Should I start over ?

[Lavey29]

Also when I view your tank and see all that coraline on the back wall that immediately tells me that you are on the right path for success. If this hobby was super easy then it wouldn't be fun and rewarding. Everyone on this site is someone trying to improve their reefing skills and take their tank to the next level.

 

[Idech]

No, if you are going to do it then do it right. Buy once cry once. Get real live wet harvested ocean rock from a known vendor not LFS tank rock. Just a couple small pieces will kick start your biome.

As I said it doesn’t exist here. There is no way I can find some of that.

So better not buy anything then ?

 

[7of9]

Yeah, I’m leaning towards doing that. I’ve waited a few months before adding any last time but I guess it wasn’t enough.

I’ll do the ICP test and I might go to a store 1 hour away I found to get some of their live rock. It’s from their tanks, not the ocean but that would still help. It’s 6,99$/lb and he says shipping is very expensive so not worth it.

Would 10 lbs be enough ?

I think 10lbs would help and even if it's not from the ocean, rock from an established tank will have life within it that dry rock takes a long time to build up.

Shipping IS expensive for actual life rock. I did Tampa Bay Saltwater rock once (I don't even know if they can ship to Canada) and this time around I'm looking at $115 to ship to me in Wisconsin. I'm considering doing most of my rock live rock from my LFS and then having 5-8lbs shipped from TBS, which is the amount they'll ship via surface versus air. That way, I should have a good mix with bacteria and small critters to build a base with.

It isn't at all uncommon for tanks to go through an "ugly" phase like adolescence as they mature. Despite all the quick cures marketed, about the only real solution is time for things to mature and find their balance. But boy do stores like to sell you something to try!

Good luck with your tank and try to focus on the positive you've got going, which from the pictures is still quite a lot!

 

[Lavey29]

As I said it doesn’t exist here. There is no way I can find some of that.

So better not buy anything then ?

Maybe I missed it but where is here? You can't get shipment?

Tampa Bay Saltwater – America's #1 Live Rock for Reef Aquariums

 

[Uncle99]

Hanna

I have no idea what the variations are during a 24 hour period. I’m not equipped to know.

Maybe your chemistry is not stable. Pest stuff like Dino’s like that condition.

No testing?

 

[Idech]

Maybe I missed it but where is here? You can't get shipment?

Tampa Bay Saltwater – America's #1 Live Rock for Reef Aquariums

There just isn’t any place to order from. That I can find at least. I’m sure there is none in my province and from another province, IF I can find any, I can’t imagine how expensive it would be for a few rocks. I haven’t been able to find anything at all online.

Maybe your chemistry is not stable. Pest stuff like Dino’s like that condition.

No testing?

Yes, I do test, but not 2-3 times per day. I used to test a few times a week for the first 12-18 months, but since everything is stable, now I don’t test as often.

I meant I have no automated testing system that gives you daily, even hourly variations.

 

[Idech]

I bought the ICP test. It should be here next week, then I suppose I’ll have the results 2 weeks later.

I’ll post the results when I get them.

 

[00W]

Wow, I was surprised when I saw your tank after seeing your title. I think you suffer from the same syndrome I do. When you look at your tank you only see what is going wrong or what is not there that that you currently want. It really looks nice.

This ^.
I mean wow!
Wanna see my tank?
Go with what you got, what works for your tank and rock it.
You've got so many things going on here that I don't understand (I'm so simple with how I run my tank) but I mean it sure looks nice.

 

[FishTruck]

I would ride it out. No big fixes. You have a nice tank.

Keep checking things. If the tank likes softies... then keep softies. At least for now.

 

[Eric Cohen]

You need to fly to Los Angeles and visit Eric Cohen at TankStop
@Eric Cohen - can you ship to Canada?
I think the tanks looks great but 5-10lbs of Australian liverock would help get the microbes in line. Sorry you have had such a typical struggle with your dino's and coral deaths. Once your tank turns the corner it will grow what you want but it is never going to be perfect. IF you want perfect you should try a different hobby, but I don't know any hobby that will work out for you or me, which is why I'm here trying to grow a perfect coral and so far success has eluded me, but I've come close a few times. That is something we have to learn. Good luck.

I can ship to Canada using ups but I still have to clear through USFWL and they take a cut of about $200. Thanks for the referral! Appreciate it!

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is my first reef tank and it is 22 months old (75 gallons, no sump). I’ve made mistakes and it seems that those mistakes have permanently affected the quality of the water, even though parameters are fine.

Salinity : 1.026
PH : 8.1
Cal : 480
Mag : 1540
Alk : 9.6
Nitrates : 18.4
Phosphate : 0,07
Temp : 78

I have had dinos for about 18 months. Got rid of them 3 times, but they always come back with a vengeance every time I do a WC more than a few gallons. Which is why I can’t just do a huge WC and be done with it. I dose All For Reef every day to make up for it.

