Help with clam please

[LagoonReefLife]

What’s your water change schedule and amount like?

It’s probably worth doing an ICP test to see what all your elements are at.
The longer a tank is running with coral and clam’s consuming things, and dosing things, stuff can get (dangerously) high or low. No way to know with an ICP test.

If I were you, I’d use a big hammer do a series of large water changes over the next week. Run carbon to remove any possible toxins. Change your filter socks (if you’re using them) more often.
See if all of that together helps.
If so, there’s something not right in the water. Too much or too little of an element, or a toxic element present.

 

[sushiboss]

What’s your water change schedule and amount like?

It’s probably worth doing an ICP test to see what all your elements are at.
The longer a tank is running with coral and clam’s consuming things, and dosing things, stuff can get (dangerously) high or low. No way to know with an ICP test.

If I were you, I’d use a big hammer do a series of large water changes over the next week. Run carbon to remove any possible toxins. Change your filter socks (if you’re using them) more often.
See if all of that together helps.
If so, there’s something not right in the water. Too much or too little of an element, or a toxic element present.

Water changes I’ve been doing every 2 months religiously.

30% followed by another 30% the following week.

I suppose it is time to do that dang icp test though.

As for getting the clams higher up, do they make clam hammocks or something of the sort to bring them higher up in my display?

The problem is that near the top of my setup is spot on for my acros nearing 380.

The corals in general are all generally happy.

In order to move the clams up I’d need to redo my scape but something already made that I can just use as a platform would be best.

Thanks in advance

 

[minus9]

If your lights are maxed out, I would do one of two things, possibly both. First, I would increase your peak to at least 8hrs a day, 4hrs isn't long enough to sustain clams at that level. I would also move the clam up to the left or right side that's closer to the lights, assuming you've measured par in those areas as well? Are you replacing the depleted trace elements that get consumed via dosing or are you relying on water changes alone? If the latter, then I would increase the frequency of the water changes to every two weeks at minimum or consider dosing the "needed" trace elements. What is your PO4 level? I forget what your NO3 is currently, but adding ammonium bicarbonate may be an easier way of giving your animals nitrogen than your current routine (feeding fish?). Lighting, parameters and the lack of pests are what keep clams happy and the order in which I deem the most important to their overall health.

 

[Uncle99]

Water changes I’ve been doing every 2 months religiously.

30% followed by another 30% the following week.

I suppose it is time to do that dang icp test though.

As for getting the clams higher up, do they make clam hammocks or something of the sort to bring them higher up in my display?

The problem is that near the top of my setup is spot on for my acros nearing 380.

The corals in general are all generally happy.

In order to move the clams up I’d need to redo my scape but something already made that I can just use as a platform would be best.

Thanks in advance

30% change is on the big side every two months. Could this change chemistry enough to make him unhappy.

10% weekly would eliminate that possibility.

 

[sushiboss]

If your lights are maxed out, I would do one of two things, possibly both. First, I would increase your peak to at least 8hrs a day, 4hrs isn't long enough to sustain clams at that level. I would also move the clam up to the left or right side that's closer to the lights, assuming you've measured par in those areas as well? Are you replacing the depleted trace elements that get consumed via dosing or are you relying on water changes alone? If the latter, then I would increase the frequency of the water changes to every two weeks at minimum or consider dosing the "needed" trace elements. What is your PO4 level? I forget what your NO3 is currently, but adding ammonium bicarbonate may be an easier way of giving your animals nitrogen than your current routine (feeding fish?). Lighting, parameters and the lack of pests are what keep clams happy and the order in which I deem the most important to their overall health.

Yes I have my whole tank mapped out according to par.

I’m dosing trace and amino acids weekly and once a month or when I remember iodine due to the softies I have.

Nitrates are 28 ppm
Phosphate is .2 ppm

They were a bit higher before I kicked on the nopox.

I do large water changes only for trace elements and the random things I am not testing for etc. never due to water quality but I’m still relatively new to this hobby.

I’m by no means an expert but I thought my water was clean so I kept pushing it off and used dosing to compensate.

As far as testable parameters go everything is relatively stable.

Alk consistently 7.5-8.4 depending on time of day
Calcium between 425-450
Mag between 1450-1650 (tests sort of suck but I don’t dose with any regularity)
Nitrates usually hover 30ppm
Phosphate I stopped testing weekly as I get spin tests and spot check it monthly. Today was .19 which is basically identical to my Aqua spin test from Tuesday.

Salinity stable at 1.025

If I moved it roughly 8” from the surface of the water it would be roughly 350 par with water movement.

 

[sushiboss]

30% change is on the big side every two months. Could this change chemistry enough to make him unhappy.

10% weekly would eliminate that possibility.

The water I use if I’m not mistaken is Aqua forest synthetic (forget what my guy uses) which is why I keep my parameters where I keep them. I choose to match the parameters to what he mixes to match theirs at the 1.025 parameters.

So no real change minus nitrates are concerned.

At most a .5 point swing in alk and less than 50ppm in calcium.

 

[sushiboss]

If your lights are maxed out, I would do one of two things, possibly both. First, I would increase your peak to at least 8hrs a day, 4hrs isn't long enough to sustain clams at that level. I would also move the clam up to the left or right side that's closer to the lights, assuming you've measured par in those areas as well? Are you replacing the depleted trace elements that get consumed via dosing or are you relying on water changes alone? If the latter, then I would increase the frequency of the water changes to every two weeks at minimum or consider dosing the "needed" trace elements. What is your PO4 level? I forget what your NO3 is currently, but adding ammonium bicarbonate may be an easier way of giving your animals nitrogen than your current routine (feeding fish?). Lighting, parameters and the lack of pests are what keep clams happy and the order in which I deem the most important to their overall health.

I guess being “maxed” out is not accurate.

I have room to boost the power but I’d start frying a bunch of corals.

Thought I was at higher percentages ( thought I was at 80%) than I was but I suppose I have room to increase the par.

But the peak lasts 8 hours. Been a while since I actually checked my schedule.

8 hours at 250-280 par a day plus an additional 4 hours of rising and falling of sunrise and sunset.

You thinking it’s mainly the lighting being an issue?

I could take a better photo of the clam close up if that helps?