Looking for advice, help me troubleshoot

[Acroporaaddict]

I'm experiencing random STN, RTN and pale colors.

About my system:
*36x24x12 frag tank
*Filter sock changed out every three days
*Deltec skimmer just recently disassembled and cleaned
*Octopus Varios return pump, new impeller 1 month ago
*DOS dosing ESV Bionic
*2 MP40WQD new wetsides 1 week ago
*ATI Sunpower 8×39w (4 Blue+, 4 Coral+) 8hr 4 B+ and 2 C+, 3hr all 8 bulbs.
*36" XHO 10hr

I feed LRS nano frenzy daily and have a AFS feeding pellets daily as well. Fish seem to be fat and happy (2 clowns, anthia, yellow tang, royal gramma, sapphire damsel)

Recent ICP results

Nitrates run between 5 and 10. Po4 is between .03 and .05

I dont dose anything other than bionic. I'm at a loss as to why my corals are suffering

Any advice on what I should check? I've dipped every piece I have in melafix pond twice looking for aefw and both times the only thing in the dip containers were coepods

 

[ycnibrc]

How old is your tank? Have u try dosing amino? Your coral look pale however your nitrate is ok. Just try to feed your fish more and turn down your skimmer for a few days and see if the condition improving.

 

[Acroporaaddict]

This tank has been running since April. The rock, biomedia, livestock and equipment have been going on a different system since July of last year.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

What is your alk?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Are you using gfo?

 

[Acroporaaddict]

What is your alk?

9.25-9.5 no go, no carbon

 

[KrisReef]

I don't have the Apex, but is it adding Alk and CA at the same time? (Not sure if that is what the graph indicates?) They should be added at different times, as I understand dosing them.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I’ve had much more success and polyp extension with alk in the 7.8-8.3 range when my po4 was as low as yours. I try to keep my alk 8.3-8.5 with po4 0.10-0.30

 

[Xam]

I'm still learning, but I know I've read (out of the million articles sorry I cant produce a link) that anything over a 0.1 ph swing daily can cause issues. I see 0.3+. Is that too much? Maybe not.

You have an amazing setup by the way. Very nice.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I haven’t checked ph in 2 years.

 

[Acroporaaddict]

I don't have the Apex, but is it adding Alk and CA at the same time? (Not sure if that is what the graph indicates?) They should be added at different times, as I understand dosing them.

The DOS automatically does all day long. If I remember right its every 10 minutes or something like that. The ca and alk lines are in seperate parts of the sump above high flow so they have time to mix with the water

 

[SeaDweller]

I'm still learning, but I know I've read (out of the million articles sorry I cant produce a link) that anything over a 0.1 ph swing daily can cause issues. I see 0.3+. Is that too much? Maybe not.

You have an amazing setup by the way. Very nice.

I doubt his ph has anything to do with it, and his low is pretty high, which is good. No one really worries about ph unless it’s like consistently under 7.8 all day every day.


OP, you’d think with those nutrient levels your stuff would be nicely colored. Can you try removing the socks all together for now? Maybe run the skimmer super dry? Also, do as Chaswood79 says and lower the alk.

 

[Acroporaaddict]

@TitanCi that's what I thought too. ime pale acropora have always come from low nutrients, too much light or some kind of heavy metal like copper. My system has none of those. I'm just at a real loss here. I did remove the filter sock and adjusted my skimmer to a drier skim. I'm even considering taking the cup off and just letting it overflow that way I can keep oxygenation and ph up without removing nutrients. I decreased my dosing amounts to let the alkalinity fall naturally over the next week or so. I'll stop it around 8.5 and see how things look. Will decrease it more if necessary

 

[Xam]

I doubt his ph has anything to do with it, and his low is pretty high, which is good. No one really worries about ph unless it’s like consistently under 7.8 all day every day.

Thanks! That's very helpful, and eases my mind greatly about my setup as well.