Struggles with my hard corals

[Adam Schindler]

Id put more faith n the old fashioned glass one than a $10 digital thermometer, there is a reason a quality, accurate digital thermometer is $70-$100.

Ok thank you!

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I didn't see where anyone recommended an ICP test, but that might be worth trying too so you can rule out any heavy metal issues.

 

[Adam Schindler]

I do run ro water also. Forgot to mention that and you made me think of it when you brought up metals. Wouldn’t that take care of most of it? My ppm meter says 1-2 when I check my freshly made water.

 

[C. Eymann]

Id hold off on the ICP test until you can start ruling out the common variables/issues that prevent proper troubleshooting, get more accurate test kits, get a more accurate way to determine salinity, temperature and other parameters before dropping the scratch on ICP.

If you posted your params and said they were determined with accurate, proven methods/kits, Id say bump up nitrate a bit, stop dosing alk until it falls to ~8, get PO4 to a reasonable level and maintain that for a week or two, if everything thing still looks cranky, thats the point where Id recommend ICP.

just my .02

Right now, for all we know your salinity is 1.031 and your temp is in the mid 80s
eliminate the common variables first

 

[Adam Schindler]

Id hold off on the ICP test until you can start ruling out the common variables/issues that prevent proper troubleshooting, get more accurate test kits, get a more accurate way to determine salinity, temperature and other parameters before dropping the scratch on ICP.

If you posted your params and said they were determined with accurate, proven methods/kits, Id say bump up nitrate a bit, stop dosing alk until it falls to ~8, get PO4 to a reasonable level and maintain that for a week or two, if everything thing still looks cranky, thats the point where Id recommend ICP.

just my .02

Right now, for all we know your salinity is 1.031 and your temp is in the mid 80s
eliminate the common variables first

Thank you for your help! What test kits would you recommend? Hannah? Should I just get the kit that has calcium, phosphate, and ph and refractometer? Is there others that I should have? I have a salifert mag test. Also have a glass thermometer in my shopping cart. I guess what I’m asking is are there certain parameters that would be better to have digital, and ones that I can get away with using the color matching nonsense? I know ideally all digital is the way to go.

 

[C. Eymann]

Thank you for your help! What test kits would you recommend? Hannah? Should I just get the kit that has calcium, phosphate, and ph and refractometer? Is there others that I should have? I have a salifert mag test. Also have a glass thermometer in my shopping cart. I guess what I’m asking is are there certain parameters that would be better to have digital, and ones that I can get away with using the color matching nonsense? I know ideally all digital is the way to go.

Personally the only hanna checkers I have faith in at this point is their phosphate checkers and HR copper checkers, I have had issues recently with their alk checkers and inconsistency with reagents. Their calcium checker has always been pretty iffy.

I spend on average 2-3hours a day testing 19 different systems devoted to coral aquaculture, so I do prefer some kits over the other, but many consider this a debatable topic, do what works best for you.

Here are my favorites

Alk- salifert or RedSea- its a tie
Calcium- Salifert
Magnesium-salifert
Nitrate- redsea pro w/ colorwheel on lower nutrient systems, or Ill use API for higher range mixed systems
Phosphate-hanna ULR checker
Salinity- RedSea refractometer or Milwaukee digital tester, calibrated daily with 35ppt solution.
Temperature- Hanna digital thermometer probe.

Hope this helps,hope you find the issue and everything gets back on a successful track.

 

[Adam Schindler]

Quick update. So I bought a refractometer and an saifert reef test kit. Happy to get away from the api crap. Anyway, I just finished testing everything and this is my water parameters as of now.
Temp- 75-76
Salinity-1.024
KH-8.6
Cal-420
Ph-8.3
Nitrate-5
Phosphate-.03-.1 hard to tell for me
Mag 1410
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Also swapped all the filters in my ro showing 0 tds. Any suggestions? The green caulustrea, purple caulustrea, and the red chalice are on the verge of death.

 

[Adam Schindler]

@C. Eymann Any suggestions?

 

[Afterburner]

At this point I would suggest an ICP test. Your old RO filters may have let some bad metals through if your local water supply is not that good. You may have to do a bunch of water changes when you get your report back.

 

[Adam Schindler]

Hey everyone. Haven’t been active in awhile but I’ve stayed busy! Just wanted to post a couple updated tank pics since my struggle about a year ago. I’m stoked on the progress!