Whats wrong with my SPS tank

[ReeferBen]

I am ready to give up, again....

Tank set up:
58 gal Oceanic RR, Bare Bottom
20 gal Sump
15 gal fuge with cheato, live rock and 2" sandbed oolite

Equiptment:
Shuran Jet Stream 1 reactor fed with Spectrpure LM 1 controlled with pinpoint pH controller

Euro-reef RC135 skimmer, just bought a ATI BM 200 to replace this

Return pump is a mag 7 feeding into a 3/4 seaswirl

In tank circulation 1 Koralia 4, and 1 Vortech.

Lighting is a PFO shimmer hood with 2 x 400 watt Radium 20ks and 2 x 95 watt PC actinics

I use a Phosban reactor with a small amount of GFO and a few inchs of GAC in it.

I have a Redsea 03 unit with built in controller keeping my orp at 400, yet it hardly runs to do this.

Heater is a 150 watt jager and chiller is a pacific coast import 1/10 hp.

A few weeks ago I realized my chiller was wrong, it has a built in controller and was set to 82, but I checked it against two other controllers that both read 86 while it read 82. I changed it to read 77.

The problem is my SPS arent encrusting, or they will for awhile then they start to slowly STN from the base up. I have not lost any except one today, I thought since I fixed the temp isssue I would stop seeing issues but of my 30ish frags 10 have some STN at the base. It is moving only maybe 1/4" every few weeks, I have tried covering the base with epoxy or super glue gel and in some cases they start encrusting back over sometimes not. Fish include McCosters wrasse, Kole tang, and a pait of banggias

Tank was setup on 1.20.08 using all dry rock from marco rocks.

I feel like I have gone over exverything and cant come up with what my issue is here.

Test results:

Alk 10 dKH
Mg 1200 (cant seem to get this up anymore)
CA 425
pH varies from 8.05-8.2 during the 24 hour period
N03- 0 on salifert (comes up clear)
P04- .02 on hanna meter


I just dont get it. Ill try to post a picture of my mess. Although the picture doesnt show the STN it shows my general mess (not married Im allowed lol)

 

[Atomikk]

Try lowering your Alk to 7 or 8 dKH, bu tnot lower. Some SPS corals respond better under lower ALK parameters.

 

[chadfarmer]

how fast is the drip rate on the phosban reactor (temp shouldnt be the problem my tank is 83 degree right now)

I would say that the alk is fine i know people that run theres at 12


i would say to try to feed the tank looks to clean

(i had the same problem when I was on the barebottom kick)

 

[ReeferBen]

As far as feeding goes I feed a few pinchs of pellet foood, a half cube of mysis everyday. I also feed the tank twice a week with a mixture of oyster eggs and and coral freenzy.

The phosban reactor has a maxijet 400 on it that is slowed down with a ball valve but it does tumble in there a bit. I was slightly concerned with it, or the carbon grinding down and adding dust to the water.

 

[chadfarmer]

i was wandering if you added the phosban in the last 3 weeks

 

[surfn]

IMO.........you are doing TOO MUCH.

you have WAAAAAY too much fancy equipment for that size tank, and a tank with hardly any live stock or corals.

why do you need a calcium reactor? you should EASILY be able to get away with kalk mixed into your auto top off water. you don't have many sps corals at all in there. 2-part would be plenty easy to keep up with also.

why do you need a beast of a skimmer? seems kinda overkill for that size tank. and again, i don't see much in the way of livestock. so i think you are probably skimming good micro nutrients out of the water.

orp? who cares......JMO.

2x400 radiums? geez. I'd say 2x250w lights is pushing it on that size tank. 2x400's would be plenty on a 180g tank to grow just about anything, anywhere.

i'm gonna be quite honest in that i think this is an issue of you trying to force things to work and force things to grow by buying fancy equipment and not letting your tank gradually grow and mature. your tank has been set up for less than half a year, so its still VERY VERY VERY young.

reef aquariums have life. you have to give that life a chance to naturally evolve, you can't force it to grow by buying lots of equipment.

 

[chadfarmer]

IMO.........you are doing TOO MUCH.

.

