Seven Months in & I Have Some Questions

[markysgirl]

Hello to all Reef2Reef fishy geeks!
First I want to give you all a look at my tank. Please enjoy the following videos.
FYI -The quality of the video was better when I watched a download version on my laptop.
* Warning* I am NOT the best cell phone videographer.
Also, I apologize for the many 30 second videos but I haven't been able to resize a longer one in order to upload it here.

The display tank is 75 gallons and the sump is 20. I think I have about 60 gallons of water in the tank.
Filtration includes a Trigger Crystal 30 sump that contains a Vertex 130 skimmer, a refugium containing chaeto algae live rock, and about an inch of sand, and the return pump section includes bio-balls for QT if needed some of that super coarse bio sponge stuff. The return is a Sicce 3.0. I recently (last 10 days) increased the photoperiod from 6 hours to 12 and removed the herbivores from the fuge, they were eating my algae Duh! The algae ball I have is a little larger than a softball at this time.
Flow is handled by three Ecotech vortex MP10's set on the tidal swell mode at "4" speed.
Lighting is Kessil AP700 which is 7 inches off the water surface the DT has full glass tops on it. The lights never get above 30%.

My inhabitants include:
Clownfish pair
Midas Blenny
Pearly jawfish
Yellow watchman goby & pistol shrimp
Six line wrasse
Bristletooth Tang
Yellow Tang
Bengaii Cardinal

Inverts
Emerald crab x2
Tuxedo Urchin
Trochus 6 or so
Nassarius 15 or so
Bumblebee snails 2-3
Strawberry crab
2 cleaner shrimp
7 hermits
2 fighting conchs

Corals

Zoa's and Paly's
Elegance
Frogspawn
Hammer 1 wall and 1 branching
Torch
Toadstool Leather
Kenya Tree
Duncan's x2
Acan
Micromussa
Frogspawn
Favia x3
Favities
Most of these are little frags but a couple of them are larger colonies.
I might be forgetting some things but they would be small thingys.

My parameters as of this morning are:
16 AUG
Temp 78
Salinity 0.025
pH 8.2
Alk 6.2
Ca 385
Mg 1050
NO3 lighter than 25 but darker than 10...so, 20?
PO4 0.5
I do 50% water changes generally once weekly but sometimes life happens and it gets stretched to 10 days. Water is run through 6 stage RODI. The filters need to be changed and I have ordered replacements for it.
I am using IO reef crystals and water is heated to 78 degrees before changes.
Okay finally, with all of that being said here are my questions/issues.
1. What do you think about the above?
2. How does the tank look in the videos I posted?
3. I have LPS and softy corals only, where is my Alk going, I thought I wouldn't have to dose 2 part if I was doing water changes?
4. Should I begin looking into adding two-part?
5. I am sure I am forgetting some questions and will add them as I think of them below.
I would appreciate any advice/constructive criticism you all have.

 

[Idoc]

The tank looks very nice!

1. 50% water change weekly is quite a bit. I shoot for 10-20% every 10 days to 2 weeks. But, if it is working, keep it up.
2. Looks good!
3. The corals, LPS and Softies, are still using alkalinity and calcium for growth.
4. You may need to start dosing. IO Reef Crystals mix up around 12dKh...it doesn't make a lot of sense that you are losing that much alkalinity and calcium weekly when performing 50% water changes. But, you do have some bigger looking colonies, so if your testing is being performed accurately, then you probably need to start dosing. What tests are you using for your alkalinity and calcium testing? Review the directions as well and make sure you are doing the testing exactly as instructed by the manuafacturer. Before dosing, you want to test both items and record the results...then test again exactly 24hrs later and that will tell you the amount of usage in 24hrs and how much needs to be dosed daily. You should also test your new saltwater prior to adding to your tank to ensure it is mixing up to the manufacturer specs...if not, either you have a bad batch of salt or your testing is inaccurate.

