Need your help

[Blackfish823]

Hello,


I currently have a Red Sea reefer 170 deluxe that was initially setup 10/14/18 with dry rock and live sand. Running a reef octopus 110 skimmer. It was cycled following the Red Sea mature program without following the addition of clean up crew and fish/corals since I didn’t develop any algae, nitrite took 28 days before it went to 0. I added my 1st fish which is a pair of wide bar gladiator clownfish on day 35. Then some tester corals on day 40. Everything seemed okay, so I added more frags and also monitored water parameters along the way.


On December 19th, finally algae growth started to show up. I never had algae during the cycle, maybe because of NoPox? Rocks, sand and glass started to turn brown (diatoms?) Bought some clean up crew to help. I also blowing rocks with turkey baster and vacuumed sand during water change. Brown algae still present at the moment.


Since the start I’m dosing NoPox based on Red Sea recommendation. Im currently dosing .75 ml per day since my nitrate is low and PO4 is just detectable at the moment. Im also dosing acropower 1 ml 3x/week and 1/4 tsp of reefroids 1x/week 20 mins before water change. I feed LRS nano frenzy, PE Mysis, ON reef flakes and New life spectrum .5mm pellets.


I am using Hanna for Alk and PO4, Red Sea pro for NO3, Salifert for CA and Mg, Red Sea for Ammonia, nitrite and pH. I listed the water parameters for this month. Im using Red Sea blue bucket. I also make my own RODI water from bulk reef. TDS at 3-4 input and 0 output.


12/3/18 Day 53

Sal 35
Temp 78
KH Hanna 7.8 dkH
Calcium 420
Magnesium 1260
Phosphate 0 on Hanna ULR
Nitrate 2


12/4/18
KH 7.9

12/7/18
KH 7.8
Sal 1.026
Temp 79

12/9/18 Day 59
>after water change
Temp 78
Sal 35 ppt
KH 7.8
PH 8.2
Calcium 420
Magnesium 1275
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0

12/10/18
KH 7.6
Calcium 420


12/11/18
Temp 78
Sal 35ppt
KH 7.7

12/12/18
Temp 78
Sal 35
Nitrate .5
KH 7.6


12/14/18

Temp 79
Sal 35
KH 7.4
Phosphate 0
Nitrate .75


12/16/18

NO3 before water change 1 ppm
NO3 after water change 1 ppm
KH 7.4 Hanna
pH 8.2
Temp 78
Sal 35
Calcium 415
Mag 1275
PO4 2 ppb/0.006 ppm


12/17/18
Sal 35
Temp 78
KH 7.2
PO4 0
NO3 1 ppm

12/18/18
Sal 35
Temp 78/79
KH 7.2

12/20/18
Sal 35
Temp 78
KH 7.1
Nitrate 1
PO4 0.018
Ca 410-420

12/22/18
KH 7.1
PO4 8 ppb/0.024 ppm
NO3 .75-1

12/23/18 water change 4.5 gallons
Temp 78
Sal 35
Cal 420
NO3 .75
Alk 7.1
PO4 0
Mag 1260

12/26/18
Temp 78
Sal 35
NO3 .5
KH 7.0
PO4 0.021

12/27/18
Temp 78
Sal 35
KH 7
NO3 .5

12/29/18
Water change 4.5 gallons
Temp 78
Sal 35 ppt
pH 8.2
NO3 .5 ppm
NO2 0
Ammonia 0
Ca 415
Mag 1260
Alk 7.0
PO4 0

12/30/18
Temp 79
Sal 35
KH 7
N03 .75
PO4 0.009

So far my SPS are doing fine. Im seeing growth and polyp extension but color is not there yet, Acan is doing fine, Zoa’s are multiplying as well. I have a orange leptastrea that is doing so so, its one of the tester corals that I got. Last week, bought 6 no name SPS. I use Revive to dip corals. Dipped it for 10 minutes I believe, 5 corals are doing well except for the echinata which died in 2 days ( did a research after and found out that echinata can be sensitive to dipping. I may have dipped it too long)


My question is, should I continue dosing NoPox? Modify it to raise my NO3 and PO4 or keep it as it is? Stop dosing NoPox? Should I start dosing 2 part? How about the brown algae? Any other recommendations? My goal is for a SPS dominant tank. Im going to restrain myself from stocking any coral at this time and let my tank mature more. Let me know what you think. I attached a picture of my tank below.


Thanks,


Allan

 

[Ocelaris]

My opinion, it's totally normal and if anything you're a bit low on nutrients. Light will cause algae and just keep nutrients low until you have good corraline coverage. If you see green algae, then you can start with a tang or blenny to help. But brown diatoms aren't the enemy, they're easy enough to clean and part of the uglies which every tank goes through.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'd easy back on the NOPOX since nutrients are, IMO, on the low end of desirable.

 

[Blackfish823]

I'd easy back on the NOPOX since nutrients are, IMO, on the low end of desirable.

