Scratching my head???

[IslandLifeReef]

You guys are insane. Not sure what the hate is against rodi calibrated refractometer it’s literally in the instructions that came with it lol . Also if it’s so inaccurate then why is my salinity verified at two other sources at 1.025 ????

plus I measure my salt exactly when I mix to give me 1.025 salt so testing on the refractometer is just a back up plan . Then I test at other sites from other people. There is a 0.00002 % chance my salt is not 1.025

anyway moving on to my post as to thriving. To me thriving is perfection . So is my tank looking really good yeah it is . Is it perfect and thriving? Not really.

but I’m getting literally zero advice on this site and the worst is from the apparent chemistry guru or mister vague and cryptic responses. You don’t go to a dentist for a knee injury. Yeah thanks for that gem of advice.

do you calibrate your scale at home to 250 lbs before you weigh yourself? Do you set your odometer in your vehicle to 100mph before you take it on the highway as well ?

how about some actual advice from my OP instead of questioning my test results. They were verified many times against separate testing from two people with 60+ years reefing . One works at the local aquarium and one owns a very successful fish store. Their tanks are “thriving “ they know what they are doing.

and yes I have asked them about my tank they believe my issue is my coral beauty angelfish . Which makes a lot more sense then the responses I’m getting from this site .

Well, I have over 35 years of reef keeping experience. You started this post saying you were new and to be nice. I am trying to help. Who is insane here? If you have such reliable sources for information, then I guess the rest of us shouldn’t waste our time with you. Can your sources tell you why your CALC and MAG are so high? I’d wish you luck, but you are so smart, you don’t need it.

 

[Dburr1014]

Oh, another piece to the puzzle that was not in the OP. What other fish do you have?

 

[Dburr1014]

You guys are insane. Not sure what the hate is against rodi calibrated refractometer it’s literally in the instructions that came with it lol . Also if it’s so inaccurate then why is my salinity verified at two other sources at 1.025 ????

plus I measure my salt exactly when I mix to give me 1.025 salt so testing on the refractometer is just a back up plan . Then I test at other sites from other people. There is a 0.00002 % chance my salt is not 1.025

anyway moving on to my post as to thriving. To me thriving is perfection . So is my tank looking really good yeah it is . Is it perfect and thriving? Not really.

but I’m getting literally zero advice on this site and the worst is from the apparent chemistry guru or mister vague and cryptic responses. You don’t go to a dentist for a knee injury. Yeah thanks for that gem of advice.

do you calibrate your scale at home to 250 lbs before you weigh yourself? Do you set your odometer in your vehicle to 100mph before you take it on the highway as well ?

how about some actual advice from my OP instead of questioning my test results. They were verified many times against separate testing from two people with 60+ years reefing . One works at the local aquarium and one owns a very successful fish store. Their tanks are “thriving “ they know what they are doing.

and yes I have asked them about my tank they believe my issue is my coral beauty angelfish . Which makes a lot more sense then the responses I’m getting from this site .

 

[MERKEY]

I'll ask again as the OP did not answer it the 1st time.

OP do you monitor your PH ? Do you have a calcium reactor?

If it is swinging and not staying stable this could be a portion of what is not letting your tank thrive.

To have a "thriving" reef tank it takes multiple small pieces working together. Stable and high Ph is one of those last pieces of the puzzle for some who are trying to get growth and thrive and not just have a tank.

Your coroline dying off and coming back sounds like an imbalance and swing of something occurring every so often and then your tank resets itself and coraline grows again.

If everything else seems to be "spot on", you may want to check your ph level and consistency.

Or take a look at your other test kits and perhaps buy new ones?

 

[Cell]

You guys are insane. Not sure what the hate is against rodi calibrated refractometer it’s literally in the instructions that came with it lol . Also if it’s so inaccurate then why is my salinity verified at two other sources at 1.025 ????

plus I measure my salt exactly when I mix to give me 1.025 salt so testing on the refractometer is just a back up plan . Then I test at other sites from other people. There is a 0.00002 % chance my salt is not 1.025

anyway moving on to my post as to thriving. To me thriving is perfection . So is my tank looking really good yeah it is . Is it perfect and thriving? Not really.

but I’m getting literally zero advice on this site and the worst is from the apparent chemistry guru or mister vague and cryptic responses. You don’t go to a dentist for a knee injury. Yeah thanks for that gem of advice.

do you calibrate your scale at home to 250 lbs before you weigh yourself? Do you set your odometer in your vehicle to 100mph before you take it on the highway as well ?

how about some actual advice from my OP instead of questioning my test results. They were verified many times against separate testing from two people with 60+ years reefing . One works at the local aquarium and one owns a very successful fish store. Their tanks are “thriving “ they know what they are doing.

and yes I have asked them about my tank they believe my issue is my coral beauty angelfish . Which makes a lot more sense then the responses I’m getting from this site .

Meh. You can disregard advice if you desire, but if you know better, then you wouldn't be here looking for help.

Your parameters are not stable. Stability is key to successful reefing. Figure out why it's swinging. If you are testing parameters and they are on the low range and you perform a water change and they go back up to desired levels, then you need to dose to maintain those levels between water changes. Choose the levels you want to strive for and focus on maintaining those levels.

