Over the course of the last year my tank has been up and running I cannot keep many corals. I have. 29g biocube that has been running for about 14 months. I’ve attempted to keep maybe 10 corals/frags over the last year. The only corals in my tank at the moment is my very first frag I ever had a hammer coral, and a frogspawn I got about 6 months ago and 2 GSP frags, one is dying the other is not. Everything else has slowly died over time. Xenia and zoas begin to melt away the moment they are placed in the tank. GSP will thrive for a month or two and then slowly open less and less everyday until they die. I’ve killed multiple torches and another lovely frogspawn. Corals thrive, then die. It’s extremely frustrating.
Every time a coral dies I test my water parameters, and every time they are fine.
My goal is to be able to keep LPS and softies, mostly euphyillias.
Salinity: 1.024
Temp: 75
Calcium: 400 (Lots of coraline growth)
Magnesium: 1300
pH: 8.1
Nitrites: Undetectable
Nitrates: 1ppm
Ammonia: 0
I also take water samples to multiple LFSs and they all say my water quality is fine.
I do a 15%-20% water change once a week every week for the last year. I mix my own saltwater for at least 12 hours. I only use RO/DI. I use instant ocean reef crystals.
If it’s not my water quality is it my equipment? The first 6 months I had the stock hood on and it was getting to be an issue with heat in the summer so I took it off and replaced the lights with a Kessil A80 tuna blue that runs for 9 hours a day. I had issues with corals dying before and after this. Sits about 4-5 inches from the top of the water. Corals directly under this light (GSP covering the highest rock a few inches below the waters surface) was growing very well until recently) a different GSP frag on the bottom of the tank is doing well for now.
Also I’m wondering if flow is an issue. I’m running the stock pump which states it is 265 GPH. I have a very small powerhead that does maybe around 265 or less so looking at a total of 530 GPH in my tank. My rock work is a tall island in the middle of the tank so that flow can move all around it. Corals are not visibly moving a ton though. When I do have corals alive, the tentacles are gently and slowly waving back and forth.
Filtration, I have a tower that trickles down into filter floss and then through my ceramic filter media. As of yesterday I started running chemipure elite as passive filtration.
Bioload, in my tank I only have 2 ocellaris clowns that are about a year old. And my clean up crew, Nasarius snails, Mexican and tropical turbo snails. Serpent and brittle starfish. And a handful of red hermits. I feed the tank less than 1/4 of a frozen shrimp cube a day.
I have a second tank, a 10 gallon, same light same maintenance schedule, same water, temp. It is a hammer garden. And they are thriving! Minus the acans.
Every time a coral dies I test my water parameters, and every time they are fine.
My goal is to be able to keep LPS and softies, mostly euphyillias.
Salinity: 1.024
Temp: 75
Calcium: 400 (Lots of coraline growth)
Magnesium: 1300
pH: 8.1
Nitrites: Undetectable
Nitrates: 1ppm
Ammonia: 0
I also take water samples to multiple LFSs and they all say my water quality is fine.
I do a 15%-20% water change once a week every week for the last year. I mix my own saltwater for at least 12 hours. I only use RO/DI. I use instant ocean reef crystals.
If it’s not my water quality is it my equipment? The first 6 months I had the stock hood on and it was getting to be an issue with heat in the summer so I took it off and replaced the lights with a Kessil A80 tuna blue that runs for 9 hours a day. I had issues with corals dying before and after this. Sits about 4-5 inches from the top of the water. Corals directly under this light (GSP covering the highest rock a few inches below the waters surface) was growing very well until recently) a different GSP frag on the bottom of the tank is doing well for now.
Also I’m wondering if flow is an issue. I’m running the stock pump which states it is 265 GPH. I have a very small powerhead that does maybe around 265 or less so looking at a total of 530 GPH in my tank. My rock work is a tall island in the middle of the tank so that flow can move all around it. Corals are not visibly moving a ton though. When I do have corals alive, the tentacles are gently and slowly waving back and forth.
Filtration, I have a tower that trickles down into filter floss and then through my ceramic filter media. As of yesterday I started running chemipure elite as passive filtration.
Bioload, in my tank I only have 2 ocellaris clowns that are about a year old. And my clean up crew, Nasarius snails, Mexican and tropical turbo snails. Serpent and brittle starfish. And a handful of red hermits. I feed the tank less than 1/4 of a frozen shrimp cube a day.
I have a second tank, a 10 gallon, same light same maintenance schedule, same water, temp. It is a hammer garden. And they are thriving! Minus the acans.
