Coral Issues/Water Parameter Problems?

[mcarroll]

I have a Nuvo Fusion 30 Pro Long!
I use salifert tester kits and a hanna checker for nitrates

yeah i didnt realize it got that high and then ive been controlling it with adding rodi water every day for topoff so it doesnt spike up again.
I do have 3 fish and inverts, i feed a big cube every day..im wondering if i should even increase feeding even more? I also feed reef roids to the corals every oth4er day or so as well.

Ive been checking them with saliftert nitrate checker and also the hanna checker and yeah they continue to show super low...at this point all ive been doing for the last 2ish weeks is simply topping off..trying to get some nutrient numbers up..will be posting updated parameter tests in a few minutes.

Coral food like this is mostly wasted/not eaten, so I would not recommend that.

Feeding your fish more makes sense if you aren't feeding them much. But still don't waste food...feed as much in one go as they eat and not excess. (Do that each time you feed....can be X times per day.)

What are you testing phosphate with? That's one of the hardest tests to read, so if you're doing drip-test, you may want to take extra measures to get an accurate reading by having a second vial of untreated tank water as a color comparison next to it. Our eyes are better at comparisons.

here are updated numbers and parameter checks

nitrate checks were done with salifert tester showing around 10ish, hanna checker showed 15.9

Salinity is creeping up again.....an automatic topoff system might be needed if you can't get salinity more stable manually. Make sure you know the correct level for your tank – mark it with tape or something so you can clearly see it and don't forget. When you top up, hit that mark. You need to top up *at least* once a day. (Or...automate with a top-off system.)

im hoping to be able to save my corals.. :(

I'm concerned about the long period of 0.00 ppm in your table for PO4. Also about the accuracy of the 3 measurements in that column.

In the short term, unless you are VERY confident that PO4 levels are really rising, and really in the 0.25-0.5 range currently, I think I would recommend dosing PO4 into your tank using something like Flourish Phosphorous. Calculate a dose to reach at least 0.10 ppm. Going over is fine; better than underestimating. The main idea is that when PO4 gets close to zero, it creates a situation that can be problematic for corals.

 

[bangcamaro]

Just a quick update on some changes..ive been tryin to get water down on salinity. Also did pick up all in reef and been dosing the 5mL suggestion ont he bottle for my tank size.
Also picked up an osmolator to get water topped off automatically so i dont have to keep doing it and missing stuff lol.

also did buy a BRS 4 stage RODI kit..i forgot to mention ive been using distilled water as top off water..wonder if thats played a part in causing chaos...oof..

 

[bangcamaro]

BRS 4 Stage is installed and producing water! Super nervous about it but pretty self explanatory! Hopefully getting my salinity down and using some all in reef will yield good results and get things looking the way they should.

 

[bangcamaro]

After a week of AFR and getting my salinity in line, here is where we're at so far..Not really noticing any major changes in my corals..in fact some of them look even more closed up than before LOL..


kind of shocked at how low my calcium is? I thought AFR was supposed to be adding those elements into the water? So far I've been following what the bottle says..for this whole week I've been doing 5mL but yeah these are my numbers? I'm going to recheck Calcium and Mag tomorrow again to make sure testing is accurate..these have been tested with Salifert test kits.

 

[bangcamaro]

ok i did retest the calcium and mag and its still the same roughly so i guess thats accurate? seems weird to me regardless since im using AFR but maybe its not giving me as much as I think.

 

[mcarroll]

ok i did retest the calcium and mag and its still the same roughly so i guess thats accurate? seems weird to me regardless since im using AFR but maybe its not giving me as much as I think.

I've heard someone (maybe @Randy Holmes-Farley ?) claiming there should acually be a bit more calcium vs the ratio in AFR so I agree this is at least a little surprising. I'm not sure if a defective batch is possible, but this is what I'd at least be wondering about.

If you test your tap water for calcium do you get a more or less predictable result? Same question for fresh-mixed saltwater?

 

[bangcamaro]

I've heard someone (maybe @Randy Holmes-Farley ?) claiming there should acually be a bit more calcium vs the ratio in AFR so I agree this is at least a little surprising. I'm not sure if a defective batch is possible, but this is what I'd at least be wondering about.

If you test your tap water for calcium do you get a more or less predictable result? Same question for fresh-mixed saltwater?

Hm interesting. Let me test my tap water and see. Maybe my salifert test sucks lol

 

[mcarroll]

Hm interesting. Let me test my tap water and see. Maybe my salifert test sucks lol

Something seems "off".