I had more than that on my old 58 gallon, but to be honest I had a calcium reactor on a 29 gallon


I would sit back and relax (i had corals do nothing and than just take off and never stop)

(what is your skimmate like )(I had a bubble king, kz, deltec, h&S and dual euroreef skimmers on my old 58 and couldnt get great skimmate until I would upgrade skimmers)

 

[ReeferBen]

Yes surfin I realize it is a new tank still. Ive been in the hobby awhile, over 12 years and most of the equiptment was from the closet. Why do I like a big skimmer, so I can feed as heavy as I choose to with out worry. I am not a believer in over skimming, JMO.

Explain to me if I can set the CA reactor to mantain the CA/ALK at stable levels whats the harm?

AS far as the lighting goes my most successful SPS set up years ago was a 55 with 2 x 400 watt 6500k iwasakis and 4 x 110 watt VHO actinics and this caused me nothing but good growth so again I dont think this is causing my issue.

I am not one to "force" things to grow by buying fancy equiptment. Like I said Ive been in the hobby awhile, read everyhitng there is to read on reef aquariums and am here for some help not smart butt comments, sometimes I don't post on BB's for this very reason. Maybe I should just go back to figuring out my issues on my own. FWIW, there has been numerous SPS tanks set up as soon as the tank was cycled and parameters were stable that worked wonderful, that said I am aware my tank is young. Maybe I am taking your post in the wrong way but seems like you might as well have said "idiot, money doesnt create a nice reef tank."

Chad, no Ive been running GFO in small amounts for awhile now, but have started to use less then I use to. I only added 2 tablespoons last time I changed it.

 

[ReeferBen]

I get decent skimmate, not coffee colored but like a dark tea, the skimmer cup will get 1/2 full in about 4 days.

 

[ReeferBen]

I am ready to give up, again....

and BTW I will never really give up since I love this hobby, this is one of my 3 current tanks and the others are doing well. I was just ticked this morning since I lost my first SPS frag. I do appriciate the help that has been given. I only just fixed my temp issue a few weeks ago, anyone think that this might have just been a lasting effect. Setting the chiller at 77 is keeping me at 81.6 by the end of the light cycle and the tank is usually 78-79 in the morning.

Before the temp had been running 86-87 during the day and thats when these issues were happening.

 

[ReeferBen]

The first was taken on 6/30/08 and the second one today as you can see this is very STN but figured I'd give you a better look of my complaint.

 

[chadfarmer]

are you sure that isnt from the glue/or epoxy

temp swings of over 4-5 degrees can do that

 

[aquaman3680]

are you sure that isnt from the glue/or epoxy

temp swings of over 4-5 degrees can do that

From what I have seen in local reefers tanks that attach SPS with epoxy, that is generally what happens. Normally it fades back and then will come back over time. How is your upward and outward growth? I would also have to agree that the temp swings would play a role in STN. Give it a few more weeks and things may perk up. Just a thought, is it possible the water is too clean? I know that is tough to do, especially with SPS, but just a thought

Matt

 

[ReeferBen]

Well the pieces I got this STN on, some were glued with Boston Aquafarms gel and some were glued with epoxy. My montis are all encrusting fine too. Of the 31 acros only 6 have this STN but thats a scary percentage and a mix of adhesives were used. There is 6 montis (undata, setosa, sunset, 2 rainbows, confusa) which none of show any issues, of course IME montis are much less sensitive then acros)

I have a feeling I havent given enough time for things to stabalize since fixing the temp issue. And the loss of my Acropora suharsonoi today was collateral damage. Maybe not, but I cant say for sure. I feel like I may have fixed my issue to fast as well, and instead of changing the chiller right away to where I wanted it, a 1 degree change a day may have been better.

 

[ReeferBen]

Thanks for the reply, the upward growth is fine, it is faster then the base STN on all the pieces that show it.

 

[chadfarmer]

Thanks for the reply, the upward growth is fine, it is faster then the base STN on all the pieces that show it.

if you want a faster base to grow mount them on there side


(they grow a base and than grow up from there)

 

[ReeferBen]

But in general wont most SPS frags lay down a nice base before they start upward growth?

As far as too low nutrient, I feel that is my marco is growing in the fuge, which it is then the tank isnt really a ULN tank.

 

[aquaman3680]

if you want a faster base to grow mount them on there side


(they grow a base and than grow up from there)

Only problem I see with this is that if he is having a problem with STN at the base there would be more base for STN to possibly start.

Just a thought-

 

[ReeferBen]

Sorry I know I am being difficult too lol. Just brain storming some more.

 

[aquaman3680]

Sorry I know I am being difficult too lol. Just brain storming some more.

Not a problem at all. I am somewhat baffled too!