SantaMonica
Valuable Member
Racks are great
Devoted Reefer 250
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OP
OP
Update....
Alk has been what I will call fairly stable -
8/4 - 7.6
8/5 - 7.5
8/7 - 7.8 (not sure where this jump comes from)
8/8 - 7.6
Phosphates holding steady -
8/4 - .03
8/5 - .04
8/8 - .02
Need to dose some phosphates OR prod cast feed some reef roids tonight
Nitrates -
8/4 - RedSea High Range Test 4
8/5 - RedSea High Range Test 4
8/8 - RedSea High Range Test 4 (I dosed another 20ml of nitrates since the color was a little weaker VS previous tests)
Salinity was 1.027 this morning. A little higher than I like, I prefer 1.025
Still some of the new frags I got in look like they are struggling. Tank SHOULD have plenty of flow now with two Gyre 230's on the sides and the additional MP10wQD on the left back wall.
It's really crossed my mind to order some live rock, 10 lbs or so drop it in a bucket and let it cycle then drop it into the sump. This tank is nearly 2 years old now and I've kept my parameters as stable as possible for the last 1.5-2 months. Adding the third kessil I thought would surely help.
I did raise the intensity of the lights slightly to 72% and then dropped it back down, I noticed the glass was getting extremely dirty after 2 days. I always suspect the lights are too intense when this happens. Thoughts?
Alk has been what I will call fairly stable -
8/4 - 7.6
8/5 - 7.5
8/7 - 7.8 (not sure where this jump comes from)
8/8 - 7.6
Phosphates holding steady -
8/4 - .03
8/5 - .04
8/8 - .02
Need to dose some phosphates OR prod cast feed some reef roids tonight
Nitrates -
8/4 - RedSea High Range Test 4
8/5 - RedSea High Range Test 4
8/8 - RedSea High Range Test 4 (I dosed another 20ml of nitrates since the color was a little weaker VS previous tests)
Salinity was 1.027 this morning. A little higher than I like, I prefer 1.025
Still some of the new frags I got in look like they are struggling. Tank SHOULD have plenty of flow now with two Gyre 230's on the sides and the additional MP10wQD on the left back wall.
It's really crossed my mind to order some live rock, 10 lbs or so drop it in a bucket and let it cycle then drop it into the sump. This tank is nearly 2 years old now and I've kept my parameters as stable as possible for the last 1.5-2 months. Adding the third kessil I thought would surely help.
I did raise the intensity of the lights slightly to 72% and then dropped it back down, I noticed the glass was getting extremely dirty after 2 days. I always suspect the lights are too intense when this happens. Thoughts?
Update....
Alk has been what I will call fairly stable -
8/4 - 7.6
8/5 - 7.5
8/7 - 7.8 (not sure where this jump comes from)
8/8 - 7.6
Phosphates holding steady -
8/4 - .03
8/5 - .04
8/8 - .02
Need to dose some phosphates OR prod cast feed some reef roids tonight
Nitrates -
8/4 - RedSea High Range Test 4
8/5 - RedSea High Range Test 4
8/8 - RedSea High Range Test 4 (I dosed another 20ml of nitrates since the color was a little weaker VS previous tests)
Salinity was 1.027 this morning. A little higher than I like, I prefer 1.025
Still some of the new frags I got in look like they are struggling. Tank SHOULD have plenty of flow now with two Gyre 230's on the sides and the additional MP10wQD on the left back wall.
It's really crossed my mind to order some live rock, 10 lbs or so drop it in a bucket and let it cycle then drop it into the sump. This tank is nearly 2 years old now and I've kept my parameters as stable as possible for the last 1.5-2 months. Adding the third kessil I thought would surely help.
I did raise the intensity of the lights slightly to 72% and then dropped it back down, I noticed the glass was getting extremely dirty after 2 days. I always suspect the lights are too intense when this happens. Thoughts?
Sps are tricky, and sometimes the issues are not all that obvious. Don’t want to send you on a goose-chase, but I have a good friend that spent 2 or 3 years trying to figure out why SPS weren’t growing. He tried everything but generally failed. When he took apart the system, he realized that his upstairs dishwasher was slowly leaking dirty water into the his rodi container.
So, perhaps give your setup a quick look for possible issues of contamination. Anything that is possibly rusting in the tank ? Worth doing an icp test just to make sure that water is clean. Are you possibly doing something odd during dipping ?
Also you may want to try a few low light and hardy sps just to build confidence and troubleshoot. Something like a bird nest, monti or a low light acropora. These should thrive in your system. If they don’t l, then it suggests water chem issues. Another approach would be to get a bunch of cheap frags and put them in different locations in the tank... trying to bracket areas within the sweet spot of light... stuff to consider!
OP
OP
My RODI unit it in the laundry room and above everything else, literally mounted at the ceiling. I have to use a stool to open and close the flush valve! haha I pump the water to 40 gallon containers in my garage that are sealed off. In an effort to rule out RODI I replaced all of my filters except the membrane the last time I made water. It wasn't time to change them but I figured it was cheap enough to replace the filters to rule them out. Anything is possible as far as rust, I did the ATI ICP test a few months ago and everything came back good. I like the ATI test because it also tests the RODI water.
When I receive corals I float them in the tank for 15-20 minutes, dip them in revive then dip them in saltwater only. I do the saltwater dip twice just to make sure I get all of the revive off the corals. I've had many birdsnest in the tank and they have never done good in here. The one monti I had in the tank that took a crap did well for awhile until I started running into other unknown issues.
