldn’t get to come up, I run opposite light cycle on sump, changed my alk dosing to dose majority when apex showed ph was lowest and ran skimmer line outside. None really made a difference, I started using this CDX media and recirculate through my skimmer and my ph gets to 8.4 during the day and usually will not go under 8 at night. I put the media in a bag and just installed fittings to container and then when it’s exhausted I just empty the bag and put new media in it so I can resuse my container. The media is like $22 and usually lasts me over a month, has lasted a lot longer since I’ve been recirculating the air through the skimmer.

 

[araziza]

I’m in a similar boat to you currently and probably should avoid giving advice, but all I’m going to suggest is to consider your frags before adding. Go for cultures frags over wild corals. Try to stick to one that are 2+ inches. And look for ones that have completely or mostly grown over the frag plug. Basically, get coral frags that have been time tested in aquariums and have gotten past the ‘I’ve just been cut and hate life’ stage. The only SPS still doing well in my tank is the one I picked up using those criteria. Here’s hoping I don’t kill it.

 

[jnels]

I had low ph I couldn’t get to come up, I run opposite light cycle on sump, changed my alk dosing to dose majority when apex showed ph was lowest and ran skimmer line outside. None really made a difference, I started using this CDX media and recirculate through my skimmer and my ph gets to 8.4 during the day and usually will not go under 8 at night. I put the media in a bag and just installed fittings to container and then when it’s exhausted I just empty the bag and put new media in it so I can resuse my container. The media is like $22 and usually lasts me over a month, has lasted a lot longer since I’ve been recirculating the air through the skimmer.

I really appreciate the advice. now that im a few more weeks in I made some changes and ran the skimmer line outside with decent success in raising the pH (8.0-8.2), but that is with running it to a 0.25" airline tubing. I will plan to upgrade to larger tubing to see if there is significant improvement to that 8.3 to 8.4 range.
I stopped running the GFO and let my nutrients equalize with just the refugium, skimmer and WCs. I've seen stabilization of the remaining frags and even growth! I may try to pick up a few new frags in the future, but as for right now, i think i will take my small wins lol.