 

[PTXReef]

What are you feeding your tangs at the moment? Your yellow tang looks like it is developing HLLE (my yellow tang had the same issue during a prolonged cupramine treatment with insufficient vitamins in it's food). I would suggest soaking their nori/mysis in selcon to help it recover asap, as starting later usually means a higher likelihood of permanent scarring.

I also shoot for 10-20% WC weekly. Echoing @Idoc 's points also, are you sure the salt mix is Reef crystals and not the regular Sea salt mix (I get 6.5 dKH when I used to use the Instant Ocean Sea Salt mix). I would imagine that to be a very huge alkalinity swing if you performed a 50% WC from 6.2 dKH with 12.5 dKH newly mixed SW (you would definitely know because that would most likely cause issues with your corals).

 

[markysgirl]

The tank looks very nice!

1. 50% water change weekly is quite a bit. I shoot for 10-20% every 10 days to 2 weeks. But, if it is working, keep it up.
2. Looks good!
3. The corals, LPS, and Softies, are still using alkalinity and calcium for growth.
4. You may need to start dosing. IO Reef Crystals mix up around 12dKh...it doesn't make a lot of sense that you are losing that much alkalinity and calcium weekly when performing 50% water changes. But, you do have some bigger looking colonies, so if your testing is being performed accurately, then you probably need to start dosing. What tests are you using for your alkalinity and calcium testing? Review the directions as well and make sure you are doing the testing exactly as instructed by the manufacturer. Before dosing, you want to test both items and record the results...then test again exactly 24hrs later and that will tell you the amount of usage in 24hrs and how much needs to be dosed daily. You should also test your new saltwater prior to adding to your tank to ensure it is mixing up to the manufacturer specs...if not, either you have a bad batch of salt or your testing is inaccurate.

Thank you so much for looking at my post and replying!
I've had several experienced refers tell me that they like to do large water changes. I have a 32-gallon brute that I mix saltwater in but nowhere to store it in the house. My husband doesn't want to look at a large trash can in our den (I don't blame him) so I make water, add salt, and do my water changes over the weekend while he is working so it is put up before he gets home on Sunday. I can't drag a trash can full of water up my gravel driveway so it needs to be empty when I put it away. So this is really the best solution for me and the tank doesn't seem to mind. The water is heated and I make sure the salinity matches before I do the change.
The other reason I have continued to do these large changes is the nitrate and phosphate levels. Every week when I do my testing my nitrates are at 25. The PO was all the way up to 5 at one point but once I got the skimmer better dialed in and I removed all of the waste catching sponges were removed the PO came back down. I cannot imagine what they would be if I was only doing 10-20% changes.
I am pretty sure I am doing the test correctly, I was using the salifert test, which was challenging at first but I figured it out and now I have a Hanna checker and I am following the directions. I've had a freshwater tank for 20ish years so I am familiar with testing in general. One of my tanks was a cichlid tank and I had to check Alk for that tank so not entirely a new rodeo for me. I am checking Ca with the salifert test but am thinking about a checker for that was well.
I am going to check the batch of saltwater I just made after it has had 24 hours to mix. We have very alkaline water here in North Texas, would that mess with the alkalinity in the water I am making?
Again thank you so much for your reply!
I will update once I check the mix.

 

[markysgirl]

What are you feeding your tangs at the moment? Your yellow tang looks like it is developing HLLE (my yellow tang had the same issue during a prolonged cupramine treatment with insufficient vitamins in it's food). I would suggest soaking their nori/mysis in selcon to help it recover asap, as starting later usually means a higher likelihood of permanent scarring.

I also shoot for 10-20% WC weekly. Echoing @Idoc 's points also, are you sure the salt mix is Reef crystals and not the regular Sea salt mix (I get 6.5 dKH when I used to use the Instant Ocean Sea Salt mix). I would imagine that to be a very huge alkalinity swing if you performed a 50% WC from 6.2 dKH with 12.5 dKH newly mixed SW (you would definitely know because that would most likely cause issues with your corals).

