I'm converting my tank from Red Sea with a refugium to Zeovit with no refugium. Main reason is that I wasn't happy with the polyp extension on my corals, and the colors never seemed to match what I was buying at the store. To be fair, I'm a newbie and the RC program had to deal with my beginner mistakes, but even when the tank was at its best...it always left me with that "this can look better" feeling.
I stopped dosing Red Sea cold turkey and let the tank sit for several weeks (but still dosed KH & Ca). I also had a huge cyano bloom in my refugium (it was growing more of that than chaeto, which caused a nasty odor), so I took that out. And to make matters worse, I added about 150 lbs of rock to my tank...but it sat out for 2 weeks before I could put it in...which caused a huge NO3 & PO4 spike.
I then started the ZEOvit program. I'm currently on Week 4, and although I'm getting a nice neon pop to my corals...there are many that are starting to look very pale. NO3 & PO4 have not yet dropped, so I'm looking for advice:
Mg = 1320
Ca = 420
KH = 8.7 (had a spike when I put it in the rocks...they're man-made); typically around 7.3-7.6.
K+ = 430
SG = 1.025
Temp = 78 F
NO3 = 64+ (was at 8 before the spike)
PO4 = .160 (was at .050 before the spike)
10% weekly water change
60% of the zeolites in place (as recommended for the first interval); dosing ZEObak, food, and start per instructions. Still dosing Red Sea Reef Energy A & B.
Here are some pics of the affected corals (many look ghostly pale or have blotches of white...don't it doesn't look like STN to me).
1st picture: Setosa...very cool color, but starting to look patchy.
2nd picture: Green Birdsnest...same as above
3rd picture: Zoas...color is popping, but all zoas in my tank have shrunk in size and do not look happy
4th picture: Monti Cap...it still has a slight orange tint to it, but it is deathly pale.
5th picture: Euphyllia...all of them in my tank are fully open, but have a ghostly pale look to them.
Any advice is appreciated...
I stopped dosing Red Sea cold turkey and let the tank sit for several weeks (but still dosed KH & Ca). I also had a huge cyano bloom in my refugium (it was growing more of that than chaeto, which caused a nasty odor), so I took that out. And to make matters worse, I added about 150 lbs of rock to my tank...but it sat out for 2 weeks before I could put it in...which caused a huge NO3 & PO4 spike.
I then started the ZEOvit program. I'm currently on Week 4, and although I'm getting a nice neon pop to my corals...there are many that are starting to look very pale. NO3 & PO4 have not yet dropped, so I'm looking for advice:
- Are the pale colors "normal", and should I just be patient and eventually they'll get better...along with the NO3 & PO4?
- Can I use something else in the meantime to get the NO3 & PO4 down (like NOPOX & Phosphate-E)?
Mg = 1320
Ca = 420
KH = 8.7 (had a spike when I put it in the rocks...they're man-made); typically around 7.3-7.6.
K+ = 430
SG = 1.025
Temp = 78 F
NO3 = 64+ (was at 8 before the spike)
PO4 = .160 (was at .050 before the spike)
10% weekly water change
60% of the zeolites in place (as recommended for the first interval); dosing ZEObak, food, and start per instructions. Still dosing Red Sea Reef Energy A & B.
Here are some pics of the affected corals (many look ghostly pale or have blotches of white...don't it doesn't look like STN to me).
1st picture: Setosa...very cool color, but starting to look patchy.
2nd picture: Green Birdsnest...same as above
3rd picture: Zoas...color is popping, but all zoas in my tank have shrunk in size and do not look happy
4th picture: Monti Cap...it still has a slight orange tint to it, but it is deathly pale.
5th picture: Euphyllia...all of them in my tank are fully open, but have a ghostly pale look to them.
Any advice is appreciated...
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