It really is mind boggling. I've read a few posts with the owner basically stating that their system could never keep SPS. I almost feel like I am in that category but I refuse to believe that! haha I seem to always point the finger at lighting. I could very well be pointing it in the wrong direction. When I ordered the last coral pack I told myself if this goes downhill I'll focus on LPS corals and maybe add some SPS later down the road. Before I do that I have some containers on the way and I plan to dose kalk with a doser. Kalk is something I've never used before so it is worth a shot!
Thank you very much for your input, it is greatly appreciated!
Very frustrating, I am sure! But baby steps. Bird nest! I think it is safe to say that the bird nest is the most hard sps, out there. They are also cheap. Get a few frags and do some experiments, put them in different places and see how they do. I would say get three frags and out them in top / mid / bottom of tank. Take before pics, give them a month, and take after pics, and lets see what happens.
Ps. Your dipping regimen sounds good. I use revive, at 1 ml per 100 ml of tank water. I dip for 10 min, then rinse in tank water (removed from tank obviously) then into tank they go. I don’t ‘light’ acclimate, the corals into the rockwork where I generally want to keep them.
SantaMonica
Valuable Member
Can also do the swap technique, where you cut a frag in half and give one to a friend. Let both grow, then swap, and watch.
OP
OP
That’s a great idea! Unfortunately I only know a few people but not really close. They seem to grow SPS just fine from what I can tell!
OP
OP
Didn’t get much done on the tank today. Plan to do a water change tomorrow and add the kalk to the tank. Second Neptune DOS has been installed, need to setup in fusion. Mixed 2 teaspoons of kalk in the @BRS slim gallon jug. Will dose with doser and monitor ph on apex.
Also, as you can see in the pictures new corals are slowly fading away. It’s a revolving door for my tank. Many on Instagram suggested raising alk? It’s been stable at 7.6
Thoughts or opinions?
Also, as you can see in the pictures new corals are slowly fading away. It’s a revolving door for my tank. Many on Instagram suggested raising alk? It’s been stable at 7.6
Thoughts or opinions?
Perplexing. Do have any fish / inverts that would bug the frags ? Not sure what is causing this... did you start with dry rock ? My feeling is that this is a water chemistry issue, but likely something other than Alk... 7.6 should be fine. Light and flow should be good.
How is your coraline ? Also, do you notice any sponges in your tank and sump ?
I would try again with a few cheaper and hardier sps...
How is your coraline ? Also, do you notice any sponges in your tank and sump ?
I would try again with a few cheaper and hardier sps...
zoasaholic
Well-Known Member
I have the same issue,but lately been doing ok to keep aquaculture sps alive
Are all those Sps aquaculture?
Are all those Sps aquaculture?
Scurvy
Pirate Reefer
Fighting the same issues in my 40. Lost half of the battle frags at this point with very low nutrients and keeping alk about 7.8. Im a little frustrated too. Not sure what direction to go.
Point being I feel your pain!
Point being I feel your pain!
RedneckReefer68
Well-Known Member
Burnt tips.. What's your nutrient levels like? What's calcium and mag?
Have you done ICP test ?
Didn’t get much done on the tank today. Plan to do a water change tomorrow and add the kalk to the tank. Second Neptune DOS has been installed, need to setup in fusion. Mixed 2 teaspoons of kalk in the @BRS slim gallon jug. Will dose with doser and monitor ph on apex.
Also, as you can see in the pictures new corals are slowly fading away. It’s a revolving door for my tank. Many on Instagram suggested raising alk? It’s been stable at 7.6
Thoughts or opinions?
Are you running carbon or GFO? ICP test will be best, but I'd run some carbon if you're not already. Also, is anything sprayed near the tank or do you wash your hands with soap before putting them in the tank?
OP
OP
I do have a coral beauty but I've never seen it bother any corals. Doesn't mean he hasn't I've just not seen it! I did start with dry rock, I really think I may get 10 pounds of live rock from kb aquatics, throw it in a bucket and let it go through its stages then drop it in the sump.
Fighting the same issues in my 40. Lost half of the battle frags at this point with very low nutrients and keeping alk about 7.8. Im a little frustrated too. Not sure what direction to go.
Point being I feel your pain!
Can't win! But I can't stop trying either! haha I am still dosing nitrates and phospates.
Calcium is 450 and mag is 1500 I am still dosing nitrates and phosphates
I haven't in awhile, I need to order another one. May do that this week!
I do run carbon, I started running carbon a few weeks ago. Today I cleaned out the reactor and adding more carbon. There isn't anything in the room that sprays, I do wash my hands and throughly dry them before going into the tank. Matter of fact I wash my entire arm is I plan to go that far into the tank.
If you're washing your hands and arms with soap before putting them in the tank, that might be an issue. You should rinse your hands and arms off with hot water to make sure nothing is left on your skin after using the soap. Or skip the soap and use hot water only. You also can use salt as a scrub or BRS sells a reef safe soap. This might not be the problem, but it doesn't hurt to try. If you need to use soap, use something without perfume or fragrance.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-suds-aquarium-safe-hand-soap.html
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-suds-aquarium-safe-hand-soap.html
Last edited:
bubblemytip
Active Member
What time of day are you testing for phosphates and when are you dosing them? How many ppm are you dosing? What is your nitrate level?
As an aside, I would move your DOS to be below your power supplies etc. Any leaks (split tubing etc) could be disastrous.
As an aside, I would move your DOS to be below your power supplies etc. Any leaks (split tubing etc) could be disastrous.
powers2001
started reefing 1999
pelphrey, could you list all your parameters? Everything you can test for? Salinity, temp, ORP, Iodine (if you have the kit), etc.
Coral beauty? If you are able to catch and temp relocate him, that would give you an idea if he is stressing out the corals... lights seems good, flow seems good m, water chemistry seems good... maybe it’s time to checkout the tank inhabitants as possible causes?
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