Are my lights too high? (pics)

[iwishtofish]

Nice skimmer. It's rocking and there's no Fish Poop! LOL Give it some time and things will be much easier on you.

Thanks! It took a while to get cranking. I think it's pulling a combination of bacteria and dying algae. Or maybe just algae, if I don't actually have a bacterial bloom.

No you didn't.

If you keep on top of your water parameters, dose calc and bicarbonate, your tank is fine for corals.

I know there's a few people that recommend adding corals before fish. (I know, but they are SPS)

Honestly, in my experience since coming back into this hobby, corals are easier to keep and grow modestly than fish.

You know what would jump start your tank?

If you can find a friendly fellow reefer with a VERY WELL established tank, with no pest or parasite problems. Buy a couple large rocks from his system to seed your own. Wait a couple weeks. Find another reefer with a great system.

It's like cheating, but man it works. If you were closer you could have some of mine. (I did have flatworms and do have aiptasia and one spot of HA. none of it has been a problem. the flatworms population dropped after the fish were added. the aiptasia die and come back ocassioanly. Probably 3 in the tank now. I pick the ones off the substrate every couple weeks.)

Good luck.

Hey, thanks for the advice! It is amazing, though, what one 8lb piece of live rock has already introduced to my tank! I've seen pods, asterinas, serpent stars, stomatella, spaghetti worms, featherdusters, vermetid snails, and, yes, a few tiny rust-colored flatworms. (I have Flatworm Exit on hand to get them early, if the population starts to increase.)

 

[iwishtofish]

Well, I think I'm striking out a bit...shouldn't have put such a sensitive coral in, like you all say. It has lost a LOT of color:

Perhaps it is just a food issue. I'm trying to find some locally, and have started putting cyclopeeze in since it's all I have. My tank, even with dying algae, is pretty nutrient-free, and I thought that was a good thing for SPS. There are tiny pods everywhere, and I suspect my morning "blooms" might be phytoplankton (I imagine the corals would like that).

Should I take my carbon and GFO offline for a while? I was planning on replenishing them with the next water change, but maybe my big skimmer can do the job for them.

Coralline is still growing strong, as the algae dies and is skimmed out. Soft corals are miserable, even though I've started feeding again:

 

[xcorallusx]

Looks like you have a really nice clean setup. I would add a piece of liverock from an established tank, that has coralline, sponges etc. I would also feed the corals if you dont have any fish. You could try adding fish or using reef chilli. I think the colors will come back once your tank becomes established.

 

[iwishtofish]

Looks like you have a really nice clean setup. I would add a piece of liverock from an established tank, that has coralline, sponges etc. I would also feed the corals if you dont have any fish. You could try adding fish or using reef chilli. I think the colors will come back once your tank becomes established.

I've already got a big chunk of live rock in the sump, with critters finding their way up top already. Do you think I need more?

Yes, I need to get reef chili. Do you think I should keep the GFO and carbon on line?

 

[bryman]

I would keep at least the carbon online. Also keep in mind that the purple acros can be a little difficult to color up, at least for me. My SPS tank is relatively successful and all colors are good except the purple in the type of acros you have. My purples have more of a light brown base as well. So don't be discouraged if they don't color up right away.

 

[Jonathan76]

Your tank is perfect. get corals and let ‘em grow!!

 

[Jonathan76]

keep an eye on that jbj ato, though... it gave me a hard time.

 

[iwishtofish]

Your tank is perfect. get corals and let "˜em grow!!

Haha, well that's a stretch...but thank you!

I did have some difficulties with my ATO. I had to replace the first one after it fried (a power surge, I believe), and had a float switch problem, as well. All is smooth at the moment.

 

[iwishtofish]

I think my tri-color might be getting a tiny bit more purple back, but some of the tips remain white (thought it was growth - now believe they are burned). My alk has dropped to 7 dKH, and I am considering dosing baking powder for the first time. I'm pretty scared of that, though. All I have using Ca/Alk are the two SPS, one duncan, snails, and coralline gone crazy.

The every-morning bacterial blooms have stopped, and I am feeding the tank more even though I don't have a fish. No SPS growth, though.

I think we've settled on the lighting being adequate? Any tips?

 

[bryman]

I wouldn't feed the tank much with nothing in it. You have a nice setup - it's just going to take a little time. Don't worry about the baking soda, just dissolve it in some RO and dump in the sump. There's a calculator on the Bulk Reef Supply website that's worked well for me in the past. I recommend shooting for 8-9 Dkh in your setup.

SPS generally grow pretty slow. You might see less than 1/4" a month and sometimes that is just encrusting along the base. I had some SPS that encrusted for 6 months before growing outward.

