General reef advice

noah.tank3 · Jan 20, 2024

Hello friends!
I currently have a 180 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. I am going to list off everything my tank is equipped with a just wanted advice on changes I can make. I currently have good parameter and no growth at all.

Lighting : 6 noopsyches
Skimmer: reef octopus coral-5000
Refugium: 15+ ball of chaeto
Fish: 6 tangs
Feed: two cubes mysis every other day

Goals: mostly acropora dominant

Please give as much advice as you want I and thinking of adding reefbrites or t5 for more par but don’t know what to do

Chris Spaulding · Jan 20, 2024

Flow any extra wave makers?
How old is the tank?
Dry rock or live rock ?
What are you using to keep the big 3 AlK Calk Mag?
A lot of people come asking for advice and say Parameters are all in line but more detail will help a lot.
Po4 ? No3 ?
If wanting Acros a good idea of Par and schedule will help.

noah.tank3 · Jan 20, 2024

Chris Spaulding said:
Flow any extra wave makers?
How old is the tank?
Dry rock or live rock ?
What are you using to keep the big 3 AlK Calk Mag?
A lot of people come asking for advice and say Parameters are all in line but more detail will help a lot.
Po4 ? No3 ?
If wanting Acros a good idea of Par and schedule will help.

I have two 3500 gph wave makers
Tank is 11 months old
Dry rock
Kalk stirrer and mag by hand
Alk 8.5
Cal 450
Mag 1450
Phos 0.06
Nit 2.5
Just had icp and nothing popped up.
The lights ramp up to 100% blues and 25% whites for 12 hours. I tested par and was getting 120 at the rocks.

noah.tank3 · Jan 20, 2024

noah.tank3 said:
Hello friends!
I currently have a 180 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. I am going to list off everything my tank is equipped with a just wanted advice on changes I can make. I currently have good parameter and no growth at all.

Lighting : 6 noopsyches
Skimmer: reef octopus coral-5000
Refugium: 15+ ball of chaeto
Fish: 6 tangs
Feed: two cubes mysis every other day

Goals: mostly acropora dominant

Please give as much advice as you want I and thinking of adding reefbrites or t5 for more par but don’t know what to do

Chris Spaulding · Jan 20, 2024

120 par at the rocks for Acros is on the low side imo.My Acros are getting 300 to 500 depending on location. I would not advise just going that high at first but a very slow ramp up time over the course of weeks.
Also 2 cubes every other day for 6 tangs is not very much.
Nitrates could be higher I shoot for 10 +/- 5

noah.tank3 · Jan 20, 2024

Chris Spaulding said:
120 par at the rocks for Acros is on the low side imo.My Acros are getting 300 to 500 depending on location. I would not advise just going that high at first but a very slow ramp up time over the course of weeks.
Also 2 cubes every other day for 6 tangs is not very much.
Nitrates could be higher I shoot for 10 +/- 5

Thank you! The lights are maxed out except for the whites. Should I add t5s or should I just get some reef brites? Plus I will start feeding more!

Chris Spaulding · Jan 20, 2024

You can add bar I do but can also use white to get some more out of it. I run my tank white during the day when I am not home and dim to the blues in the night

vetteguy53081 · Jan 20, 2024

noah.tank3 said:
Hello friends!
I currently have a 180 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. I am going to list off everything my tank is equipped with a just wanted advice on changes I can make. I currently have good parameter and no growth at all.

Lighting : 6 noopsyches
Skimmer: reef octopus coral-5000
Refugium: 15+ ball of chaeto
Fish: 6 tangs
Feed: two cubes mysis every other day

Goals: mostly acropora dominant

Please give as much advice as you want I and thinking of adding reefbrites or t5 for more par but don’t know what to do

If tank is running good and parameters are in range, change nothing. Light should be sufficient

noah.tank3 · Jan 20, 2024

Chris Spaulding said:
You can add bar I do but can also use white to get some more out of it. I run my tank white during the day when I am not home and dim to the blues in the night

Thank you so much!

dadnjesse · Jan 20, 2024

What did you use to test your Par? That's not a lot of light if correct. I suppose it will do to start but Acropora needs Light.

noah.tank3 · Jan 21, 2024

dadnjesse said:
What did you use to test your Par? That's not a lot of light if correct. I suppose it will do to start but Acropora needs Light.

I used a par meter my lfs rents out

VintageReefer · Jan 21, 2024

Seems like low par for 6 noops with those settings. Do you have glass lids that were maybe dirty? Did you turn off wavemakers and flow when measuring?
Do you Know the brand and model par meter? Some need a correction factor multiplied for blue lighting or for being underwater

I’m getting 120 on my sand bed with my led fixture on 35% blues and violet and 5% white

Also as a general suggestion you can try adding amino acids a few times a week. These don’t contain phosphates and shouldn’t affect water quality

noah.tank3 · Jan 21, 2024

VintageReefer said:
Seems like low par for 6 noops with those settings. Do you have glass lids that were maybe dirty? Did you turn off wavemakers and flow when measuring?
Do you Know the brand and model par meter? Some need a correction factor multiplied for blue lighting or for being underwater

I’m getting 120 on my sand bed with my led fixture on 35% blues and violet and 5% white

Also as a general suggestion you can try adding amino acids a few times a week. These don’t contain phosphates and shouldn’t affect water quality

Thank you! it was an apogee that I was using. My tank is 24 inches deep and my rocks are probably 12-15 tall. I measured the tops of the rocks and got 120. I am really thinking about getting rid of them and buying something else because I don’t think I will get good growth.