I cut back my NoPox from .75 ml to .5 ml and will test my NO3 and PO4 in 2 -3 days. What do you think about my Alk at 7 even after water change? In the beginning of the month, my Alk is at 7.8 and would drop by .1 in a week. Now I did water change this weekend and its 7. I will test tomorrow and see if there is any change. Should I dose 2 part and bring it up? I have ESV 2 part and magnesium on hand. Thanks.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I cut back my NoPox from .75 ml to .5 ml and will test my NO3 and PO4 in 2 -3 days. What do you think about my Alk at 7 even after water change? In the beginning of the month, my Alk is at 7.8 and would drop by .1 in a week. Now I did water change this weekend and its 7. I will test tomorrow and see if there is any change. Should I dose 2 part and bring it up? I have ESV 2 part and magnesium on hand. Thanks.

You have to decide what your target alk is. Different folks choose different targets for different reasons. 7 kH is fine, but so are higher values. If you want it higher, you'll have to dose a little.

Here's my most recent blurb on alk:

Optimal Parameters for a Coral Reef Aquarium: By Randy Holmes-Farley
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

Alkalinity

Like calcium, many corals also use "alkalinity" to form their skeletons, which are composed primarily of calcium carbonate. It is generally believed that corals take up bicarbonate, convert it into carbonate, and then use that carbonate to form calcium carbonate skeletons. That conversion process is shown as:

HCO3- → CO3-- + H+

Bicarbonate → Carbonate + proton (which is released from the coral)

To ensure that corals have an adequate supply of bicarbonate for calcification, aquarists could just measure bicarbonate directly. Designing a test kit for bicarbonate, however, is somewhat more complicated than for alkalinity. Consequently, the use of alkalinity as a surrogate measure for bicarbonate is deeply entrenched in the reef aquarium hobby.

So, what is alkalinity? Alkalinity in a marine aquarium is simply a measure of the amount of acid (H+) required to reduce the pH to about 4.5, where all bicarbonate is converted into carbonic acid as follows:

HCO3- + H+ → H2CO3

The amount of acid needed is equal to the amount of bicarbonate present, so when performing an alkalinity titration with a test kit, you are “counting†the number of bicarbonate ions present. It is not, however, quite that simple since some other ions also take up acid during the titration. Both borate and carbonate also contribute to the measurement of alkalinity, but the bicarbonate dominates these other ions since they are generally lower in concentration than bicarbonate. So knowing the total alkalinity is akin to, but not exactly the same as, knowing how much bicarbonate is available to corals. In any case, total alkalinity is the standard that aquarists use for this purpose.

Unlike the calcium concentration, it is widely believed that certain organisms calcify more quickly at alkalinity levels higher than those in normal seawater. This result has also been demonstrated in the scientific literature, which has shown that adding bicarbonate to seawater increases the rate of calcification in some corals. Uptake of bicarbonate can consequently become rate limiting in many corals. This may be partly due to the fact that the external bicarbonate concentration is not large to begin with (relative to, for example, the calcium concentration, which is effectively about 5 times higher).

For these reasons, alkalinity maintenance is a critical aspect of coral reef aquarium husbandry. In the absence of supplementation, alkalinity will rapidly drop as corals use up much of what is present in seawater. Water changes are not usually sufficient to maintain alkalinity unless there is very little calcification taking place. Most reef aquarists try to maintain alkalinity at levels at or slightly above those of normal seawater, although exactly what levels different aquarists target depends a bit on the goals of their aquaria.

Interestingly, because some corals may calcify faster at higher alkalinity levels, and because the abiotic (nonbiological) precipitation of calcium carbonate on heaters and pumps also rises as alkalinity rises, the demand for alkalinity (and calcium) rises as the alkalinity rises. So an aquarist generally must dose more calcium and alkalinity EVERY DAY to maintain a higher alkalinity (say, 11 dKH) than to maintain 7 dKH. It is not just a one-time boost that is needed to make up that difference. In fact, calcification gets so slow as the alkalinity drops below 6 dKH that reef aquaria rarely get much below that point, even with no dosing: natural calcification has nearly stopped at that level.

In general, I suggest that aquarists maintain alkalinity between about 7-11 dKH (2.5 and 4 meq/L; 125-200 ppm CaCO3 equivalents). Many aquarists growing SPS corals and using Ultra Low Nutrient Systems (ULNS) have found that the corals suffer from “burnt tips†if the alkalinity is too high or changes too much. It is not at all clear why this is the case, but such aquaria are better served by alkalinity in the 7-8 dKH range.
As mentioned above, alkalinity levels above those in natural seawater increase the abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate on warm objects such as heaters and pump impellers, or sometimes even in sand beds. This precipitation not only wastes calcium and alkalinity that aquarists are carefully adding, but it also increases equipment maintenance requirements and can “damage†a sand bed, hardening it into a chunk of limestone. When elevated alkalinity is driving this precipitation, it can also depress the calcium level. An excessively high alkalinity level can therefore create undesirable consequences.

I suggest that aquarists use a balanced calcium and alkalinity additive system of some sort for routine maintenance. The most popular of these balanced methods include limewater (kalkwasser), calcium carbonate/carbon dioxide reactors, and the two-part/three part additive systems.

