Corals just arent right. Not thriving like before. Pics included**

[Brew12]

Yea, hopefully someone comes in that can tell me what stray voltage should be in a aquarium.

I firmly believe in using a grounding probe for both personal and fish safety. I don't believe the level of the voltage matters to fish or coral, only that it exists. Voltage to ground (what we measure) matters to people because we get shocked when we touch an energized source and something that is grounded at the same time. Fish and coral live in saltwater held by a glass or acrylic insulator. They don't care about voltage to ground since they cannot be shocked from the water to ground. What they do seem to care about is the voltage eddies in the tank. Voltage is never uniform across the saltwater and is impacted by many factors, especially water flow. I doubt it matters to a fish or coral if they experience a 5V swing from 120V to 115V or if it is 25V to 20V. They do not have a reference to ground for that to have meaning.

I hope I explained that well enough....

 

[JaimeAdams]

I don't know the answer to the how many volts is acceptable thing, but I have seen references other places where people were mentioning under 5.

 

[najer]

Zoas looked stretched in the pic, they need more light (slowly), duncan flesh looks great, I would try them with more light too, you have some super happy corals in there, not everything will have adapted to the light the same.

 

[mcarroll]

Definitely check for stray voltage to rule it out and replace any gear as needed.

But I don't think you're going to be able to stop with that.

Considering this is a new tank with new lighting, I thought ide give it some time, as maybe they just need time to acclimate.

If you didn't use a light meter to make the two light systems similar during the corals' transition, then light shock is almost assuredly at least one factor you're dealing with.

Get a light meter right now.

• You can start with a free lux meter app. It uses the camera's light meter to compute a regular lux reading. "galactica luxmeter" for IOS is one example, but there are many.

• I would also suggest ordering a handheld lux meter such as the "LX-1010B". It has a remote sensor, will give better readings and is safer than your phone to use around your tank! They are usually under $15, delivered.

• I would check your current light levels right now to see where things stand. Ideally, if you have the old lights, take a measurement on them too for comparison.

Post results too!

Nitrate: 0 ppm
Phosphates: 0 ppm

Change Rox Gac...once a month.

You're creating a bottleneck for your corals. Phosphates are required for nitrate uptake. Nitrates are required for all sorts of things. With virtually no dissolved PO4 and NO3, your corals are very dependent on particulate feeding.

I would start by removing 1/4 of your GFO volume every time you change it out until you start registering some PO4 on your test kit.

If you are holding back on feeding, I would fill out the feeding schedule. I wouldn't feed more than makes sense, and don't make any big changes here without allowing enough observation time to see how the numbers and tank adjust.

Dosing nitrates is a decent option (once you have some phosphates), but that's a whole other topic.

Things look great right now though, so whatever changes you decide on, make them small, and space them out a lot so you have plenty of time to watch.

 

[BigJim]

I noticed a lot of vermetid snails around your duncan and in between your zoas. They can irritate corals and cause them to close up. That may be the issue since the appear otherwise healthy. I have some issues with them as well and remove them with tweezers when they get close to my corals. Some people also super glue the tips to kill them.

 

[sil40sx]

Subscribing.

I have same issue ATM. And don't think that making a new thread is ideal if there's already one that is similar to my problem(s). I don't want to clutter the forum. LOL

 

[rock_lobster]

Some thins to consider

Get registering PO4 and NO3.
Test your RODI water parameters.
try a heavy metal absorbing pad.

 

[genetao]

Why not just spend $15 on a titanium grounding probe and see if that doesn't fix the problem for good? It's a small price to pay to make sure that the stray voltage really is NOT the culprit. Besides its good insurance to have one in your tank.

Honestly though, I bet it's the stray voltage that's stressing out your corals.

 

[hinovak]

Why not just spend $15 on a titanium grounding probe and see if that doesn't fix the problem for good? It's a small price to pay to make sure that the stray voltage really is NOT the culprit. Besides its good insurance to have one in your tank.

Honestly though, I bet it's the stray voltage that's stressing out your corals.

I would agree, this will be quick and easy, if it is the problem, you should notice improvements in the first week, if no improvements here, move to the other possible issues the other guys have pointed out. As some above said, it may be multiple issues, but you can systematically eliminate each one.

 

[Oldreefer44]

Agree with Sabellafella. System needs some Phosphates for most coral to be in optimal condition.

