C'mon, man. Its always something

[yan2pr]

Hello reef people, i am trying not to get too ticked at this hobby because i really like it but i go to bed one day and next day something is dying or looking like crap. One of my birdsnests lost chunks of skin overnight, montis colors are not as vibrant. Parameters below.
1/19/2021
Phos 0.06
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.6
Cal 400
Mag 1380
Temp 76
Sal 1.026

1/31/2021
Phos 0.06
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.9
Cal 470
Mag 1400
Sal 1.026
Temp 77
Ph 7.8 - 7.9

2/3/2021
Phos 0.11
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.6
Cal 460
Mag 1400
Sal 1.026
Temp 77
Ph 7.8 - 7.9

I ordered an icp test to see whats going on, do you guys think the phos going from 0.06 to 0.11 could cause this? I feed roids on monday thats probably why it got up. No changes in lighting or flow.

 

[ryshark]

Hello reef people, i am trying not to get too ticked at this hobby because i really like it but i go to bed one day and next day something is dying or looking like crap. One of my birdsnests lost chunks of skin overnight, montis colors are not as vibrant. Parameters below.
1/19/2021
Phos 0.06
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.6
Cal 400
Mag 1380
Temp 76
Sal 1.026

1/31/2021
Phos 0.06
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.9
Cal 470
Mag 1400
Sal 1.026
Temp 77
Ph 7.8 - 7.9

2/3/2021
Phos 0.11
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.6
Cal 460
Mag 1400
Sal 1.026
Temp 77
Ph 7.8 - 7.9

I ordered an icp test to see whats going on, do you guys think the phos going from 0.06 to 0.11 could cause this? I feed roids on monday thats probably why it got up. No changes in lighting or flow.

I don't think phosphate going from .06 to .11 over 3-days would cause that.

 

[yan2pr]

ICP sent, lets see if when i get the results back

 

[Hincapiej4]

It's not three days, it's over a longer period than that looking at his dates.

Why not take a week and test cal, alk, mag and see what that does over that time.

These test are too far between for a real idea of what's happening......

 

[vetteguy53081]

Calcium slightly high
Mag high
Ph slightly low

recommended:
Temperature 77-79
Ph. 8.1-8.3
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia < .03
Nitrate. < .05
Phosphate < .05
Alk 8-9
Mag. 1300
CA. 440

Moderate light and water flow
Add a pouch of chemipure elite in case there’s a presence of toxins

 

[RobertTheNurse]

This is why I won't do SPS LOL

 

[ryshark]

It's not three days, it's over a longer period than that looking at his dates.

Why not take a week and test cal, alk, mag and see what that does over that time.

These test are too far between for a real idea of what's happening......

He tested on a Sunday, fed reef roids on Monday and tested again 3-days later on Wednesday. Which led to his question asking if phosphate going from .06 to .11 could cause the issue.

The reef roids possibly caused the spike in PO4 to go from .06 to .11, but I don't think it would cause this problem. The other parameters from your tests are stable. I think the issues causing birdsnest to die and monti's to lose color are not found in the information we have from this thread.

Good idea on the ICP, post the results when they come back. In the meantime maybe do a water change. How is your source water, 0-TDS RODI water?

This is why I won't do SPS LOL

But when things are going well its very satisfying and a fun challenge. Definitely highs and lows

 

[Michael Gray]

how established is the tank.. reason i ask is i had a miserable time .. any SPS shedded and croaked with me until maybe 12-14 months and now it seems that nothing will die.... ( i jinxed it now. watch)

 

[yan2pr]

I usually test once a week sunday or mondays, this past 2 weeks has been different because life has been weird, the reason i tested 3 days later its because of the birdsnest, i wanted to see if maybe something was out of the norm, maybe a dosing pump got stuck or something was what i thought. My tank has been established for 13 months now. The weird thing is that i have 2 more birdsnest that are fine and 2 acros that i got 2 months ago that so far havent died on me but not too much polyp extension

 

[homer1475]

Calcium slightly high
Mag high
Ph slightly low

recommended:
Temperature 77-79
Ph. 8.1-8.3
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia < .03
Nitrate. < .05
Phosphate < .05
Alk 8-9
Mag. 1300
CA. 440

Moderate light and water flow
Add a pouch of chemipure elite in case there’s a presence of toxins

Less the 1ppm nitrate, alk close to 9 and elevated cal? What you been smoking willis? Most people would have dead coral at those levels.

Theres more then 1 way to skin a cat, and many people run way more nutrients then your suggesting. Might want to poll the forums on what their nutrient levels are, and I think you'll find over the majority of reefers run levels way higher then you claim.

For reference my tank:
Temp 79 - 81
PH - 7.8 to 8.1
Salinity 1.026
Nitrates - 4ppm
Phosphates 0.14
ALK - 7 to 7.5
Cal 400 to 420
Mag - 1500 What I find IO mixes to, have never needed to add any mag supplement.

And of course the proof is in the pudding, so a FTS for reference(couple months old at this point, but it's the newest FTS I have. I would take one right now, but the lights are off as it's 4am:

 

[vetteguy53081]

Less the 1ppm nitrate, alk close to 9 and elevated cal? What you been smoking willis? Most people would have dead coral at those levels.

