General Help

[Ligs]

Hi all,

Let me first introduce myself, I live in the UK have been keeping reef tanks for around 10 years now, started out with a 120 liter softie tank and now have a 4 month old 1000 liter 5.5x2.5x2.5 ft using my old tank water and rock from my reefer 350 the tank cycled quickly. I want to go full SPS with a couple of LPS running triton method.

I have a few questions if anyone is willing to help would really appreciate it as I am scratching my head.

Let's start with tank levels

No3 - 5ppm
Po4 - 0.03ppm
Alk- 141 Ppm
Ca - 505 Ppm (Icp test)
Mag - 1505 ppm (ICP test)

Icp test links
7th July

Triton Applied Reef Bioscience are the world leaders in professional sea water analysis.

Empowering aquarists around the world since 2008. Click to view shared sea water analysis.

www.triton-lab.de

I did the x6 water changes with Fritz RPM salt

15th August

Triton Applied Reef Bioscience are the world leaders in professional sea water analysis.

Empowering aquarists around the world since 2008. Click to view shared sea water analysis.

www.triton-lab.de

I dosed lithium, Nickel, manganese, iodine and Bromine like recommended sent another ICP test of today 25th and will report back with the results

So the issues started at about the month stage of the new tank and it was Dinos, the water changes seem to help and I started dosing Vibrant this looked to have work by month 2, I had no Dinos for a couple of weeks then they where back but it was a different type this time as they disappeared at night, i bought a 80w deltec uv unit and that got rid of them out of the main display but now they are all just in my fuge area and for the whole time I have never been able to grow cheato I put it in and with in a week its dead and falling apart.

I have a couple of SPS in the tank at the minute and when I first got them the polyps where all out and flower shaped but now they are circular with no tentacles see picture.

The next are a bit more equipment related but sort of a cross over i have a nyos 220 running and since the Dinos in the fuge it fills up half way everyday and its on its lowest setting before the dino fuge issue it was emptied once a week, the next thing was last Tuesday morning I woke up to my 5 hydra 26hds floating in my tank so I had to wait a few days and now I have 2 radion g5 blues running I have them running on ab+ 10 hours a day on acclimatise mode for 14 days on 50% at 8 inches about the water level but the corals don't look as happy as the hydras is this normal.

Sorry for all the questions I have been trying to figure these out and gotten no where fast.

Cheers

 

[Doctorgori]

Big welcome back!!!
lemme try and regurgitate:
Dinos are now in the fuge but not the display?
Also you suspect spectrum issues with the new lights?
You have dosed trace elements and waiting to see if your adjustments corrected what?
pardon the brevity, its for clarity and without tone...

I personally don’t bother with ICP anymore; I don’t have the IQ or pHD for any of it to have meaning. I use RO + Instant Ocean. If anything is out of whack I water change...its much simpler and cheaper, for my education level. Personally Iodine. calcium, Mg and alk is as far as I concern myself...

If I’ve correctly identified Dinos, well I’ve never battled beyond water movement and change. Cyno‘s = Chemiclean and weird algae issues to follow... IMO Vibrant seems to almost permantley change my algae biodiversity... Just ancedotal observation ...use granular salt before believing ....

Lighting? I use Kessils and don’t worry about spectrum..Your lighting choices have equally good reputations, so I’d look at the over/under of PAR...at least you can measure that

 

[Ligs]

Big welcome back!!!
lemme try and regurgitate:
Dinos are now in the fuge but not the display?
Also you suspect spectrum issues with the new lights?
You have dosed trace elements and waiting to see if your adjustments corrected what?
pardon the brevity, its for clarity and without tone...

I personally don’t bother with ICP anymore; I don’t have the IQ or pHD for any of it to have meaning. I use RO + Instant Ocean. If anything is out of whack I water change...its much simpler and cheaper, for my education level. Personally Iodine. calcium, Mg and alk is as far as I concern myself...

If I’ve correctly identified Dinos, well I’ve never battled beyond water movement and change. Cyno‘s = Chemiclean and weird algae issues to follow... IMO Vibrant seems to almost permantley change my algae biodiversity... Just ancedotal observation ...use granular salt before believing ....

