been a month, pics 1 month apart. Any change?

[bshow24]

One thing I noticed from your other thread, you don't have a top off for your 12 gallon. I don't know how much evaporation you get, but in a small tank like that, unless you're constantly dosing and topping off, your parameters are changing a ridiculous amount.

I had my 8 gallon Nano on it's own originally, and this was my biggest issue. Just as an example, in a day I would get anywhere from 1/2 gallon to 1 gallon evap. I did a test and at the beginning of the day my salinity was perfect, 1.026. 16 hours later, before topping off, my salinity was at 1.035...I can only imagine what happened with my calc, alk, and mag....

Needless to say, corals dislike rapid change this change, so I would look into getting an aqualifter pump and placing it on a timer (if you don't have a controller) so that it pumps water into the tank multiple times a day. The best way to do this would be through some type of controller, because evaporation isn't always the same, but 100% would look into it.

Or, switch your "test experiment" to the 90 gallon, as things won't fluctuate there as much as they are in the 12 gallon.

 

[cncguy]

there actually isn't too much evaporation in the 12 gal. Its probably 90% covered with a top. I barely add any water to it, as I've been doing 25% WC a week, and the salinity doesn't seem to change. I always check it before my WC, and it's always about 1.025 on my calibrated refractometer. Maybe too much WC? I've considered making a DIY top off for it, mainly because I've spent so much this far between both tanks, and not getting any results, I don't wanna keep buying equip. and not gain anything.

But I do realize/believe that this could be an issue, so I will address it.

I also understand that the 90 should be way more stable, but I moved everything to the nano figuring trying things would be easier in 12 gal rather than 100 total gallons. And everything was in the 90 with the same results.

The only thing consistent between the 2 would be the rocks came out of the 90, and the water source. Nano has different lights, and sand. Both tanks are now switched to red sea coral pro, but no difference either.

Does anyone think the rocks could be that detrimental, or could be a huge problem? That was gonna be my last stab at this......

 

[bshow24]

I don't think the rock would be an issue when growing coral. In my tank I have cured and uncured pieces and I get growth from everything.

I know your other thread had some info, but how much flow are you getting in this tank? (what kind of powerhead works too.)

 

[JammyBirch]

couple of questions...

What are your calcium, alkalinity and Magnesium levels?

What is you nitrate level?

Do you target feed the corals?

You have some LPS in there if the cal/alk/mag levels are off then they won't grow. If your system is ultra clean the corals won't grow either, they need to take in nutrients to grow. Target feeding or over feeding the fish a tiny bit can make for some serious growth.

 

[cncguy]

In the nano, I have an upgraded pump @230gph, and a tunze PH @475gph

Calcium is 420
Alk I've been keeping between 8-9, dosing 5ml Randys alk buffer every other day
Mag about 1350, been slowly bringing it up some
Nitrates were around 20

I have target fed reef snow with reef chili 2 times a week for a while, but haven't for probably a month or 2 as it didn't seem to make a difference

 

[bshow24]

In the nano, I have an upgraded pump @230gph, and a tunze PH @475gph

Calcium is 420
Alk I've been keeping between 8-9, dosing 5ml Randys alk buffer every other day
Mag about 1350, been slowly bringing it up some
Nitrates were around 20

I have target fed reef snow with reef chili 2 times a week for a while, but haven't for probably a month or 2 as it didn't seem to make a difference

2 things here:

1) Nitrates are too high. This will definitely stunt coral growth as well as cause them to have poor coloration. You want to get that number to <10, preferably <5 in the case of SPS corals. Does your tank have a sponge filter in the back? If so, either remove it or clean it once a week, because those can be nitrate factories. I'd remove it if I were you.

2) Your dosing regimen can bring about too much change. It's the same with the evaporation. If your alk is normally 9.0, then 2 days later it's at 8.0 so you dose and it goes back to 9, that's a pretty decent change and the corals aren't going to like it. There's no consistency. The best thing for you to do may be to determine how much Alk/Calc your tank uses a day, how much water evaporates, and then dose through a DIY ATO w/ Kalkwasser.

 

[cncguy]

I do have the filter sponges in the back, that I clean once a week with WC.

You think just take those sponges out, or if I'm cleaning them regularly, leave them in?

Could I dose 2.5ml a day then, if right now I'm doing 5ml every 2 days?

Any idea on how to get the nitrates down? Or just carbon dosing? I was hoping the 25% WC a week would do it, but they always seem to be around 20

 

[cncguy]

Actually I've even put nitrate pads in it before as well. Now, I'm not sure if they're just a gimmick or not, so maybe they don't work anyways......

 

[bshow24]

If there isn't much floating around your tank you can remove the sponges. In my 8 gallon I did this and my nitrates went down by 20 ppm almost immediately.

Another step you can take is to limit the feeding of corals/fish. I'd feed the fish once every other day and stop feeding the corals for a bit. The food we put into our tanks usually generates a lot of nitrates and phosphates.

Speaking of which, what is the reading of your phosphates?

 

[cncguy]

phosphates are 0. The firefish I had in there committed suicide the other day, so now there's no fish in there, so hasn't been feed since last weekend. And I haven't fed the corals for a while now

 

[cncguy]

just leave section 1 empty?

 

[bshow24]

Yes, leave it all empty.

 

[cncguy]

ok, the only other thing I have in the back now is some poly filter (to see if there's anything in there it would remove), and a bag of brs ROX carbon. Leave this stuff, or remove?

 

[bshow24]

Honestly, your water changes should take care of removing most things, and since you are no longer feeding anything, you're probably good.

Also, if there are no longer any fish, remove the lid. Gas exchange is pretty important for reef tanks. Make sure there is surface agitation, and most likely you'll have more evaporation so you'll have to keep up more on ATO (which can provide opportunity to dose through this, making it easier to maintain water consistency).