Did you double check the dosage instructions to make sure you're calculating the dose correctly?

 

[bangcamaro]

I ended up doing a quick saoifet test on my tap water and I couldn't change the color with one pull of the liquid whatever that means lol..

 

[bangcamaro]

Something seems "off".

Did you double check the dosage instructions to make sure you're calculating the dose correctly?

I did look at it and it seems like the default starter is to dose 5 mL a day for my size tank roughly round 30 gallons. I could try bumping it up some too perhaps?

 

[bangcamaro]

Looks like if I was relly specific I should be closer to 6mL for 30 gallon..but I feel like that 1 mL shouldn't be causing my levels to be that low still. Hah

 

[mcarroll]

I ended up doing a quick saoifet test on my tap water and I couldn't change the color with one pull of the liquid whatever that means lol..

Well, that's not an affirmative that the kit is working correctly and that's more what we're after. I would consider that inconclusive.

Maybe test fresh made seawater too, if possible.

Looks like if I was relly specific I should be closer to 6mL for 30 gallon..but I feel like that 1 mL shouldn't be causing my levels to be that low still. Hah

Well, it pays to be precise, so IMO bump it up to 6 where it should be.....see what impact that has, if any.

And the idea was to re-check the calulations, so triple-check that you're accounting for everything (ie "true volume of water" in the tank) and then go for it.

 

[bangcamaro]

Well, that's not an affirmative that the kit is working correctly and that's more what we're after. I would consider that inconclusive.

Maybe test fresh made seawater too, if possible.


Well, it pays to be precise, so IMO bump it up to 6 where it should be.....see what impact that has, if any.

And the idea was to re-check the calulations, so triple-check that you're accounting for everything (ie "true volume of water" in the tank) and then go for it.

So after a few days of bumping up the mL of AFR..my numbers are still just as low if not lower..idk what the heck is going on lol..im debating ordering a new batch of salifert kits for Mag and Calcium but i just dont know. I did check my pH and its higher now around 8.0-8.15 versus ive been hovering around 7.7 before I started AFR..i am super stumped..

 

[mcarroll]

So after a few days of bumping up the mL of AFR..my numbers are still just as low if not lower..idk what the heck is going on lol..im debating ordering a new batch of salifert kits for Mag and Calcium but i just dont know.

I loved using Randy's Recipe #2.....IMO it's the best when all things are considered. So maybe consider that going forward? If cost is less a factor, then ESV B-IONIC easily gets my vote over Recipe #2.

Using kalk+vinegar was my second favorite dosing style, but it's not as easy IMO.

I also liked and used Tropic Marin BioCalcium....VERY VERY simple to use as you don'y even have to mix it into a solution you jsut sprinkle it in the tank, but it's not cheap. (Cheap doesn't matter a whole lot until you're dosing a lot of material.)

I did check my pH and its higher now around 8.0-8.15 versus ive been hovering around 7.7 before I started AFR..i am super stumped..

Have you had the windows open lately due to mild/nice weather? CO2 levels in the house seem to be lower based on those pH samples. CO2 monitors are cheap....I'd try one to use along with your pH testing.

 

[bangcamaro]

I loved using Randy's Recipe #2.....IMO it's the best when all things are considered. So maybe consider that going forward? If cost is less a factor, then ESV B-IONIC easily gets my vote over Recipe #2.

Using kalk+vinegar was my second favorite dosing style, but it's not as easy IMO.

I also liked and used Tropic Marin BioCalcium....VERY VERY simple to use as you don'y even have to mix it into a solution you jsut sprinkle it in the tank, but it's not cheap. (Cheap doesn't matter a whole lot until you're dosing a lot of material.)


Have you had the windows open lately due to mild/nice weather? CO2 levels in the house seem to be lower based on those pH samples. CO2 monitors are cheap....I'd try one to use along with your pH testing.

I did just purchase SeaChem Calcium and Mag stuff..ive you think Randy's Recipe #2 is better than this stuff ill return it easily lol.

yeah windows and everything been open, i have alot of air flow in my house near the tank.

 

[mcarroll]

I did just purchase SeaChem Calcium and Mag stuff..ive you think Randy's Recipe #2 is better than this stuff ill return it easily lol.

Which stuff do you mean? Might be fine/more or less the same as Recipe 1 or 2....what makes em great isn't that they are exotic, almost the opposite. (The DIY ingredients are hard to find locally tho; that's one of the main downsides to it.)

yeah windows and everything been open, i have alot of air flow in my house near the tank.

In that case no worries about the pH change...just coincidental.