Lighting? I use Kessils and don’t worry about spectrum..Your lighting choices have equally good reputations, so I’d look at the over/under of PAR...at least you can measure that

Sorry I was trying to remember everything in order and its just come out as one, i will answer them in order

No Dinos in the main display. The fuge is covered in them. Never been able to grow cheato before dinos or during

I wouldnt know to be honest I have kept hydra 26hds and before that was primes, the corals just have less PE and not as colourful.

Yes so with the instructions from Triton they say with Bromine and Nickel to be careful and maybe send an icp test in when or after dosing to check correct levels.

I didnt want to go do the route of waterchanges in a big tank its just to much hard work hence going triton method

Definitely dinos I have a microscope and checked both times.

Any ideas on the wired PE I am getting on the pictures?

 

[I’ma tempermental coral]

First, hi!!! Welcome to R2R!

And Now onto your questions! But I have a question for you first please and thank you. What is the turnover in your sump? Specifically through your refugium?

 

[Doctorgori]

Try sea lettuce. IMO its as good or close. Vibrant doesn’t melt it as fast and it doesn’t hide bristle worms as bad... I Feed it to the tangs and turbos when I have excess

Roger that; H2O changes do stink on large tanks; I go through a bucket of salt per month.

Can you take your sump offline for a day? Maybe vacuum & peroxide & change just the sump water, then wait a few weeks and see what happens. Bro I dunno, I’ve seen all manner of battles and cures for dinos. Personal experience with “ocean snot” always involved manual removal, water changes and flow adjustments over time... Maybe someone else will chime in with a better faster more “chemical” treatment

 

[Ligs]

First, hi!!! Welcome to R2R!

And Now onto your questions! But I have a question for you first please and thank you. What is the turnover in your sump? Specifically through your refugium?

Total tank turn over is just over ten times an hour as per triton recommendation, i worked out total water volume after rock, sand etc is 958 litres including sump. No power head in the fuge either

 

[Ligs]

Try sea lettuce. IMO its as good or close. Vibrant doesn’t melt it as fast and it doesn’t hide bristle worms as bad... I Feed it to the tangs and turbos when I have excess

Roger that; H2O changes do stink on large tanks; I go through a bucket of salt per month.

Can you take your sump offline for a day? Maybe vacuum & peroxide & change just the sump water, then wait a few weeks and see what happens. Bro I dunno, I’ve seen all manner of battles and cures for dinos. Personal experience with “ocean snot” always involved manual removal, water changes and flow adjustments over time... Maybe someone else will chime in with a better faster more “chemical” treatment

Yeah i thought of doing that too, just worried if I do i will be low on the elements I have dosed recently but I do think I am going to have no choice soon.

 

[I’ma tempermental coral]

Total tank turn over is just over ten times an hour as per triton recommendation, i worked out total water volume after rock, sand etc is 958 litres including sump. No power head in the fuge either

Interesting. I was thinking possibly the fuge was stripping the water running through the fuge of nutrients to quickly and allowing the Dino’s to take hold but I don’t think that’s it then.

 

[Ligs]

Interesting. I was thinking possibly the fuge was stripping the water running through the fuge of nutrients to quickly and allowing the Dino’s to take hold but I don’t think that’s it then.

I know its a really strange one, I have overcome dinos 3 times and everything its everywhere. If I am being honest if its happy in the fuge it can stay there until I can figure out why I cant grow cheato and whats with the dodgy polyp extention. Then if its still there I will vacuum it out like suggested above

 

[I’ma tempermental coral]

I know its a really strange one, I have overcome dinos 3 times and everything its everywhere. If I am being honest if its happy in the fuge it can stay there until I can figure out why I cant grow cheato and whats with the dodgy polyp extention. Then if its still there I will vacuum it out like suggested above

If you have Dino in the sump you have it everywhere. It just doesn’t have the same grip. That could possibly explain the poor polyp extension?

 

[Ligs]

If you have Dino in the sump you have it everywhere. It just doesn’t have the same grip. That could possibly explain the poor polyp extension?

Yeah that would make sense, I thought unless the dinos where showing on the coral it doesn't effect them?

 

[I’ma tempermental coral]

Yeah that would make sense, I thought unless the dinos where showing on the coral it doesn't effect them?

One would assume but maybe think of it this way. Since they are possibly in the water column they are effecting the coral? I could be completely off base here though.