I can grow very easy corals, but anything else will die. Sometimes they last a few months but they don’t show much growth and end up dying later. I would like to keep euphyllias and other corals with lots of movement or just nice. But it just doesn’t work.

Here is what I have tried and still have :

1 x GSP
1 x duncan
1 x frogspawn (euphyllia divisa) DEAD
3 x pulsing xenia
2 x green rodactis mushroom
2 x red Actinodiscus mushroom
1 x Discosoma
1 x purple blastomussa DEAD
1 x assorted acan lord DEAD
1 x kryptonite candy cane DEAD
1 x bi-color candy cane DEAD
2 x red acan Bowerbanki DEAD
1 x red goniopora DEAD
1 x green alveopora DYING
1 x green purple tip hammer
1 x myagi tort acropora DEAD
1 x branching gold hammer
2 x green torch DEAD
2 x cristata torch DEAD
1 x rose bud branching hammer DEAD
1 x yellow cyphastrea (bas) DEAD
1 x purple leptastrea DEAD
1 x JF techno cyphastrea DEAD
1 x pipe organ
1 x Hocus pocus lepto DEAD
1 x purple anthelia
1 x pastel yellow favia DEAD
2 x green polyp porites DEAD
2 x tropic thunder montipora frag DEAD
1 x green nepthea coral
1 x bird’s nest

Anemones
1 x rainbow bubble tip anemone

Fish and inverts are doing well.

My question : would starting over fix this problem that makes me feel like quitting altogether ? If not, what should I do ?

I would empty the tank and keep the rocks, corals inverts and fish alive in tubs. Then get rid of the sand and replace with new one, maybe just 1 inch instead of 3 inches like I have now.

Replace 100% of the water with fresh salt water made of RODI. Put everything back in, all on the same day hopefully.



Thanks !

Instead of starting over- strive for improvement. Get an ICP test and go from there.

 

[00W]

You have a lot of options but I don't think starting over should be one.
Think positive keep us updated and good luck =I mean it.

 

[PocketGoose]

Something that's interesting to me is you mention a dino bloom after every WC. This tells me that there is some sort of limiting factor to their growth (trace element maybe?), and when you complete a WC you are re-introducing whatever the limiting agent is. Dino's are opportunistic and when present can be the first to boom when conditions are favorable. As you know, corals also require some of the less plentiful elements to thrive, and maybe there is a consistent lack of something that is making the sustained success of several different species difficult. I'm interested to see what your ICP says. I think you had referenced you made some adjustments based of the last ICP 10 months ago? Could you maybe share what you did at that point and what was not "in-line" with the ICP recommendations.

Personally, I think I would continue to WC and replenish some of the elemental reserves, let the dinos come and just damage control the best you can until they run their course. In my dino battles, i really haven't experienced any issues with coral death. If they grew on the plug or base, I would just baste it off.

Your microbial community should be able to eventually compete for space and resources and hopefully solve your dino problem as well as loss of corals.

 

[Uncle99]

I bought the ICP test. It should be here next week, then I suppose I’ll have the results 2 weeks later.

I’ll post the results when I get them.

Excellent idea.
Following.

 

[Uncle99]

There just isn’t any place to order from. That I can find at least. I’m sure there is none in my province and from another province, IF I can find any, I can’t imagine how expensive it would be for a few rocks. I haven’t been able to find anything at all online.


Yes, I do test, but not 2-3 times per day. I used to test a few times a week for the first 12-18 months, but since everything is stable, now I don’t test as often.

I meant I have no automated testing system that gives you daily, even hourly variations.

Maybe a parameter is out of range.
Maybe nutrients are decreasing over time, or increasing consistently.

I just wanted to absolutely rule out water chemistry, or something we didn’t expect.

But you say stable so that mostly strikes that cause out

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I would ride out the issues with your tank. You have a great looking tank, and that would stink to just have to start over again.

 

[Dom]

This is my first reef tank and it is 22 months old (75 gallons, no sump). I’ve made mistakes and it seems that those mistakes have permanently affected the quality of the water, even though parameters are fine.

Salinity : 1.026
PH : 8.1
Cal : 480
Mag : 1540
Alk : 9.6
Nitrates : 18.4
Phosphate : 0,07
Temp : 78

I have had dinos for about 18 months. Got rid of them 3 times, but they always come back with a vengeance every time I do a WC more than a few gallons. Which is why I can’t just do a huge WC and be done with it. I dose All For Reef every day to make up for it.

I can grow very easy corals, but anything else will die. Sometimes they last a few months but they don’t show much growth and end up dying later. I would like to keep euphyllias and other corals with lots of movement or just nice. But it just doesn’t work.

