Color and Growth Issue...Need Advice

[Bacchus_fl]

Hello All,

I started my 180 back up about 8 months ago. After letting it cycle for almost 2 months I started to stock it as a mixed reef. Everything was going great for a couple months but then I started to notice several corals changing color, not browning out, actually changing colors. For example I have a large Alien Eye chalice that was a maroon color with golden yellow eyes when i got it but now is a teal green with neon green eyes. A bubble gum monster that was a golden green with bright orange eyes that is now more of a light green with pinkish eyes. My yellow scroll has become a light tan with bright green eyes. I also lost most of my monti caps and significant color loss on my branching montis. I lost some zoas, has some STN on SPS, and white spots on leathers.

Anyway I couldn't figure out the issue for awhile. I tried everything to adjust my lights, dosing, etc. Coincidentally my ALK test kit ran out and I ordered a new one. (I use all salifert kits.) Using the new kit I got an ALK of 11.5 dkh. I figured that was the problem and have been trying to lower it every since. Its been over a month and without any dosing it has come down to 9 which isnt bad. I have read that people are successful with higher Alks though and even though my alk is getting closer to the recommended range my colors still haven't returned.

I have a very low nutrient system but I am not adding any zeo or carbon sources, its just naturally this way. I skim heavy and dose BRS, thats it. I feed reef roids twice a week and have about 15 fish which are feed twice daily and I have 5 medium size tangs which are feed 2-3 sheets of nori daily. So a pretty good bio load but still no nitrates to speak of.

I am running 3 x AI SolBlue about 12" off the water on standard 180G
Blues ramp from 10am-8pm peak of 60% at 2pm
Royals ramp from 9am-10pm peak of 70% at 2pm
Whites ramp from 11am-7pm peak of 40% at 2pm

Dosing - BRS cal, alk, mag - ( quantities are kinda high but have extra large clam and heavy stocked tank)
Mag - 145ml/day (was at 130 but still cant break 1100)
Alk - Turned off for the last 6-8 weeks
Cal - 90ml/day

Cal 420
ALK 9.2
Mag 1080
PH 8-8.2
Salinity 1.024
Temp 77-77.5
PO4 0
NO3 0

I'm at a loss for how to bring my colors back. Any suggestions? (can try to add pics but my camera doesn't do a good job of picking up the accurate colors)

Thanks in advance for any advice!
Jason

 

[eg8r210]

I think your big issue is your mag. I believe with Oceans Direct mag 1ml/gal will increase mag by 25. I would start adding a lot more mag than what you are doing. In a 180 gal tank you are going to use a LOT of mag to get it up where it belongs. I would also bump up your salinity to 1.026 but you aren't really that bad.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Color and Growth Issue...Need Advice

Thanks Ed! I have always struggled with my mag. I already dose really high amounts but it always just hovers around 900-1050. I will try a different brand since BRS isn't getting it done. However per BRS instructions I am suppose to dose all the mag at one time each time the alk and cal need to be replenished. I always felt this wasnt a good idea to have such a drastic swing but maybe I need to start doing that. The salinity is at 1.024 now but it does fluctuate between .024 and .026

This is the first time I have use the AI SOLs as well so I am having a hard time figuring out if i am giving them enough light or too much light. Any suggestions there?

 

[cham]

I agree that Mag is going to be a big issue. If you're truly ULNS, which is tough to swallow since you feed heavy and have a nice stocking of fish, then I'd suggest letting your alk get to 8. I run about 7.5 dkh.

With the lower alk your corals are going to have to readjust to the new environment so I think you'll find it takes some time, even when things are perfect, for your colors to improve


Why is your salinity swinging? To swing on a 180 there has to be an issue. It takes a crap ton of salt/fresh water to make my tank swing by that value.


Stability might be one of your other big issues. Get your Alk & salinity rock solid if you can.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Thanks Cham! I have always found it odd that my nutrient are so low but i test myself regularly with new salifert kits and have even taken in sample to multiple LFS to be sure and they give me the same results, Although most of them use crappy test kits.

I am trying to be patient but that is my biggest weakness

 

[Bacchus_fl]

When I say my salinity fluctuates it is over an extended period and it is usually because I either removed too much or not enough water when doing a water change so I end up adding too much new water which Evaps out to a higher salinity or too little which then gets replaced with RO. It's really hasn't been too bad though. It is typically with in .001 month to month but I agree I need to be better at the accuracy of my water changes. I have been trying to work that out but based on my setup it's not as easy as it sounds.

