What should be my next step?

[old_lady_4am]

To clarify, Corals especially photosynthetic which you have need some form of white light. Blue is acceptable for growth but the symbiotic single called algae called zooxanthellae which resides within the coral's tissue require white light for production of oxygen which corals require for survival by photosynthesis. It protects the coral's inner algae from potential grazers allowing the nutrients that the coral excretes for survival.
We all know Bright light is required for SPS as well as photosynthetic species so to say white not needed would be contradictive.

Gotcha. Ok… I’ll go back to my old settings.

Do you think I should I add the waste away or phosphateE right now?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Gotcha. Ok… I’ll go back to my old settings.

Do you think I should I add the waste away or phosphateE right now?

let nature take its course. If you want to add one, a little waste away would be fine

 

[mermaid_life]

Maybe my eyesight is going bad but I'm not really seeing any algae. I see maybe some brown dusting. This happens to my tank when my rodi di water hits 1 tds. I have the same filtration system as yours (aquatic life). Because I'm in San Diego and my faucet tds is 400+, I have to put 2 DI filters at the end.

Excuse me if I'm way off!

 

[kingoftheHiLLpeople]

In regards to the gorgonian it was just something i noticed. You want it swaying so some movement. I know i need to trim mine when - under some pretty high flow - they get little bits of detritus build up where their branches meet/intertwine.

 

[old_lady_4am]

Maybe my eyesight is going bad but I'm not really seeing any algae. I see maybe some brown dusting. This happens to my tank when my rodi di water hits 1 tds. I have the same filtration system as yours (aquatic life). Because I'm in San Diego and my faucet tds is 400+, I have to put 2 DI filters at the end.

Excuse me if I'm way off!

Not at all!! Could the brown dusting collect air bubbles?

 

[mermaid_life]

Not at all!! Could the brown dusting collect air bubbles?

Sometimes. Although usually bubbles mean dinos.

Similar to what others have said. I would pause using chemicals. Right now your tank looks clean to me (other than the brown dusting). I have used live phyto to naturally manage nutrients and battle everything you mentioned.... Including dinos.

 

[ikaros70]

Your going through the “ugly stage”, it’s normal and part of the tank cycle.
I’m not just referring to the nitrogen cycle, I’m referring to the tanks natural progression into full maturity.
A tank takes a good year to mature.
Most of us are now starting up tanks with dry rock, LR is just crazy expensive now. $$$
I rebooted my tank ~6 months ago and I am still going through the uglies.
I just recently purchased copepods from algae barn, they have a sale going now, purchased the 4 pack for $99, it’s supposed to help, we will see.
I miss the days when live rock was plentiful and reasonably affordable.
I remember when live rock was ~$5/lb. It’s now 5 times that or more.
Back when I first got into the hobby, completely avoided the ugly stage by using mature LR from the LFS in my town, that’s is very difficult to do now as prices have skyrocketed, especially for larger systems.
Just be patient, you’ll get through it.

 

[Lavey29]

To clarify, Corals especially photosynthetic which you have need some form of white light. Blue is acceptable for growth but the symbiotic single called algae called zooxanthellae which resides within the coral's tissue require white light for production of oxygen which corals require for survival by photosynthesis. It protects the coral's inner algae from potential grazers allowing the nutrients that the coral excretes for survival.
We all know Bright light is required for SPS as well as photosynthetic species so to say white not needed would be contradictive.

I would disagree with that. White light is not needed except for personal viewing pleasure. Yes, it can raise par but it is not something corals need directly for photosynthesis. There are numerous postings on this on the net, Why are companies selling all blue lights with now white spectrum?

 

[Lavey29]

What do you think of:
CLR - 11
INT - 41
VI - 9

Sorry not exactly sure what you are trying to relate to me here?

 

[old_lady_4am]

Sometimes. Although usually bubbles mean dinos.

Similar to what others have said. I would pause using chemicals. Right now your tank looks clean to me (other than the brown dusting). I have used live phyto to naturally manage nutrients and battle everything you mentioned.... Including dinos.

Sorry not exactly sure what you are trying to relate to me here?

Sorry! Wrong recipient!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I would disagree with that. White light is not needed except for personal viewing pleasure. Yes, it can raise par but it is not something corals need directly for photosynthesis. There are numerous postings on this on the net, Why are companies selling all blue lights with now white spectrum?

What color is closest to sunlight ? . . . . White
Many years , metal Halide was used - Color - white. Why- it offered blends of daylight for coral to build sugars for health and food production.
Then came 50/50 - blue was beneficial but white still needed and was kick-off to LED lighting. Then came actinic lighting.
Why does todays light contain white. . . . Preference but still a requirement and should though as I do be run low ( I run at 14%). Ive been running whites almost 4 decades. Look at our members tanks and photography section. . . . all utilize white for their coral
I agree Blue is best primary but to suggest all blue which offers flourescence is complex. by Dmitry Karpenko :


Before we consider the influence of the light spectrum on coral coloration I would like to point out that even coloration of the same coral may vary significantly depending on conditions. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to provide exactly identical conditions for the corals, even in the same aquarium – and this is even harder for two different tanks. Without providing the right conditions for the corals, other attempts to improve their coloration, such as adjustments of the light spectrum, will be in vain.

