Not sure what parameter is causing issues in my tank

[zedoita]

Hello! Thanks in advance for looking at this post!

I have a tank that has been running for about 18 months. 65g display, 15g sump, mostly soft corals.

It seems like something is off, but I cant really tell what it is. I have a candy cane coral that looks really good right after water changes, but looks pretty sad right before them (pictures attached).

Yesterday/today I finally had time to:
1. Test everything I have kits for, take a before picture
2. Do a 10g water change (coral pro salt at the same temp as the tank)
3. Wait 24hrs, test everything again, take an after picture

So the parameters didn't really change, but the candy cane (and maybe everything else in the tank looks better, I cant really tell, but zoas seem to open more, other corals look happier).

I am running GFO, carbon, dosing alk, ca, carbon. Nothing seems different except the new water (which wasn't even that much), but it makes a visible difference!

Does anyone have any ideas of what could be going on? Any advice on what to try next? The corals will look good for a few days and then start getting mad until the next WC. I understand that is the point of a WC, but I would like to find out what it is that I am replacing/replenishing that is making that much of a difference!!

Here is the data:

	Temperature F	Salinity ppt	Nitrate ppm	PH	Alkalinity 9dkh	Phosphate	Calcium 420	Magnesium 1350
Before 10% WC	78.4	1.024	1.1	8.2	10.1	0.04	410	1520
24hrs later, same test kits, process, etc	78.5	1.024	1	8.2	10.2	0.05	400	1400

Note: I am not dosing magnesium, so I suspect that the delta between the 2 is variance in the tests, but maybe not, can that be an issue?

Before:

After:

 

[Hydrored]

I would would stop running GFO, personally with that DKH I would let the nutrients creep up a bit. Glad the water change seemed to help.

Im not sure what you are using to test but you could be flirting with 0 for nitrates and phosphates

 

[Waters]

I had the same issues (although not as extreme as yours)....everything always looked better the day I did any substantial water changes (and that is with doing AWCs all week long). I started dosing Amino Acids daily and that has helped a lot. I would definitely work on bringing your nitrates up a bit also.

 

[zedoita]

I forgot to mention something that should be here:

About a 2 months ago, my nitrates were around 10 to 15 and phosphates at 0.05 and I was seeing the exact same issue, but, as expected, after a WC I would see the nitrates lower and the corals look better.

Thinking that nitrates was what was bothering the corals I started carbon dosing very slowly until the nitrates reached the levels above, with no noticeable difference (the only thing that seems to help is a WC that doesn't change my parameters). I am in the process of backing off on the carbon dosing to raise it back up. Also expected, as I started carbon dosing, the chaeto in the refuguim started dying and I pulled it out.

If anything that was an experiment that showed that the nitrates/phosphates are not part of this particular problem, and I am super confused as to what is!

I am testing nitrates, phosphates, temperature, salinity, and alkalinity with Hanna checkers. Everything else with red sea tests.

Thanks!

 

[Dan_P]

Hello! Thanks in advance for looking at this post!

I have a tank that has been running for about 18 months. 65g display, 15g sump, mostly soft corals.

It seems like something is off, but I cant really tell what it is. I have a candy cane coral that looks really good right after water changes, but looks pretty sad right before them (pictures attached).

Yesterday/today I finally had time to:
1. Test everything I have kits for, take a before picture
2. Do a 10g water change (coral pro salt at the same temp as the tank)
3. Wait 24hrs, test everything again, take an after picture

So the parameters didn't really change, but the candy cane (and maybe everything else in the tank looks better, I cant really tell, but zoas seem to open more, other corals look happier).

I am running GFO, carbon, dosing alk, ca, carbon. Nothing seems different except the new water (which wasn't even that much), but it makes a visible difference!

Does anyone have any ideas of what could be going on? Any advice on what to try next? The corals will look good for a few days and then start getting mad until the next WC. I understand that is the point of a WC, but I would like to find out what it is that I am replacing/replenishing that is making that much of a difference!!

Here is the data:

	Temperature F	Salinity ppt	Nitrate ppm	PH	Alkalinity 9dkh	Phosphate	Calcium 420	Magnesium 1350
Before 10% WC	78.4	1.024	1.1	8.2	10.1	0.04	410	1520
24hrs later, same test kits, process, etc	78.5	1.024	1	8.2	10.2	0.05	400	1400

Note: I am not dosing magnesium, so I suspect that the delta between the 2 is variance in the tests, but maybe not, can that be an issue?

Before:

After:

Do a water change but put the old water back. Need to eliminate the possibility that something is being affected by the water change process not the addition of new water.