MY TANG HAS HLLE!!! I am so glad you watched my videos and noticed that!
Ugh, I had no idea. His face looked like that when I got him and since I don't have enough experience, I didn't realize. Poor little jerk.
I have been feeding the tank a varied diet.
I feed a cube of frozen mysis, calanus, brine & spirulina, marine entree, or krill, phytoplankton, and amino acids every day at 4:30.
Some days I add pellets Hikari Marine S and Seaweed extreme.
They get a 3x1 piece of nori and I add reef roids threeish times a week.
I would love some feedback about this as honestly, I have no idea if I am doing it right. I will research and look for selcon and see about adding it to the food until he gets better. I am definitely using reef crystals and not the regular salt, I buy the box with the bags in it. I am mixing saltwater right now so I will check it tomorrow to see what the Alk is.
Again thank you so much for your help!

 

[PTXReef]

MY TANG HAS HLLE!!! I am so glad you watched my videos and noticed that!
Ugh, I had no idea. His face looked like that when I got him and since I don't have enough experience, I didn't realize. Poor little jerk.
I have been feeding the tank a varied diet.
I feed a cube of frozen mysis, calanus, brine & spirulina, marine entree, or krill, phytoplankton, and amino acids every day at 4:30.
Some days I add pellets Hikari Marine S and Seaweed extreme.
They get a 3x1 piece of nori and I add reef roids threeish times a week.
I would love some feedback about this as honestly, I have no idea if I am doing it right. I will research and look for selcon and see about adding it to the food until he gets better. I am definitely using reef crystals and not the regular salt, I buy the box with the bags in it. I am mixing saltwater right now so I will check it tomorrow to see what the Alk is.
Again thank you so much for your help!

My yellow tang is recovering slowly but steadily. I feed him and my hippo twice a day. In the morning they get about a 3-4” by 3-4” amount of nori (this is for two 5” tangs). I like to rip it up so the pieces are a bit larger than their mouths and soak it in 0.75 mL selcon. IMO I think this helps them devour the nori quicker so the vitamins aren’t being diluted in my tank as opposed to if I just clipped a large piece of nori for them to graze on. When I get off work, I feed them either spiralina brine or mysis (alternating days) but all soaked in ~0.25 mL selcon. I also give them some more nori. My hippo likes New Life Spectrum Algae Max pellets but he eats so fast that he’s stuffed before my yellow tang can have a full belly, so the hippo is recovering much faster. I love the variety you are feeding! These values weren’t determined by any scientific literature but just the least amount that I think could be absorbed without putting too much into my system. I do this daily and it’s working.

 

[markysgirl]

So I tested my bucket of freshly mixed saltwater and the Alk is 9.9.
I thought it was supposed to be 12?
Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a video to watch that explains exactly and step by step how to get an auto dosing system set up?

 

[PTXReef]

So I tested my bucket of freshly mixed saltwater and the Alk is 9.9.
I thought it was supposed to be 12?
Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a video to watch that explains exactly and step by step how to get an auto dosing system set up?

Was it mixed at 1.025 sg? How long did you let it mix for? I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt and the manufacturer recommends that it be mixed until it completely dissolves without aeration (less than 2 hours). They also say that if you let it mix for too long (12 hours), the mix will start to precipitate and reduce levels of calcium and alkalinity.

Don't remember where I found this but:

I also manually dose baked baking soda so I do not have any experience with auto dosers yet!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

your tank looks rather nice, i hope you figure out your tang dealy-o-bob!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

So I tested my bucket of freshly mixed saltwater and the Alk is 9.9.
I thought it was supposed to be 12?
Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a video to watch that explains exactly and step by step how to get an auto dosing system set up?

oh god no....natural sea water is around 7... anything between that and 10 is just fine.