For rapid alkalinity corrections, aquarists can simply use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or washing soda (sodium carbonate; baked baking soda) to good effect. The latter raises pH as well as alkalinity while the former has a very small pH lowering effect. Mixtures can also be used, and are what many hobby chemical supply companies sell as “buffersâ€. Most often, sodium carbonate is preferred, however, since most tanks can be helped by a pH boost.

 

[Blackfish823]

You have to decide what your target alk is. Different folks choose different targets for different reasons. 7 kH is fine, but so are higher values. If you want it higher, you'll have to dose a little.

Here's my most recent blurb on alk:

Optimal Parameters for a Coral Reef Aquarium: By Randy Holmes-Farley
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

Alkalinity

Like calcium, many corals also use "alkalinity" to form their skeletons, which are composed primarily of calcium carbonate. It is generally believed that corals take up bicarbonate, convert it into carbonate, and then use that carbonate to form calcium carbonate skeletons. That conversion process is shown as:

HCO3- → CO3-- + H+

Bicarbonate → Carbonate + proton (which is released from the coral)

To ensure that corals have an adequate supply of bicarbonate for calcification, aquarists could just measure bicarbonate directly. Designing a test kit for bicarbonate, however, is somewhat more complicated than for alkalinity. Consequently, the use of alkalinity as a surrogate measure for bicarbonate is deeply entrenched in the reef aquarium hobby.

So, what is alkalinity? Alkalinity in a marine aquarium is simply a measure of the amount of acid (H+) required to reduce the pH to about 4.5, where all bicarbonate is converted into carbonic acid as follows:

HCO3- + H+ → H2CO3

The amount of acid needed is equal to the amount of bicarbonate present, so when performing an alkalinity titration with a test kit, you are “counting†the number of bicarbonate ions present. It is not, however, quite that simple since some other ions also take up acid during the titration. Both borate and carbonate also contribute to the measurement of alkalinity, but the bicarbonate dominates these other ions since they are generally lower in concentration than bicarbonate. So knowing the total alkalinity is akin to, but not exactly the same as, knowing how much bicarbonate is available to corals. In any case, total alkalinity is the standard that aquarists use for this purpose.

Unlike the calcium concentration, it is widely believed that certain organisms calcify more quickly at alkalinity levels higher than those in normal seawater. This result has also been demonstrated in the scientific literature, which has shown that adding bicarbonate to seawater increases the rate of calcification in some corals. Uptake of bicarbonate can consequently become rate limiting in many corals. This may be partly due to the fact that the external bicarbonate concentration is not large to begin with (relative to, for example, the calcium concentration, which is effectively about 5 times higher).

For these reasons, alkalinity maintenance is a critical aspect of coral reef aquarium husbandry. In the absence of supplementation, alkalinity will rapidly drop as corals use up much of what is present in seawater. Water changes are not usually sufficient to maintain alkalinity unless there is very little calcification taking place. Most reef aquarists try to maintain alkalinity at levels at or slightly above those of normal seawater, although exactly what levels different aquarists target depends a bit on the goals of their aquaria.

Interestingly, because some corals may calcify faster at higher alkalinity levels, and because the abiotic (nonbiological) precipitation of calcium carbonate on heaters and pumps also rises as alkalinity rises, the demand for alkalinity (and calcium) rises as the alkalinity rises. So an aquarist generally must dose more calcium and alkalinity EVERY DAY to maintain a higher alkalinity (say, 11 dKH) than to maintain 7 dKH. It is not just a one-time boost that is needed to make up that difference. In fact, calcification gets so slow as the alkalinity drops below 6 dKH that reef aquaria rarely get much below that point, even with no dosing: natural calcification has nearly stopped at that level.

In general, I suggest that aquarists maintain alkalinity between about 7-11 dKH (2.5 and 4 meq/L; 125-200 ppm CaCO3 equivalents). Many aquarists growing SPS corals and using Ultra Low Nutrient Systems (ULNS) have found that the corals suffer from “burnt tips†if the alkalinity is too high or changes too much. It is not at all clear why this is the case, but such aquaria are better served by alkalinity in the 7-8 dKH range.
As mentioned above, alkalinity levels above those in natural seawater increase the abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate on warm objects such as heaters and pump impellers, or sometimes even in sand beds. This precipitation not only wastes calcium and alkalinity that aquarists are carefully adding, but it also increases equipment maintenance requirements and can “damage†a sand bed, hardening it into a chunk of limestone. When elevated alkalinity is driving this precipitation, it can also depress the calcium level. An excessively high alkalinity level can therefore create undesirable consequences.

I suggest that aquarists use a balanced calcium and alkalinity additive system of some sort for routine maintenance. The most popular of these balanced methods include limewater (kalkwasser), calcium carbonate/carbon dioxide reactors, and the two-part/three part additive systems.

For rapid alkalinity corrections, aquarists can simply use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or washing soda (sodium carbonate; baked baking soda) to good effect. The latter raises pH as well as alkalinity while the former has a very small pH lowering effect. Mixtures can also be used, and are what many hobby chemical supply companies sell as “buffersâ€. Most often, sodium carbonate is preferred, however, since most tanks can be helped by a pH boost.

Thanks, this is very informative

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks, this is very informative

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.