Theres more then 1 way to skin a cat, and many people run way more nutrients then your suggesting. Might want to poll the forums on what their nutrient levels are, and I think you'll find over the majority of reefers run levels way higher then you claim.

For reference my tank:
Temp 79 - 81
PH - 7.8 to 8.1
Salinity 1.026
Nitrates - 4ppm
Phosphates 0.14
ALK - 7 to 7.5
Cal 400 to 420
Mag - 1500 What I find IO mixes to, have never needed to add any mag supplement.

And of course the proof is in the pudding, so a FTS for reference(couple months old at this point, but it's the newest FTS I have. I would take one right now, but the lights are off as it's 4am:

34 years and pet store owner, I have a pretty good knowledge base. For starters, The magnesium ions in the reef tank, the calcium carbonate crystals from growing by incorporating itself into the growing calcium carbonate crystal, which makes it unattractive to additional calcium and carbonate ions. This is what makes it possible to maintain appropriate levels of calcium and alkalinity.High mag reverses this.
Lower ca levels negatively affect the growth, health and coloration of corals and what little growth that may occur result in thin, spindly branches lacking vivid coloration.
each tank will differ in needs for instance, mixed reef which most have , have different requirements. With those levels suggested, since you want to play show and tell, they are very effective in maintaining such as below:

 

[dieselkeeper]

Check for rusty magnets. I had flesh coming off of corals like you. All parameters were good. I test every weekend. I opened up a two little fishes feed clip which was rusted inside. Frag rack magnets was the same. Took them out and did some water changes. Every thing is growing again.

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

your parameters are fine. It’s something else.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

34 years and pet store owner, I have a pretty good knowledge base. For starters, The magnesium ions in the reef tank, the calcium carbonate crystals from growing by incorporating itself into the growing calcium carbonate crystal, which makes it unattractive to additional calcium and carbonate ions. This is what makes it possible to maintain appropriate levels of calcium and alkalinity.High mag reverses this.
Lower ca levels negatively affect the growth, health and coloration of corals and what little growth that may occur result in thin, spindly branches lacking vivid coloration.
each tank will differ in needs for instance, mixed reef which most have , have different requirements. With those levels suggested, since you want to play show and tell, they are very effective in maintaining such as below:

Beautiful tank but there is not much sps in there. I believe most of your suggestions are great for keeping algae at bay and lps, etc but not ideal for sps. Specifically acro frags. But like you said, there are more ways than 1 to skin a coral. Your recommended parameters seem to skin more acros than mine do.

 

[Zoajohn]

Stability with Alk and CA within "normal" levels is more important than the specific value IME. The only thing that stands out to me is the jump in Ca. Either means a dosing mishap occurred, or there is less uptake. The latter of which, assuming normal dosing, would be more of a symptom of something going on. Though with Alk remaining constant I'm not totally sure. Any dinos, bacterial blooms, or algae outbreaks? I've fought dinos and chrysophytes a few times, and it is like flipping an off switch for coral growth. I had to stop dosing all together to stop Alk and Ca from rising

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

And for all of you paranoid alk swing theorist out there

That’s 6.5-8.5

 

[vetteguy53081]

Beautiful tank but there is not much sps in there. I believe most of your suggestions are great for keeping algae at bay and lps, etc but not ideal for sps. Specifically acro frags. But like you said, there are more ways than 1 to skin a coral. Your recommended parameters seem to skin more acros than mine do.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Not bad

 

[AngryOwl]

Hello reef people, i am trying not to get too ticked at this hobby because i really like it but i go to bed one day and next day something is dying or looking like crap. One of my birdsnests lost chunks of skin overnight, montis colors are not as vibrant. Parameters below.
1/19/2021
Phos 0.06
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.6
Cal 400
Mag 1380
Temp 76
Sal 1.026

1/31/2021
Phos 0.06
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.9
Cal 470
Mag 1400
Sal 1.026
Temp 77
Ph 7.8 - 7.9

2/3/2021
Phos 0.11
Nitrates 2
Alk 8.6
Cal 460
Mag 1400
Sal 1.026
Temp 77
Ph 7.8 - 7.9

I ordered an icp test to see whats going on, do you guys think the phos going from 0.06 to 0.11 could cause this? I feed roids on monday thats probably why it got up. No changes in lighting or flow.

Few questions:
1. What do you dose to the tank on a daily/weekly basis - to include how you supplement alk/calc/mag and any amino acids or trace elements?
2. Do you do any consistent water changes?
3. Doesn't matter a ton but how big is the tank?
4. What is filtration like? i.e. mechanical filtration, skimming, carbon, gfo, carbon dosing, bio pellets, etc. etc.

I find it impossible to troubleshoot based on the major parameters only unless there is a very significant swing. My parameters looked "perfect" for years and stuff kept melting :mad:

 

[yan2pr]

I have been using brs 2 part and tropic marin part C.
80 gallons total including sump
For filtration i have filter floss, a curve 5 skimmer, and a small refugium.
Small amount of carbon but i cant remember how much, no GFO, no bio pellets.