Return to marine aquarium after 12 years absence

[Peace River]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[rodney]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Murica]

Welcome!!!!

 

[lavoisier]

Welcome back. You've come to the right place for problem solving.

 

[esther]

Welcome back!

 

[Quietman]

Welcome Aboard!!!

 

[SPR1968]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[LiveWire]

Welcome to the REEF!!

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Welcome back to the hobby

 

[ReefCaloy]

Welcome to R2R!
What lighting did you go with?

Thank you for all the warm welcomes.

lighting is one Orphek Atlantik Gen 2 V4 LED with 2 - 36” LED strips. My tank dimensions are 42” long, 24” wide and 22” high.

Phosphate level is near zero as per API test kit. Salinity at 1.0265 g/cc using a refractometer.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I used to, in Canada, have a 375 gal. marine tank with fish and some LPS and soft corals, about 20 plus years ago. I had some success keeping fish and corals, but quit the hobby 12 years ago because of my constant business traveling. I travel regularly between Canada and the Philippines.

About 8 months ago I decided to set up a reef tank, in my home in the Philippines, after reading about new methods and equipments that make reefkeeping easier. After lots of reading and research online, I started a 90 gal reef tank with a 35 gal sump, with about 80 lbs. of wet live rocks. The live rocks were cured for about a month before adding them into the tank. It was cycled with a few fish and it went through the different types of algae blooms. 4 months ago I added a few soft and LPS corals and since they were doing okay, I added a few SPS corals. The corals were doing okay for about a month, with some polyp extensions and growth on the SPS corals.

About 2 months the corals started dying one by one, starting with the SPS until they were all dead. From what I have read, they died because my tank is still too young and the chemical levels were very erratic. Alkalinity would change from 6 to 11 dKH, Ca from 350 to 450 ppm and Mg from 1300 to 1500 ppm, because the various solutions were added manually. The Nitrate level also went up to about 30 ppm.

About a month ago I added more corals, and started using dosing pumps for the 3 chemicals and also dose with vodka/vinegar solution ( carbon dosing ) to lower the nitrate level. I also did four 20% water change ( btw I use 100% natural seawater ) in a span of 2 weeks.

Now the levels are more constant with alkalinity at 9.5 dKH, Ca at 440 ppm, Mg at 1400 ppm, pH at 8.4, Specific gravity at 1.0265 g/cc and nitrate at about 10 ppm. But the corals are still not doing well. The few SPS I added had no polyp extension and died within a week. The soft corals and the LPS are still alive but have very little extensions.

By the way I use reverse osmosis water and kalwasser solution for an auto top off.

What am doing wrong and what am I missing?

Welcome, late than never

 

[ReefCaloy]

What was causing the swings? Also what light have you got? Did you do an icp to check for contamination?

I have lots of giant clams ( 6 ), Tridacna Squamosa, in my tank, which sucks up a great deal of Ca and Mg and other nutrients. Light is one Orphek Gen 2 V4 LED with 2 - 36" LED strips. I don't know about icp, but I use activated carbon continuously in case of contamination. 10% Water change is done every 2 weeks using natural seawater. Top off water ( Kalkwasser ) is reversed osmosis water.

Reef tank is stocked with 2 blue tangs, 2 yellow fin tangs, 2 maroon anemone fish, one small hogfish and another small tang. There are also some snails and hermit crabs in the tank. The tank glass has a fairly good growth of coralline algae, but not too much on the live rocks, as can be seen in the attached photos. One can see from the photos that the corals are not doing well. However the clams seem to be doing well and I haven't lost any yet. The fish are doing well too.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

!!! Welcome to R2R !!!​

 

[Gernader]

Welcome to R2R! (I know I’m late lol)

 

[Samina]

Welcome back to the hobby and to R2R!!!

 

[ReefCaloy]

I have lots of giant clams ( 6 ), Tridacna Squamosa, in my tank, which sucks up a great deal of Ca and Mg and other nutrients. Light is one Orphek Gen 2 V4 LED with 2 - 36" LED strips. I don't know about icp, but I use activated carbon continuously in case of contamination. 10% Water change is done every 2 weeks using natural seawater. Top off water ( Kalkwasser ) is reversed osmosis water.

Reef tank is stocked with 2 blue tangs, 2 yellow fin tangs, 2 maroon anemone fish, one small hogfish and another small tang. There are also some snails and hermit crabs in the tank. The tank glass has a fairly good growth of coralline algae, but not too much on the live rocks, as can be seen in the attached photos. One can see from the photos that the corals are not doing well. However the clams seem to be doing well and I haven't lost any yet. The fish are doing well too.

Welcome to R2R and the hobby once again. Sorry to hear about the troubles you are facing right now. Those swings you had were large. Perhaps if you gave the corals some time in the now stable conditions they will improve? Have any pictures of the corals?

Levels are fairly stable now after using dosing pumps for ALK, Ca and Mg, with ATO using Kalkwasser and RO water. Alkalinity ranges from 9.0 to 9.5 dKH, Ca at 450 ppm, Mg at 1400 ppm, NO3 about 3 ppm and PO4 near zero. I have bought a new ultra low Hanna PO4 tester, so will check the actual PO4 level. My torch coral and hammerhead coral are doing better now and all soft corals are doing okay too. I will try to maintain the levels as stable as possible and maybe try adding more LPS and SPS after 2 or 3 months.

 

[bdesign]

Welcome, sir!

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Welcome back to the hobby, eh?