6+ weeks no PE

[Amazon4]

We've no PE for almost 6 weeks on our SPS. Monti's, digi's and various LPS's are all doing well.

The numbers are:
temp 78
ph 8.0
alk 9
mag 1400
calcium 420
nitrate (slight trace)
nitrite 0
phospate 0 (year old kit, should replace)

Contemplating changing salts. Always used OI Reef Crystals. Wondering if we got a bad bucket. Weekly 20% water changes.

No flow changes. No dosing changes. Bulbs are less than 6 months old.

I'd like to get the PH up a bit, but with the cold weather, there's less fresh air in the house with closed windows and we've struggle with this in the winter. But not had this reaction before with the PE.

Any suggestions?

 

[cwegescheide]

FWIW I noticed my PE improved a lot when I got my phosphates under control.

 

[jph]

do you see PE after the lights go out?


J.

 

[unbreakable]

any fish that may be nippers?

 

[palawan]

I target ph to 8.3 Whats your specific gravity? What do you test Sg with?

 

[chessmanmark]

Take some macro photographs and enlarge them as much as possible to see if you catch anything crawling on your corals.

 

[Genetics]

Did you add a fish about 8-9 weeks ago? And if so what?

 

[Amazon4]

OK, let's see if I can answer all of these:

Phosphates: I think they're OK, we run GFO and it was recently changed out. But getting a new kit anyway.

PE after lights out: not on the problem SPS (which is most of them)

Potential Nippers: Coral Beauty. Watch her like a hawk. Never seen her nip once in 2+ years.

PH & SG: 8.0 because it's frickin' cold up here and the windows are closed! I know, we're trying to find a way to work some fresh air in to the system to get it back up to 8.3. We measure SG with a calibrated refractometer.

Macroshots: Good idea! I also know an (not so) LFS that I can drag a colony to and use their mesoscope if needed.

New Fish: Moved a lyre tail anthia in from QT. Never goes near the SPS.


An additional bit of info. Talking this morning to my hubby. He said they closed up right after a water change. I said...did you open NEW bucket of salt? yup! So we got the numbers off the bucket and I'm going to contact DFS. We bought a bunch when they had free shipping and this is, of course, the last one to be opened. I recall a thread on a bad batch of Reef Crystals. I'll have to go back and see what it was all about. Maybe that's what this whole thing is! maybe we've found the smoking gun...

Thanks everyone - I'll update the thread

 

[Amazon4]

You know, I love my husband, I really do. But the SPS has only been closed for two weeks.. TWO.. not SIX. I'm sorry guys. It's the salt. I went over it with him again today. They closed immediately after the water changed when he opened the new bucket of salt. Then he did another change a week later to see if it would help.. He said it got worse.

I've posted on DFS. I'll have to see what they say. Maybe they'll want me to send them a sample of the salt. We'll see.

 

[CMcNeil]

i would keep an eye on the angel,i had a golden angel that i suspected was nipping but never saw him do it.one day i sat back like 20ft from the tank and watched,sure enough he went from acro to acro nipping away.once i removed him it only took two days for my SPS polyps to start showing again.

 

[Amazon4]

^^ thanks, I'll keep watching. I'm lucky in that where I plant my self in my recliner to watch TV I can observe the 180 about 12' away in the next room (how convenient!). She's in the rocks so much, and when I do see her our grazing, it's along the glass. But like you said, I'll keep watching

 

[60Cubed]

Kalk reactor to get ph up. Works awesome!

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13803281#post13803281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 60Cubed
Kalk reactor to get ph up. Works awesome!

as would an air line for your skimmer run outside...

 

[60Cubed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13805474#post13805474 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoReefWanabe
as would an air line for your skimmer run outside...

Tried it...........NOPE, it don't work. Believe me. I would have pumped compressed oxygen in there if it would have worked! I now maintain a Ph of 8.3-8.5 pretty consistently since the addition of a kalk reactor. They work.

Chicken soup don't help the infection........penicillin does!!!!!!!!
The soup just helps you feel a little better.:thumbsup:

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13806160#post13806160 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 60Cubed
Tried it...........NOPE, it don't work. Believe me. I would have pumped compressed oxygen in there if it would have worked! I now maintain a Ph of 8.3-8.5 pretty consistently since the addition of a kalk reactor. They work.

Dissolved CO2 in the water will drastically lower the PH of your tank, aerating the water will help release the CO2, using "fresh" outside air will help with the increased oxygen, (as long as you not sucking exhaust fumes etc..)

Dripping Lime or using lime water to raise your PH will obviously work too as it has a PH of 12...just go slow and monitor it closely...

i would think that if you have chronically low PH then you have one of two things, a water chemistry issue (sg, PH of your RO/DI is low, etc..) or excessive CO2 in the tank (overstocked, bad air exchange, etc...)

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

My vote is angel. I had a majestic in my tank for about 4 years, never saw him nip but I had absolutly no PE that whole time, even millepora. I removed him a few months ago and my corals look normal now

 

[power boat jim]

Dont waste alot of time getting the Ph up as high as 8.3, if it is 8.0- 8.1 during the day and is not below 7.8-7.9 just before the light come on in the morning, you dont have a problem. The higher Ph just makes the coral grow a bit faster. It has nothing to do with PE.