I apologize if this gets to be a long post, but I’ve been scratching my head for months. Some corals are closed up, others are doing well and a few have died. I’m looking for some advice. I’ve done research and can’t pin down exactly what I’m dealing with or the solution. Here’s what I’ve got going on.
I run a 40 gallon nuvo that has been up and running for a year. I have had a brown algae that’s is on spots of my rocks. It’s not slimy and can be easily brushed off. I’ve attached a photo for reference. But, this isn’t my only issue. I used reef crystals for a year and used a cheap api testing kit, which was my fault. I knew better but used what I had. Not a mistake I’ll make again. I noticed once using salifert kit that my alk was 13.7. Immediately I changed salts to fritz and have slowly been doing water changes bringing it down to 12.1 currently. I’m on week three of water changes. As always, I do 5-10 gallons each Sunday. My nitrates are at 10 and I’m reading 0 phos. But the algae is still an unsightly problem and my corals, specifically my Duncan, refuses to open fully.
I’m running chaeto in the back chamber and run the light for 8-10 hours and my main lights for 11.
I don’t know where to go from here. I enjoy my tank and spend hours reading. I don’t mess with it often and only make small changes over time. But, it’s frustrating to see corals unhappy and not knowing how to resolve it. I’m not going to give up on it by any means. But could use some help figuring this out.
I run a 40 gallon nuvo that has been up and running for a year. I have had a brown algae that’s is on spots of my rocks. It’s not slimy and can be easily brushed off. I’ve attached a photo for reference. But, this isn’t my only issue. I used reef crystals for a year and used a cheap api testing kit, which was my fault. I knew better but used what I had. Not a mistake I’ll make again. I noticed once using salifert kit that my alk was 13.7. Immediately I changed salts to fritz and have slowly been doing water changes bringing it down to 12.1 currently. I’m on week three of water changes. As always, I do 5-10 gallons each Sunday. My nitrates are at 10 and I’m reading 0 phos. But the algae is still an unsightly problem and my corals, specifically my Duncan, refuses to open fully.
I’m running chaeto in the back chamber and run the light for 8-10 hours and my main lights for 11.
I don’t know where to go from here. I enjoy my tank and spend hours reading. I don’t mess with it often and only make small changes over time. But, it’s frustrating to see corals unhappy and not knowing how to resolve it. I’m not going to give up on it by any means. But could use some help figuring this out.