 

[LesPoissons]

Just a suggestion if you want- switch to regular Instant Ocean. I tried reef crystals and found a consistently higher alk and it was drastically different with each batch. Regular instant ocean is cheaper and keeps everything where it should be. Alk around 8-8.5.
id also suggest stopping the 50% water changes.slow it down and let things adjust. Feed less if your nitrates and phos are crazy. Your fish can go days without feedings, I’d feed once a day or smaller amounts twice a day if there’s a lot of bullying- and skip a day here and there until you get things calmed down. Add selcon and garlic to the food. Possibly increase your clean up crew by a touch. the nitrates and phos come from fish food/fish waste. Slow down feeding, do a couple big changes, and then let things balance back out with smaller water changes which are less stressful for the tank as a whole.

 

[LesPoissons]

Also I would avoid a dosing system until you get your parameters figured out with test kits. If you do 20% bi weekly water changes you may not need to dose anything as the new water adds in the cal/mag/alk etc and keeps it balanced. As you track your parameters with your test kits you will be able to tell if your corals are depleting the ca/alk/mag enough to require additional dosing.

 

[LesPoissons]

Oh my- I’m sorry- I mixed you up with another thread I was responding too about test kits!!! I apologize! Ignore my posts and I’ll see if I can delete.

 

[LesPoissons]

Sigh- that last was also on the wrong thread, I’m sorry my internet is being janky and im not on the thread I think I’m on. I give up tonight. Please excuse any irrelevant information!!!

 

[ReefGamer]

Hello! I am not sure why no one is saying this but your ALK, Calc, and Magnesium are quite low! Also, If you do 50% water changes EVERY week there is no way you would get nitrates high like that.. unless something very serious is wrong. After three weeks you would have essentially changed 100 percent of the water with 0 nitrate water, unless you used tap water to mix salt for some reason.

 

[LesPoissons]

Was it mixed at 1.025 sg? How long did you let it mix for? I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt and the manufacturer recommends that it be mixed until it completely dissolves without aeration (less than 2 hours). They also say that if you let it mix for too long (12 hours), the mix will start to precipitate and reduce levels of calcium and alkalinity.

Don't remember where I found this but:

I also manually dose baked baking soda so I do not have any experience with auto dosers yet!

I dont think this chart is accurate. I use IO and the alk is 8-8.5 consistently when mixed at 1.025/1.026

 

[markysgirl]

So, I'm not sure what to say about this. The reason for the OP was to talk about the fact that ALK, ca, and mag are low. Hence, the two part dosing.
Also I'm wondering which thing you think I'm lying about, the weekly water changes, or my nitrates? It's neither.
And I don't use tap water to mix saltwater, it's RODI.

 

[ReefGamer]

So, I'm not sure what to say about this. The reason for the OP was to talk about the fact that ALK, ca, and mag are low. Hence, the two part dosing.
Also I'm wondering which thing you think I'm lying about, the weekly water changes, or my nitrates? It's neither.
And I don't use tap water to mix saltwater, it's RODI.

I am confirming what you were asking. Those are low and two part will help, so that’s good.

i do not think you are lying just that test kits are wrong or something else is very wrong. Like SUPER over feeding or nitrates getting leeched from something. I will also agree with those who say 50% is too much. You should only need to do 10% to maintain good levels once you get to that level. One of the main problems with huge water changes is inducing mini “cycles”, which I suspect might be the case of the high nutrients. Did you do 50% from
The beginning?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

That's what all the cool kids are doing these days, using RODI lol

 

[markysgirl]

I am confirming what you were asking. Those are low and two part will help, so that’s good.

i do not think you are lying just that test kits are wrong or something else is very wrong. Like SUPER over feeding or nitrates getting leeched from something. I will also agree with those who say 50% is too much. You should only need to do 10% to maintain good levels once you get to that level. One of the main problems with huge water changes is inducing mini “cycles”, which I suspect might be the case of the high nutrients. Did you do 50% from
The beginning?

I have been doing 50% changes from the beginning for a couple of reasons, 1. Because I can. And 2 because my nitrates have never been below 25 before a water change.
Mini cycles don't make sense to me as I am just removing water and not filtration?
So I should be removing nitrates and replacing them with water that doesn't have nitrates.
I have listed my feeding schedule in the OP.