Here is what I have tried and still have :

1 x GSP
1 x duncan
1 x frogspawn (euphyllia divisa) DEAD
3 x pulsing xenia
2 x green rodactis mushroom
2 x red Actinodiscus mushroom
1 x Discosoma
1 x purple blastomussa DEAD
1 x assorted acan lord DEAD
1 x kryptonite candy cane DEAD
1 x bi-color candy cane DEAD
2 x red acan Bowerbanki DEAD
1 x red goniopora DEAD
1 x green alveopora DYING
1 x green purple tip hammer
1 x myagi tort acropora DEAD
1 x branching gold hammer
2 x green torch DEAD
2 x cristata torch DEAD
1 x rose bud branching hammer DEAD
1 x yellow cyphastrea (bas) DEAD
1 x purple leptastrea DEAD
1 x JF techno cyphastrea DEAD
1 x pipe organ
1 x Hocus pocus lepto DEAD
1 x purple anthelia
1 x pastel yellow favia DEAD
2 x green polyp porites DEAD
2 x tropic thunder montipora frag DEAD
1 x green nepthea coral
1 x bird’s nest

Anemones
1 x rainbow bubble tip anemone

Fish and inverts are doing well.

My question : would starting over fix this problem that makes me feel like quitting altogether ? If not, what should I do ?

I would empty the tank and keep the rocks, corals inverts and fish alive in tubs. Then get rid of the sand and replace with new one, maybe just 1 inch instead of 3 inches like I have now.

Replace 100% of the water with fresh salt water made of RODI. Put everything back in, all on the same day hopefully.



Thanks !

I don't see anything wrong with this tank.

 

[Idech]

I would ride it out. No big fixes. You have a nice tank.

Keep checking things. If the tank likes softies... then keep softies. At least for now.

I’ve thought a lot about what you wrote since yesterday and I like the idea of concentrating on softies for now. Thanks

I can ship to Canada using ups but I still have to clear through USFWL and they take a cut of about $200. Thanks for the referral! Appreciate it!

Wow, 200$ + cost of shipping + live rocks ? Too bad it’s so expensive !

Instead of starting over- strive for improvement. Get an ICP test and go from there.

I agree. I bought an ICP test yesterday.

You have a lot of options but I don't think starting over should be one.
Think positive keep us updated and good luck =I mean it.

Thank you ! Everyone has been so nice and helpful, I sure will keep you posted !

I think you had referenced you made some adjustments based of the last ICP 10 months ago? Could you maybe share what you did at that point and what was not "in-line" with the ICP recommendations.

Here is the link to my ICP thread. To fix every issue mentioned on the test, I bought from a LFS who sent me whatever quantity was needed for every product.

I also used something (can’t remember what) for about 3-4 weeks to get rid of traces of some other elements.

Help with ICP test results

My 75 gallons tank is 1 year old and corals aren’t happy despite seemingly correct parameters so I did an ICP test. Lots of things are wrong, some because of mistakes (high magnesium) or because I was trying to get rid of dinos (high silicate) or others. I haven’t done regulars water changes...

www.reef2reef.com

Personally, I think I would continue to WC and replenish some of the elemental reserves, let the dinos come and just damage control the best you can until they run their course. In my dino battles, i really haven't experienced any issues with coral death. If they grew on the plug or base, I would just baste it off.

I’m really afraid to let dinos take their course. It takes really high levels of silicates for them to go away. Like 3000% the ideal levels. I don’t like having much silicate that in the tank, and also it distorts my Hanna phosphate test and keeps me from testing it properly.

I was planning on changing 4 gallons per week for a total of 16 gallons per month. I’ve tried it once and it was okay. I just need to buy salt.

 

[Idech]

I don't see anything wrong with this tank.

Thanks. I just wish it would let me grow LPS, at least. Not just softies.

It’s hard not to want what others have when you see all those fabulous tanks filled with corals of every specie and color.

But as many said on this thread, I need to be happy with what I have and strive to improve on it. See all the positive instead of wishing for what I can’t have (at least for now).

 

[Idech]

Something that's interesting to me is you mention a dino bloom after every WC. This tells me that there is some sort of limiting factor to their growth (trace element maybe?), and when you complete a WC you are re-introducing whatever the limiting agent is. Dino's are opportunistic and when present can be the first to boom when conditions are favorable. As you know, corals also require some of the less plentiful elements to thrive, and maybe there is a consistent lack of something that is making the sustained success of several different species difficult.

I think this is interesting and I want to make sure I make the most of it.

I dose All for Reef daily. Not a huge amount, just 15 ml but it keeps my parameters steady. When I do a medium/large WC, AFR levels are decreased. So maybe this is what causes dinos to bloom ?

So AFR would be the limiting factor ? Except that when I do a WC, it’s not re-introduced, it’s decreased, isn’t it ?

Would that mean I need to dose more of it to help corals grow ? I mean it’s not going to increase my mag and cal levels, but it will increase my alkalinity for sure. For now it’s at 9.5 or 9.6

I wonder if I should try that ?