By the way I would welcome anybody who has the time to come check out my system and give me some advice on ways I can improve. I live about 10min from the Seminole town center mall. Seriously I would love some opinions of my system.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

 

[eg8r210]

I would leave the lights alone as long as you don't see anything dying. Corals will adapt over time and I think way to many people abandoned LEDs too soon for myriad of reasons but patience always seems to be the underlying factor.

As far as dosing all mag at once instead of splitting it up during the day, not sure if that really is an issue when you have to jump mag up so much. I don't remember using BRS mag but Oceans Blend is a great product and it is produced here locally in Orlando. I would venture to bet that you are going to end up using about 2 gal of Mag to get yours up over 1300. It takes so much to elevate the levels. I was at 1180 and dosed 400 ml/day (all at once) till I got up over 1300.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Thanks Ed! I just increased my dosing to 400ml/day of mag. How long did it take you to get up to 1300.

I like oceans blend and used it for a long time on a smaller tank but it is $30-60 a month for my tank versus $12 a month for BRS. That said if I can not get the results I want I will go back to oceans blend.

 

[trialanderror]

Jason,

My same BGM at home is golden green with bright orange eyes. I took a frag to a tank at work. It turns into just a hint of green, pink eye and pink rim. The tank at work is pretty dirty so it is not nutrition problem. It lights by an AI blue LED as yours. Don't know mag level as I have not dosed any for a year. Will test it and let you know.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Thanks Kiet! I would be interested to know the parameters on the work tank.

 

[cham]

Nice set up!! If I was closer I'd pop by. I run a remote sump too. So nice to be able to have room to work around your equipment. I have no idea how the under stand crew do it, lol.

 

[plyle02]

Jason,
Give me a buzz when you get the chance, we can get things going in proper order

 

[m1k3]

Here is a calculator to see just how much product you will need to use to raise your mag level. http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

When I first got my tank ready to add coral I was shocked how much product it took to raise as, like you, I was about 300 points too low. If you want to save a few bucks you can raise your mag with Epsom salts. Obviously if you go that route, make sure it isn't scented and read the ingredient list. I got mine from the dollar general cause I'm extra cheap. That said, I would not recommend using Epsom to maintain your levels. Just to get them in the ball park, then use a better product to maintain. And don't bump more than 100 per day.

 

[Swirlygig]

Mag test kits go bad! I would replace your mag test kit and get all of your kits double checked by a local store. 1100 is way too low. Surprised your corals are not dead at that range. Best mag test kit in my opinion is red sea. Anything below 1200 would start making sps skin peel off. Double check cal fluid too if you haven't. I had one that was .04 off! Sorry I have been burned by the simple things too many times. Any powerheads? Check the magnets to make sure they aren't rusting. Good luck.

 

[Bacchus_fl]

Sorry so late responding, for some reason i wasn't getting notifications so i didnt know anybody else had responded.

Cham, thanks for the kind words. Love having a separate room for my sump and doing maintenance. I ran an under tank sump for the first decade of messing around in this hobby and always dreamed of having am "aquarium room" and I finally got that opportunity when we build our house and the space under the stairs was going unused.

m1k3 - you are right about being suprised how much product it takes to boost mag. Way back when i used an all inclusive part A/B like Oceans blend and everything was always great but with a big take those additives get expensive quickly so I started using the BRS products which work great to "maintain" parameters. When I reset up my tank 6 months ago i went straight to auto dosing the BRS products according to their labels but Mag just never moved. Then did some of the calculators which said I needed to add like 3,800 ml to boost what i wanted. Anyway I decided to bite the bullet and buy a stronger magnesium supplement and went with Red Sea. It cost allot for the 5L jug but I have been dosing about 360ml/day for the last 4 days and have already increased my mag levels to 1230 as of yesterday. Once I get to the range I need I will try to use BRS again to maintain.

Swirlygig, i agree, I learned the hard way about kits going bad as my ALK kit was bad which is what led to my color issues to begin with. However my mag test is only a couple months old and I have had my test kits double checked my several LFS. The last LFS to check for me did show higher NO3 than I was showing so I ordered a new test kit since that one is old. Makes sense that my NO3 is higher than 0 based on the amount of livestock and feedings.

Perry, you are welcome to come by anytime. Would love your feedback! I can only hope that one day my colors will pop like they do in your tank! Sent you a text.

Thanks for all the advice. It looks like now that all my parameters are in a safe range and my mag is slowly creeping up that colors are starting to improve. The STN and other coral deaths have definitely stopped and all my LPS and softies are looking much healthier. I also just bought a gallon of the Kent Essential Elements to help supplement some of those trace elements that aren't in the BRS stuff.

Will keep you posted!