Aquarium consultation

Reefrookie220 · Dec 21, 2015

Check for a local reef club, from what I've seen on the site CT has a very active Reef scene.

maksim serebro · Dec 21, 2015

DeniseAndy said:
Never feel embarrassed. We all have good an bad times with tanks. Good and bad shots. My tank for instance is horrible in pics because of the 50yr old glass it is (3/4" glass too). It is hard to see sometimes other than in person.

To start, I would want to talk about many aspects before giving recommendations. To start, it is not uncommon that you have issues with mixed reef system. Corals require different flow, light, nutrients depending on where they are found in the reef. Also, if you have wild caught specimens, they may not adapt well compared to aquacultured.

From the sounds of it, you added some light and that was right for sps. The 4 bulb t5 would normally not be enough over the 300gallons. What are the dimensions? Also, moving them further up in the tank will help too.

Also, lots of flow directed at the lps would restrict their ability to open fully (this for the brains, not for euphyllia sp.) Your brains (trachys, favia, symphyllia). Also, the types of brains you have are normally found on a sandy bottom, so the hard bottom may aggravate them (although I hear others say they do fine on bare bottom). They can take lots of time to adjust to changes in flow and light. How much time did you give them?

Nitrates and Phosphates rating at zero is not always a good thing.

Also, change comes slow. Patience is tough. I must admit, I would want to see the whole system and the animals to figure out what is going on. It may take time to figure it all out and get you going on the correct path, but it will come. Just keep giving us clues as to what is going on.

Thanks, I might try adding sand. maybe the detritus trapped in the sand kept the whole system more stable. I wanted bare bottom to keep the water cleaner and add flow. Did not work. Tank is 6 feet by 3 feet. the sunpower has 6 t5 85w and power module has 4 t5 and 4 leds. Most of the corals have been in the tank for close to a year. They seem to be getting worse and worse. Some across are growing though. there has to be a pattern - i just cannot see it though. I always had 0 nitrates and phosphates even when i had some much green hair algae, the corals were suffocating. I feed the fish 3 times per day with mixture including rods food and dose photo 3-4 times per week. i feed the fish as much as they can eat. they are all fat and healthy. never a sickness ( knock on wood). Algae is present on rock and back wall.