 

[varela]

Hi, whtat do you do to yours acans stay tath right, paramete, feed...
Tks.
Rob Varela

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

Hey Reef2reef, decided to revive this thread give you guys a little update. Im still dealing with this issue. for the most part my zoas and duncans seem to be doing the worse by not fully opening up and the other corals still dont have the color they used to have. I started to suspect phosphates, and decided to no longer trust my API phosphate test and started running GFO. Its been about a month now with GFO and still no improvement other than less algae growing on the glass.

I then started to think maybe its a lighting issue. Got a par meter and numbers seem to be good, not to high nor to low. (low 400s to high 300s up top, 200-100s in the middle, and 150-70 on the sand bed) , So ive crossed that out for now. unless my old orphek is maybe aged and starting to throw a incorrect spectrum that is affecting the coral, which i doubt.

Now my final attempt is getting a triton lab test in which I already sent out my samples, should be receiving results some time next week. Maybe I have some copper going on in there or some other levels in my water that is out of whack that i cant test at home. if this comes back fine, i have no clue what else I could check for and what is causing this.

feel free to chime in on this , il keep you guys updated on the triton results.

 

[Denisk]

I would say raise your No3. I just had another person on the forum tell me about it and it's a very easy thing to miss. Best of luck to you!

 

[Sabellafella]

Hey Reef2reef, decided to revive this thread give you guys a little update. Im still dealing with this issue. for the most part my zoas and duncans seem to be doing the worse by not fully opening up and the other corals still dont have the color they used to have. I started to suspect phosphates, and decided to no longer trust my API phosphate test and started running GFO. Its been about a month now with GFO and still no improvement other than less algae growing on the glass.

I then started to think maybe its a lighting issue. Got a par meter and numbers seem to be good, not to high nor to low. (low 400s to high 300s up top, 200-100s in the middle, and 150-70 on the sand bed) , So ive crossed that out for now. unless my old orphek is maybe aged and starting to throw a incorrect spectrum that is affecting the coral, which i doubt.

Now my final attempt is getting a triton lab test in which I already sent out my samples, should be receiving results some time next week. Maybe I have some copper going on in there or some other levels in my water that is out of whack that i cant test at home. if this comes back fine, i have no clue what else I could check for and what is causing this.

feel free to chime in on this , il keep you guys updated on the triton results.

Hey bud, can we get some new photos up? Those readings are absolutely perfect, duncans are NOTORIOUS for retracting when phosphate is none. Maybe get a better phosphate test kit first.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

Hey bud, can we get some new photos up? Those readings are absolutely perfect, duncans are NOTORIOUS for retracting when phosphate is none. Maybe get a better phosphate test kit first.

Hey whats up dude , il snap some new pics for you guys tomorrow. Tank is off at the moment, but things pretty much look the same from the first pics i posted. I agree I need to get my hands on a good phosphate test kit. Well triton lab is gonna test phosphates im sure it doesnt get more accurate than that. I should have my results some time next week .

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

I would say raise your No3. I just had another person on the forum tell me about it and it's a very easy thing to miss. Best of luck to you!

Il definitley give that a try once I get my triton test results in

 

[Mrx7899]

Having same problem nitrate 0 phosphates are 0 and sps corals are starting to pale thinking of stopping gfo doing monthly water changes instead of weekly and starting to dose nitrates

 

[Rick.45cal]

I'd cut out using the GFO. That's never something to use without an accurate phosphate test kit and constant monitoring. Phosphate deficiency in corals results in extremely high mortalilty rates.

 

[sundog101]

I'd get no3 and po4 up to detectable levels and work on ruling other things out (flow, stability, etc). Some people like to dose nitrates, but I would just increase nutrient input or decrease output. You can put your skimmer on a timer so it only runs part time or just feed more. I don't like to mess with another chemical to dose. Just my opinion.
This may not be relevant, but how are you measuring salinity? I used to not calibrate my refractometer with a standard solution and when I finally did, my salinity was way too low.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

Triton results are in! I have some red and yellow flags. Hopefully @Randy Holmes-Farley can chime in on this. I couldnt believe my phosphate levels. Nearly zero. Most of you guys are right, imma need to raise it up some. This is might be a factor to why my corals arent how they used to be.