As for the lighting, some people report benefit with blowing a fan at the bulbs of the Tek fixtures since they have no integrated fans like an ATI. Theoretically, this helps with longevity of the bulbs and PAR.

 

[jcw]

I think my tri-color might be getting a tiny bit more purple back, but some of the tips remain white (thought it was growth - now believe they are burned). My alk has dropped to 7 dKH, and I am considering dosing baking powder for the first time. I'm pretty scared of that, though. All I have using Ca/Alk are the two SPS, one duncan, snails, and coralline gone crazy.

The every-morning bacterial blooms have stopped, and I am feeding the tank more even though I don't have a fish. No SPS growth, though.

I think we've settled on the lighting being adequate? Any tips?

Great news on both fronts.

When SPS get into the groove, they grow crazy fast.

IMO/IME, coralline eats alk like crazy at first, then when everything is covered, it slows a little.

My guess is that once you bump the alk, your sps will get into a groove and grow noticeably. After I increased my kalk dosing and supplemented with 2 part, my acro grows new sprouts every few days to a week (and I am no expert). It'll happen for you, too.

As far as the light, as long as you gradually increase it, SPS seem to love more.

 

[Denadai]

Your tank is very young, just wait

Best regards

 

[iwishtofish]

I wouldn't feed the tank much with nothing in it. You have a nice setup - it's just going to take a little time. Don't worry about the baking soda, just dissolve it in some RO and dump in the sump. There's a calculator on the Bulk Reef Supply website that's worked well for me in the past. I recommend shooting for 8-9 Dkh in your setup.

SPS generally grow pretty slow. You might see less than 1/4" a month and sometimes that is just encrusting along the base. I had some SPS that encrusted for 6 months before growing outward.

As for the lighting, some people report benefit with blowing a fan at the bulbs of the Tek fixtures since they have no integrated fans like an ATI. Theoretically, this helps with longevity of the bulbs and PAR.

Thank you for all the advice - I considered a fan on the lights, as it was recommended to me by Grim, but I haven't been able to easily rig one on the hanging fixture.

I am going to rig a drip bottle for the alk this evening. I think I'll start with 1/3 tsp / day, and see if that slowly raises the alk...if it just keeps up, I'll increase a bit.

Great news on both fronts.

When SPS get into the groove, they grow crazy fast.

IMO/IME, coralline eats alk like crazy at first, then when everything is covered, it slows a little.

My guess is that once you bump the alk, your sps will get into a groove and grow noticeably. After I increased my kalk dosing and supplemented with 2 part, my acro grows new sprouts every few days to a week (and I am no expert). It'll happen for you, too.

As far as the light, as long as you gradually increase it, SPS seem to love more.

Thanks! Maybe I will lower the lights 1", now that it has been a while.

Your tank is very young, just wait

Best regards

 

[iwishtofish]

Corals hanging on, but definitely not very happy. My alk is 7 dKH, maybe a hair lower, so I just built a drip bottle for alk. Will test tonight and start that process. My target is 9 dKH, if I can raise it there over a couple of weeks.

I think some of my corals problems come from the alk, as it was probably higher in the tanks from which they came.

I don't have a low-range phosphate tester yet, but I imagine with the gfo and minimal feeding, it is likely 0. The algae is almost gone.

BRS is still out of Reef Chili. Are there any other products that would be similar? I would like to target feed as soon as possible, since I have no fish or shrimp to snag the rest...

 

[iwishtofish]

^ I guess I'm looking for something dry, as well. I don't want to target feed with a freshwater-saturated liquid food...

 

[iwishtofish]

I lowered the lights 1" this morning. Maybe that will help bring some color back.

I also added 1 tsp baking soda to the tank, in a split dose between last night and this morning. It was mixed with RO/DI, of course, and I poured the solution into the tank incrementally over about an hours time for each half of the mixing cup.

Still searching for dry SPS food while I await a fish or two.

 

[iwishtofish]

I'm at the point now where I am trying to add 1/3 tsp per day of baking soda, the goal being to keep the alk at a steady 7 dKH. I'm afraid to go any higher because I may go on a trip before too long, and I don't want the alk to have too much of a drop while I am gone. I thought about trying kalk (particularly because my Ca is at 420 now) in my ATO reservoir, but I'm not sure I have the time to dial it in before I go away. I'm not sure it's a great idea, anyway, as I evaporate close to 2.5g each day. Maybe a very low concentration would be better than nothing, though. I think it is going to be quite a process for me to get parameters steady. Probably why the corals look sad.

I can see why people fork out the $$ for a pH meter. The API kits are particularly hard for me to read. If light is passing through the vial, I see more purple and read 8.4. If the vial is in shadow or indirect light, I see more brown and read 8.2. Frustrating.

I'd appreciate some more suggestions!