Also don't bite the hand that feeds you.

 

[ZombieEngineer]

You guys are insane. Not sure what the hate is against rodi calibrated refractometer it’s literally in the instructions that came with it lol . Also if it’s so inaccurate then why is my salinity verified at two other sources at 1.025 ????

It is because we understand aquarium chemistry deeply.

One of two thing is certain - either your salinity is not actually 1.025 or your magnesium and calcium tests are both inaccurate. It is literally not possible for you to have 1500 Mg and 500 Ca at 1.025 using a salt mix that is only 1350 Mg and 400 Ca unless you were dosing both calcium and magnesium.

One of the two is wrong, and testing your refractometer against a 35ppt source is inexpensive and easy to rule out.

If you actually read the article I sent you, you might understand. Instead it's like banging my head against the wall.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

There seems to be a lot of information left out of the original post. Now there is a Coral Beauty in the tank that could be eating corals. The OP also mentions having 3 Reef 90 lights. That's nice, but doesn't really tell us much. If he is operating them at 30% of peak capacity or only running them for 4 hours a day, then the issue could be light. Then you have the other side of the spectrum. Anyway, the OP says that not thriving means not perfect, yet he seems to lose corals. I will agree with him the death in the tank qualifies as not perfect.

You can lead a horse to water,....

 

[reefingaz]

My MG and CA were also high for months. Could not figure it out Trust me, Buy a $6.00 Calibration fluid and test again. I went 9 months seeing corals not look so good yet my salt reading 1.026 multiple times a week I would test. Bought calibration fluid and my 3 tanks were 1.031!!!!
To be safe I went and bought two other brands of calibration fluid and 3 tanks tested 1.030-1.031 and using RODI it was still testing 1.026. Never again calibrate with RODI.
I now use multiple bottles to calibrate salinity. I will buy new fluid once a year and never trust just one brand. Within 3 weeks of fixing my salt my tanks improved 100%
My corals have their color back and léveles are back to normal. Oh yeah one last thing OP, don’t be a &&@ when people offer suggestions. GL

 

[czoolander]

An angelfish killed your coraline? That wouldn't make sense.

Some of the corals. Acans and a birdsnest and digi fire

Nobody said the angelfish was killing my coralline. I still have rocks covered in coralline. Im just not seeing new coralline on the front and side glass to scrape lately like I have been in periods in the past.

you are correct an angelfish killing coralline wouldn't make sense so why would you assume that is what I meant ???

 

[czoolander]

There seems to be a lot of information left out of the original post. Now there is a Coral Beauty in the tank that could be eating corals. The OP also mentions having 3 Reef 90 lights. That's nice, but doesn't really tell us much. If he is operating them at 30% of peak capacity or only running them for 4 hours a day, then the issue could be light. Then you have the other side of the spectrum. Anyway, the OP says that not thriving means not perfect, yet he seems to lose corals. I will agree with him the death in the tank qualifies as not perfect.

You can lead a horse to water,....

Its hard to say every detail in a reef tank there is so much going on as I am sure you aware.

Here is further info on my lighting.

I have my blues at 70% and whites at 30 %

I run 10 hours with 1.5 hour ramp up and 1.5 hour ramp down so 7 hours at 70% and I have about 1.5 hours of cloud cover in the middle of the day .

The corals I have lost are acans. sps digi fire ( ignorant me does not know the proper name ) and a teal birdsnest again probably not the right now

 

[czoolander]

My MG and CA were also high for months. Could not figure it out Trust me, Buy a $6.00 Calibration fluid and test again. I went 9 months seeing corals not look so good yet my salt reading 1.026 multiple times a week I would test. Bought calibration fluid and my 3 tanks were 1.031!!!!
To be safe I went and bought two other brands of calibration fluid and 3 tanks tested 1.030-1.031 and using RODI it was still testing 1.026. Never again calibrate with RODI.
I now use multiple bottles to calibrate salinity. I will buy new fluid once a year and never trust just one brand. Within 3 weeks of fixing my salt my tanks improved 100%
My corals have their color back and léveles are back to normal. Oh yeah one last thing OP, don’t be a &&@ when people offer suggestions. GL

not trying to be an &^% but I will give It back if people are rude to me :) As for my salinity being off I am not sure if you read what I said above . My salinity is not off its verified at 3 separate sources

"
Also if it’s so inaccurate then why is my salinity verified at two other sources at 1.025 ????

plus I measure my salt exactly when I mix to give me 1.025 salt so testing on the refractometer is just a back up plan . Then I test at other sites from other people. There is a 0.00002 % chance my salt is not 1.025
"

 

[czoolander]

Oh, another piece to the puzzle that was not in the OP. What other fish do you have?

adorned wrasse
solon wrasse
foxface rabbitfish
tomini tang
coral beauty angel
common clown
some type of chromis . dark blue . forgot what type it is . Jerk type that is for sure haha

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

not trying to be an &^% but I will give It back if people are rude to me :) As for my salinity being off I am not sure if you read what I said above . My salinity is not off its verified at 3 separate sources

"
Also if it’s so inaccurate then why is my salinity verified at two other sources at 1.025 ????

plus I measure my salt exactly when I mix to give me 1.025 salt so testing on the refractometer is just a back up plan . Then I test at other sites from other people. There is a 0.00002 % chance my salt is not 1.025
"

 

[czoolander]

It is because we understand aquarium chemistry deeply.

