chalice and lps question

[_Alex_]

ok i have found im having a hard time with my current set up keeping lps happy even frog spawn. my zoas and pali's are doign great and growing like crazy.

when i first got started my frog spawn was doing great and actually grew a new head. then i had a issue with my alk and salinity and about killed it and had a buddy take it to save it for me.

well i picked up a cheap small peice of chalice just as tester and well its not doing good either, im think my water is just not clean enough for lps. i know zoas and pali's tend to like dirtier water.

how much nitrate is to much for lps? ill have to test my water again becusae i havnt for a min becuase all my zoas hve been doing great so havnt worried to much.

would more water changes help with this? i try and do atleast 5-10 gal a month on a 55 gal tank. with 4 t5ho 2 12k and 2 actinic

i have
1- 3" blue spot tank
1- green chromis
1- falce perc clown
1-black blenny
1- yellow corris wrase
2-green clown gobies

2 to 3 dozen crabs and a dozen or so snails

and about 80lbs of live rock.

my current filter system i know isnt the greatest, its a rena xp 3 canister, but im working on building a 75 gal with a sump. i clean the rena out once a month and using bio chelm filter bags with filter pad and bio balls, im beggining to think i need to take the bio balls out and replace with soemthign else because i have heard alot about them being nitrate factories. what should i replace it with?

i really would like to be able to put my own lps back in my own tank any advice would be great and if need more info plz let me know and ill try and get it


thanks

alex

sorry info if kidna random just woke up lol :squigglemouth:

 

[meisen]

Quite a few Chalices recede when first collected, there are a lot of reasons, parasites, stress, shipping damage to their coralites, bacterial infection etc etc etc. In your case it might be exacerbated by conditions. In any tank thats had an alk crash or other significant high alk event, I'd suggest large water changes. High Alk can precipitate out many of the major and minor component elements from the water. While calcium and magnesium are easy to resupplement, the others are nearly impossible to get back in their correct amounts. Two or three 50% water changes should get you nearly there.

I'd suggest a skimmer for that tank as well though not taking the other filters off until you get that going and working well though. While power filters may trap a lot of detritus which can lead to nitrate accumulation, they do remove the ammonia and nitrite threat once established. I'd say a good guildeline is <15 ppm nitrate for LPS, some get away with having more but that seems to consistently work well for many. 0-5 ppm is an even better target to shoot for and the constant input of food and fish waste should still leave the water "dirty" enough for polyps. You'll find that with a skimmer you will have a much easier time managing the nitrate as much of the nitrogenous material is removed before it has a chance to break down. Plus you get some gas exchange benefit which also helps bacterial processing of ammonia and nitrite not to mention the fish and corals. And yeah, I know plenty of folks who go skimmerless and have great tanks. IMO its a margin of error thing for many newbies just like a larger tank or lower bioload.

 

[TopNotchCorals]

It definitely sounds like a nitrates problem to me although lps can be more forgiving,a once a month WC including all the other events that have taken place just doesn't cut it with any species especially without a skimmer.

 

[_Alex_]

ook guess is hould have mentioned alk has been fixed and is under control and salinity this was a few months ago when i had my frog spawn. this chalice is first lps i hvae put back in the tank since then. was only 10 bucks so figured what the heck...

im runnign a cpr backpack skimmer but it doesnt really pull dark skimmate so im guessing that is part of my problem...


guess ill just have to wait till my new tank is set up with the swc cone 160 ill hopefully be able to control it better

 

[TopNotchCorals]

I think it would benefit you to post your parameters:)

 

[fab1971]

I use a power canister with filter pads and phosban bag (change pads every 2 weeks), have a hob filter for carbon (change every 3 weeks) and a skimmer (clean cup every week) and still do a 15-20% water change every 3 days. I do however feed my fish and corals twice a day. Even with all this I know my nitrates are high because of all the macro algae I have to remove but the inhabitants remain very happy and fast growing because of the water changes. I also dose 2 part, vitamin c and magnesium. I would definitely suggest cleaning that canister out every 2 weeks, a skimmer and maybe more frequent water changes. I'm positive after you start doing some of these things your lps will start doing better. Good luck.

 

[agent462]

I think it would benefit you to post your parameters:)

+1

I'm guessing it's your water params. I like doing 10% water changes per week.

 

[_Alex_]

i plan to test them and post them tonight and i said i would in my original post,

im runnign a hang on back skimmer and i have to clean the cup every 2-3 days so its pulling but its light green not dark colored so not pulling as much as a nicer one would.

my nitrate usually runs 10-20 but i havnt tested it in a while, but when i wsa alot it was envre over 15. but i have sicne added more fish.

i only feed 2 to 3 times a week.

 

[_Alex_]

ok sorry it took so long to get water param's gf daughter had a asma attack last night and made for a long night but here they are and liek i figured nitrate is high....


ph- 7.8
dkh-9
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-20ppm
po4-0
1.026

calc-440
mag-?? i have a salifert test but it nevre works right i have tried it 10+ times and it nevre changes intill i add the whole syringe of last solution. my friend checked it a few weeks ago and was at a 1000. i have been dosing some mag once a week to hopefully raise it. it was that high without even dosing. i have been trying to find contact info for salifert with no luck, so looking into getting a elos test kit.

thats all the tests i have and dont dose alot mostly have zoas/pali's and soft coral (mushrooms and 2 small colts) just would like to be able to move up to some lps but guess i need to get a better skimmer for this set up if i wanna do it in this tank or step up my water changes more often. would 10 gallons a week be to much? or just do 5 gallons a week?

only a 55 gal tank with no sump


workign on a 75 gal set up with 38 gal sump that i have a swc 160 cone for so hopefully be able to control nitrate a little better... also currently dont have personal ro system, i get it from my dad who works at a hospital. its water they use for dialysis so has to be good at all times so water shouldnt be any of the problem, they test it constantly.