What am I doing wrong

scabbedwings616

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I have had a lot of my acros get brown tips. I just started testing my phosphates and see that it’s at .11. I just did a water change after a month which is my normal routine. Haven’t lost an acro since March with that schedule Has been in place. The only difference is now I have connected my main and frag onto one system in June. July was fine August things are fine but this month ive lost a frag a week. I’m using t5 lights on both tanks, same lighting schedule, opposite for the refugium. I use a calcium reactor for the main three and reborn for the media. I just added carbon and gfo to see if it’ll go down and its been three days with the install of the reactor. Too early to tell I think. what I would like to know is what am I doing wrong that I could be doing right?

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scabbedwings616

scabbedwings616

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You can see them a little brown and starting to be there. This was on Tuesday, and they look the same right now. Lights are currently out to take any right now.

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Charlie’s Frags

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They look burnt. Ime it’s from over stripping the water. Carbon dosing, gfo, zeovit, or now matrix even. Could also be led burn. Did this happen before or after you added the gfo?
 

ScottR

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What is your alk? I couldn’t see it. Sounds like burnt tips and algae growing over the skeleton.
 
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scabbedwings616

scabbedwings616

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They look burnt. Ime it’s from over stripping the water. Carbon dosing, gfo, zeovit, or now matrix even. Could also be led burn. Did this happen before or after you added the gfo?
This was before the gfo. I don’t have led lights on there. It’s a 6 bulb t5. I know I feed the tank a lot too 2 cubes mysis in this one and 1 cube in the other tank with the connected sump.
 

EMeyer

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Burnt tips? Sounds like high alk (>8). Get it back to a normal range (~7) and corals will be happier.
 
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scabbedwings616

scabbedwings616

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Burnt tips? Sounds like high alk (>8). Get it back to a normal range (~7) and corals will be happier.
I keep my tank at 8.7-9.2 as my salt mix is instant ocean reef crystals. It is higher in dkh and that’s why I keep it that way. Can you keep it lower with this salt mix?
 

ScottR

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Between 8.7 and 9.2. Testing with a trident 4 times a day.
There’s a consensus that higher alk and lower nutrients creates burnt tips. The higher alk grows the skeleton faster than the tissue can. So the tips are bare bones. So algae will grow on them.
 
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scabbedwings616

scabbedwings616

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There’s a consensus that higher alk and lower nutrients creates burnt tips. The higher alk grows the skeleton faster than the tissue can. So the tips are bare bones. So algae will grow on them.
So how do I know if I have enough nutrients to support it? I know it’s a basic question but confused with it. I feed atleast once a day, feed my corals 2 times a week, and have quiet a few fish in the tank as well. Between the two tanks and sump.
 

ScottR

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So how do I know if I have enough nutrients to support it? I know it’s a basic question but confused with it. I feed atleast once a day, feed my corals 2 times a week, and have quiet a few fish in the tank as well. Between the two tanks and sump.
I would test PO4 and NO3. Know your daily alk and calcium.
 
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scabbedwings616

scabbedwings616

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The trident tests and my calcium reactor keeps it stable. My phosphates are at .11 as of yesterday but did a water change yesterday. Going to test it today around 3pm as that’s the normal time I test.

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EMeyer

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I will respectfully disagree with the hobby consensus about why high alk is bad. Coral skeleton cannot grow without tissue growth; the way corals produce skeletons is by first producing tissue then laying down skeleton under the tissue. There is no skeletal growth without tissue growth.

But thats a quibble over mechanism. I suggest that instead of the nutrient/alk relationship people talk about, its really all about alk, with high alkalinity (which never occurs in the ocean) simply being not ideal for corals.

You can lower the alkalinity of your newly mixed saltwater with hydrochloric (muriatic) acid. I think sodium bisulfite also works. It needs to be aerated for about 24 hours after doing so to bring the pH back to normal.
 

vetteguy53081

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I believe the GFO may have played a part as even a tablespoon and alter chemistry. Ive had nothing but issues with GFO and have not used it the last three years. Tting the tanks together may also have played a role as we often here about stability with SPS and although minor, could have been enough change to cause this.
 
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scabbedwings616

scabbedwings616

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I believe the GFO may have played a part as even a tablespoon and alter chemistry. Ive had nothing but issues with GFO and have not used it the last three years. Tting the tanks together may also have played a role as we often here about stability with SPS and although minor, could have been enough change to cause this.
That is what my buddy was saying about the systems being tied together. It’s only about 2 months old the tank but used the rock I had in both for the system. I also rescaped the display tank as well. I am by no means a number chaser. I just want my acros to be doing well and some are some aren’t. I think I’m going to be taking off the gfo, and lowering my dkh slowly to 8.5 or lower to see what it does. I might continue to run carbon on the tank though to help with clarity and par.
 
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scabbedwings616

scabbedwings616

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I believe the GFO may have played a part as even a tablespoon and alter chemistry. Ive had nothing but issues with GFO and have not used it the last three years. Tting the tanks together may also have played a role as we often here about stability with SPS and although minor, could have been enough change to cause this.
I also had this issue before adding the gfo to the tank. Then I tested the phosphates and saw them at .09 and then at .11 and started thinking about it.
 

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