I need help with my levels, please!

[DeSoDo]

I've had my reef tank up and running for almost 13 months now. Tank is a 65g LPS dominant mixed reef. For the life of me, I can't get the numbers in line for the growth I thought I would have by now. I also have been battling bryopsis. The numbers attached have pretty much been the exact same for all 12.5 months. Very slow growth, bryopsis outbreaks every few months, and my goni are the only things that haven't grown at all. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I dose reef plus and reef trace by seachem 2x a week. API Magnesium 2x a week.

I feed a mix of flakes, pellets, frozen fish eggs and freeze dried mysis & krill soaked in selcon.

I feed my corals reef roids & coral delight (once each a week) with amino drops. And a mix of bottled phytoplankton and zooplankton 2x a week.

Oh, my equipment;
100g rated HOB filter with: sponge, filter floss, activated charcoal and gfo.
65g rated coralife protein skimmer (set to wet skim).
A little makeshift HOB with rubble rock (for copepods).
2 165w LED lights
3 wavemakers, 1 is a gyre.

 

[Euphyllia97]

I would bring up that alkalinity. Are you using an ATO? If not your salinity might be creeping up to undesired levels due to evaporation. If it is steady 1.027 all the time I wouldn’t worry about it.

Any readings on nitrate? Is your temperature stable?

 

[DeSoDo]

I would bring up that alkalinity. Are you using an ATO? If not your salinity might be creeping up to undesired levels due to evaporation. If it is steady 1.027 all the time I wouldn’t worry about it.

Any readings on nitrate? Is your temperature stable?

Using an ATO, Nitrate test is ordered (used up what i had) and temp is steady at 79°. Everything is steady at the numbers posted. I might have to give that kalkwasser stuff a shot.

 

[ReneReef]

If correct, all of the mentioned parameters are fine. None is the cause of a lack of growth.

I say if correct, because you don’t mention verifying them by reference/calibration/ICP or something.

In my experience lack of growth generally means one or more of three things:
- dirty water
- lack of light
- lack of flow

Do you do water changes and do you use activated carbon? If not, see what happens when you do. You might also consider stopping some of the many coralfeeds you use. Especially the bottle plankton products.

On paper you have plenty of lighting and flow. In practice they may be turned down too much. That happens quite a lot.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What percentage is your lights at? Have you ever tested with a par meter? IME low light contributes to slow coral growth much more than parameters do.

 

[DeSoDo]

If correct, all of the mentioned parameters are fine. None is the cause of a lack of growth.

I say if correct, because you don’t mention verifying them by reference/calibration/ICP or something.

In my experience lack of growth generally means one or more of three things:
- dirty water
- lack of light
- lack of flow

Do you do water changes and do you use activated carbon? If not, see what happens when you do. You might also consider stopping some of the many coralfeeds you use. Especially the bottle plankton products.

On paper you have plenty of lighting and flow. In practice they may be turned down too much. That happens quite a lot.

Although I'm not sure, because I'm still fairly new at this, but I don't believe I have dirty water, flow isn't an issue with the 3 wavemakers and the lights aren't much of an issue. I've played with different light settings and this is the one I'm currently running on both lights.

 

[DeSoDo]

What percentage is your lights at? Have you ever tested with a par meter? IME low light contributes to slow coral growth much more than parameters do.

I've tested with a par meter, a fairly cheap one i bought off of Amazon. At the sandbed the par is reading just above 100.

 

[ReneReef]

Although I'm not sure, because I'm still fairly new at this, but I don't believe I have dirty water, flow isn't an issue with the 3 wavemakers and the lights aren't much of an issue. I've played with different light settings and this is the one I'm currently running on both lights.

If you haven’t done any water changes in 13 months and with the food you have been using. The organics in your water will be high.

Dirty water is not limited to nitrate, phosphate and tint of the water.
Organics is much more than we can test for.

The number of flow pumps alone does not say anything about quantity and quality of flow.

The picture of your light schedule shown no channel to get brighter than 3.8%. No matter the light you use, that will never be enough.

If you want us to help you we are going to need all the details about your set up.

 

[DeSoDo]

If you haven’t done any water changes in 13 months and with the food you have been using. The organics in your water will be high.

Dirty water is not limited to nitrate, phosphate and tint of the water.
Organics is much more than we can test for.

The number of flow pumps alone does not say anything about quantity and quality of flow.

The picture of your light schedule shown no channel to get brighter than 3.8%. No matter the light you use, that will never be enough.

If you want us to help you we are going to need all the details about your set up.

I do 15 gallon water changes once a month, 65 gallon tank. The intensity of the lights are visually different to the eye, and the par meter is purchased shows 100ish at the top of the sandbed, and 170ish at the top of the rockwork. I could change my water change schedule to do 7g a week, having 5 kids is tough, hence why I only do it once a month. I recently started using a baster and blowing off the rocks 2x a week to try to minimize the food trapped inside of the bryopsis.