One of two thing is certain - either your salinity is not actually 1.025 or your magnesium and calcium tests are both inaccurate. It is literally not possible for you to have 1500 Mg and 500 Ca at 1.025 using a salt mix that is only 1350 Mg and 400 Ca unless you were dosing both calcium and magnesium.

One of the two is wrong, and testing your refractometer against a 35ppt source is inexpensive and easy to rule out.

If you actually read the article I sent you, you might understand. Instead it's like banging my head against the wall.

I no longer dose calcium and magnesium but I was dosing without tools for measuring because I was assuming my corals would eat it up. I stopped dosing both months ago and the levels have remained high even through water changes . I am waiting for them both to drop down through water change and coral consumption.

Cool the feeling is mutual on banging head against the wall . How many times do I have to tell you I have 1.025 salt its measured at 3 separate sources.

 

[czoolander]

I'll ask again as the OP did not answer it the 1st time.

OP do you monitor your PH ? Do you have a calcium reactor?

If it is swinging and not staying stable this could be a portion of what is not letting your tank thrive.

To have a "thriving" reef tank it takes multiple small pieces working together. Stable and high Ph is one of those last pieces of the puzzle for some who are trying to get growth and thrive and not just have a tank.

Your coroline dying off and coming back sounds like an imbalance and swing of something occurring every so often and then your tank resets itself and coraline grows again.

If everything else seems to be "spot on", you may want to check your ph level and consistency.

Or take a look at your other test kits and perhaps buy new ones?

Sorry I missed your original post in all the confusion and chaos. Thanks for the reply

I do measure PH on a red sea test kit. and I get 8.1 for a year straight . I am going to be buying a digital PH hanna tester its next on my list for purchase.

Would you suggest weekly water change 10-30% for a couple months to reset all the peramiters or just keep as is ?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Assuming your salinity is 1.025 (and like the others here, I would suggest using calibration fluid over RODI...but for argument's sake, let's assume it's correct), I agree with the others here that your calcium and magnesium shouldn't be that high without dosing. So, something is off. It could be the calcium and magnesium tests.

An angelfish could nip at corals, so if occasionally losing corals is the issue, that could be the problem. How are the other corals that you're not losing? How are the colors? Growth? I think one of the things we're trying to narrow down are the symptoms you're classifying as "not thriving." Btw, I'm not sure a "perfect" reef tank has ever existed.

An ICP test could help you determine if there are issues with pollutants or if other levels are off.

Could you give us your stock list and a run down on tank equipment?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

OK. Keep disagreements civil. Further insults in this thread will not be allowed. OP, asking if those who are trying to help you are "insane" is considered insulting. Now, many of us would like to try and help you, and you might disagree with some of the opinions/advice given, but you need to keep disagreements civil and respectful (without personal attack). If we stick to talking about issues rather than people, that will keep things on track.

 

[czoolander]

Assuming your salinity is 1.025, I agree with the others here that your calcium and magnesium shouldn't be that high without dosing. So, something is off. It could be the calcium and magnesium tests.

An angelfish could nip at corals, so if occasionally losing corals is the issue, that could be the problem. How are the other corals that you're not losing? How are the colors? Growth? I think one of the things we're trying to narrow down are the symptoms your classifying as "not thriving." Btw, I'm not sure a "perfect" reef tank has ever existed.

An ICP test could help you determine if there are issues with pollutants or if other levels are off.

Could you give us your stock list and a run down on tank equipment?

Yeah sorry I should have mentioned that earlier but again its hard to detail everying I have done to my reef over 2.5 years. I was dosing calcium and mag without testing equipment for both early on . Then I bought digital tester for calcium but hanna only recently came out with the magnesium test so I just bought one last week. My lfs before that would test my magnesium every 1-3 months

My other corals are doing very well zoanthids, leathers. mushrooms .

ICP test is on my list for sure . you mention pollutants. I have mentioned on this site before and wondered myself . so in storage room behind the wall where my tank is I keep my cat litter box and I wonder if this is playing a factor? its roughly 12 feet away but behind a door.

Stock list I listed above.

equipment is pretty bare bones and standard
I run a GFO reactor and a Skimmer in my sump that is about it

 

[czoolander]

OK. Keep disagreements civil. Further insults in this thread will not be allowed. OP, asking if those who are trying to help you are "insane" is considered insulting. Now, many of us would like to try and help you, and you might disagree with some of the opinions/advice given, but you need to keep disagreements civil and respectful (without personal attack). If we stick to talking about issues rather than people, that will keep things on track.

WIll do !

 

[Cell]

I don't think anyone has asked what is being used to maintain alk. I assume it's a store bought alk supplement or sodium bicarbonate or soda ash and not kalkwasser?