Experienced reef keepers well know how variable the coloration of the same coral can be in different conditions. There are three main factors which affect it most: light spectrum and intensity, the amount of food available in water (although coral polyps receive a significant portion of their energy from the zooxanthellae, they are also able to capture food particles from the water column), and from the purity of the water. This last factor is easiest to control: techniques to maintain pristine water in reef aquaria are well known. The second factor, too, can be solved easily since there are a number of quality coral foods readily available on the market. At the same time many aquarists believe that, if there are fish living in a reef aquarium, corals will get sufficient food from small particles which float around from feeding the fish (and fish poo too is consumed by corals).

Light is the last important factor required for good health and the coloration of corals, and yet has not been studied sufficiently well in reef keeping.

The situation is rather complex though, since corals can be very variable, and even the same species may contain different chromoproteins (proteins responsible for coloration) – their type and amount are also determined genetically, in the same way as, say, the color of human’s eyes. Many of these proteins are fluorescent; i.e., they adsorb the light of a certain wavelength and radiate a different wavelength.

 

[Lavey29]

What color is closest to sunlight ? . . . . White
Many years , metal Halide was used - Color - white. Why- it offered blends of daylight for coral to build sugars for health and food production.
Then came 50/50 - blue was beneficial but white still needed and was kick-off to LED lighting. Then came actinic lighting.
Why does todays light contain white. . . . Preference but still a requirement and should though as I do be run low ( I run at 14%). Ive been running whites almost 4 decades. Look at our members tanks and photography section. . . . all utilize white for their coral
I agree Blue is best primary but to suggest all blue which offers flourescence is complex. by Dmitry Karpenko :


Before we consider the influence of the light spectrum on coral coloration I would like to point out that even coloration of the same coral may vary significantly depending on conditions. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to provide exactly identical conditions for the corals, even in the same aquarium – and this is even harder for two different tanks. Without providing the right conditions for the corals, other attempts to improve their coloration, such as adjustments of the light spectrum, will be in vain.

Experienced reef keepers well know how variable the coloration of the same coral can be in different conditions. There are three main factors which affect it most: light spectrum and intensity, the amount of food available in water (although coral polyps receive a significant portion of their energy from the zooxanthellae, they are also able to capture food particles from the water column), and from the purity of the water. This last factor is easiest to control: techniques to maintain pristine water in reef aquaria are well known. The second factor, too, can be solved easily since there are a number of quality coral foods readily available on the market. At the same time many aquarists believe that, if there are fish living in a reef aquarium, corals will get sufficient food from small particles which float around from feeding the fish (and fish poo too is consumed by corals).

Light is the last important factor required for good health and the coloration of corals, and yet has not been studied sufficiently well in reef keeping.

The situation is rather complex though, since corals can be very variable, and even the same species may contain different chromoproteins (proteins responsible for coloration) – their type and amount are also determined genetically, in the same way as, say, the color of human’s eyes. Many of these proteins are fluorescent; i.e., they adsorb the light of a certain wavelength and radiate a different wavelength.

How much sunlight do the corals get at 50 or 100 feet down? There are just as many studies that suggest white is not needed except for viewing quality. I bet if you left your whites off for a month you would see no difference in your coral health. Why is that? The blue dominant led lights do have a few cool white lights in their array but again this is for viewing quality not coral needs.

 

[doubleshot00]

Your tank looks great. You have colonies that look to be a few years old. I assume they are eating your nitrates. I would add a small tang and feed once a day RINSED frozen food. Monitor your levels 2x a week. If the phosphate keep going up ad a bit of gfo in a media bag.

 

[ikaros70]

Since I am currently in the ugly stage of my tank, my white channels have been turned off for a couple months now, I have had 0 side affects from running blue channels only.
All corals doing fine, mostly lps.
The white channels help fuel the ugly stage algae, that is 100% fact, have experienced myself with my system.
You can run with the white channels off for now, you can always ramp the white channels up later. That’s what I plan on.
Short term, it will be fine.
As far as long term affects, I have no idea.
I have no plans on running only blue channels long term, Not worrying about it.
I will tell you that after adding the copepods from algae barn yesterday, I can already see a difference in my tank. When I came home from work today, I was shocked that ~60-70% of the ugly brown algae is gone after only 1 day.
Cyano is also cut back.
Have been battling Diatoms and also have had small amounts of cyano in certain spots.
I did add alot of copepods to the system yesterday, 4 jars all in one shot. I have a larger system and that was recommended for the system size.
There are pods everywhere but that’s ok, good for the system.
I myself, am shocked and happy at the same time. Will be interesting to see how things go over the next week or so. I am dosing phyto to help feed the pod population.
As long as I don’t have any nutrient spikes, I plan on dosing every day for about 2 weeks, then cut back to every other day.
I have been reading that some have had good luck with adding copepods and no issues with algae outbreaks, so figured I would give it a try.
Just to be clear, I have no affiliations with algae barn or any other retailer, just passing along what my personal experiences have been.