Alk stable but still RTN

[danrobberg]

My alk has been very stable at 7.7-7.84 dkh yet I'm still having RTN issues. I have 2 mp40 in a 32x32x24 cube tank so I think flow is good. I have a ghl Mitras led that peaks at 45 percent supplemented with two 24 watt t5 that only run 3 hours a day. Tunze ATO so salinity is very consistsnt at 1.025. Nitrates between 2-4 ppm as per Red Sea test kit phosphate 0.04 Red Sea. Mag 1200 calcium 450. I dose 4ml nopox daily and 5 ml bionic 2part daily. I use tropic Marin bioactif salt. Temp is stable between 78.2-78.8 using two jäger heaters controlled by an apex jr. Millipora seem to do better than other acros. Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Acronic]

Check for bad crabs. Blue eyes

 

[markalot]

My alk has been very stable at 7.7-7.84 dkh yet I'm still having RTN issues. I have 2 mp40 in a 32x32x24 cube tank so I think flow is good. I have a ghl Mitras led that peaks at 45 percent supplemented with two 24 watt t5 that only run 3 hours a day. Tunze ATO so salinity is very consistsnt at 1.025. Nitrates between 2-4 ppm as per Red Sea test kit phosphate 0.04 Red Sea. Mag 1200 calcium 450. I dose 4ml nopox daily and 5 ml bionic 2part daily. I use tropic Marin bioactif salt. Temp is stable between 78.2-78.8 using two jäger heaters controlled by an apex jr. Millipora seem to do better than other acros. Any help or advice greatly appreciated.

How much are you feeding, how many fish? How long have you been having the issue? Any clear closeup pics of the acros (camera or good phone). Did you dip before adding to the tank? Have you ever had any pests in the tank?

Lots of questions.

 

[reefmutt]

How old is your system?
Let's seem some pics... Good and bad..

 

[Bpb]

Following.

 

[danrobberg]

System is about 4 months old. Due to the led lights every pic I take is washed out blue. I have two small tangs and two gobies that I feed one cube to twice a day. Everything has been dipped in coral rx before being added to the tank. The lights go off in 2 min so I will get some pics tomorrow.

 

[reefmutt]

I think there's a lot more to stability than just alkalinity..
Your tank is very new.. Sometimes a new system handles sps no problem and sometimes it doesn't.
There are bacterial populations and sponge populations and probably other ecosystem organisms which need to be well established to make sps happy..
I'd say you just need to keep doing what you are doing, be patient and try again on a month or so..
What are the settings on your LEDs? You might consider turning them down a bit.. I have found that LEDs can be tough on sps in not fully mature system like yours..

 

[nuttyd]

2nd age of tank. seems too young to support sps.

 

[Galaxyreef]

+2 tank needs to mature a bit.

 

[simpleman98]

4 months is pretty early to try sps. What species are you attempting? Maybe try something more simple like monti or birdsnest.

 

[Cyberdude]

I'm starting to wonder is my fox face is nipping at them.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

4 months is pretty early to try sps. What species are you attempting? Maybe try something more simple like monti or birdsnest.

+1, I didn't start having luck with Acros until around the 1 year mark. Also, if you start with Dry Rock (I did), I think it can take longer than usual.

 

[danrobberg]

I started with live rock. I used Red Sea reef mature to cycle the tank. I'm able to keep things alive but I am getting no growth. Haven't had any RTN lately but a few acros have a small amount of stn at the bottom. They were in low flow spots of the tank so I am trying them elsewhere.

 

[Reel North]

Let your nitrate come up a bit. Makes a big diff in a new tank. I've had my frag tank cycling for 3 weeks. Going to let it get a bit dirtier.

 

[danrobberg]

I'm down to 1 ml of nopox a day. If I can't get my nitrates to rise is it safe to just stop the nopox?

 

[reefmutt]

Sure.. I'd say that the bacteria you were feeding with the nopox have become better established in the system and it is no longer necessary.
Stop the nopox and test regularly, would be my advice.

 

[Reel North]

How many fish do you have? My tank is now way overloaded, and my acros are growing like maniacs. I run my tank a little dirty, and it seems to work better

 

[danrobberg]

I have two small tangs and two gobies. I feed a total of two cubes of frozen a day. I think I will stop the nopox and test regularly. I would ideally like my nitrates to be around 2ppm. I am also considering dosing amino acids.