Euphyilla help

[acso151]

I have had my tank running for about a year now with no real problems and some success. The one concern I have is that my LPS corals have not done well. I have had them for the longest but they refuse to thrive. I have two frogspawns, one hammer and a torch. I also have Zoes and mushrooms that are doing ok but not much growth. I have a birds nest, monti , Duncan, Favia and others that are doing great and I don't know what the problem is.

I used to have a marine orbit light but an now running two SB reef lights over my 55. I have a 20 gal sump with filter socks and cheato and running carbon/gfo . Skimmer is a Skimz that pulled lots of skimmate.

Tank is at 78 degrees
1.026 SG
Calcium 400
Kh 8.4
Mag 1320
Phosphate 0

My PH has always run low and just last week I added a CO2 scrubber and am now running at 8.1 when it was 7.6-7.8.

Plenty of flow and I am dosing 2 part. At this point I am at the end of my ideas as to why they won't thrive when they are supposed to be the easier ones in my tank. I included photos of how they looked when I got them and current photos. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Current

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[mcgyvr]

Could just be flow related.. They typically like to not be in lower to medium flow.. High flow can damage their sensitive tissue.. Have you tried moving them around?

Could be low nutrient levels.. I only recommend running GFO when you have a real phosphate problem you can't solve by any other means... It can cause nutrient levels to actually be too low as its quite powerful stuff..

 

[acso151]

Could just be flow related..
Could be low nutrient levels.. I only recommend running GFO when you have a real phosphate problem you can't solve by any other means... It can cause nutrient levels to actually be too low as its quite powerful stuff..

I thought flow as well and have moved to various spots to change. No luck. I have thought about the GFO issue as well and did not put any in last time I changed. To early to tell if that will help. Will my SPS suffer if I let nutrients climb?


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[FishD@ddy]

I have had my tank running for about a year now with no real problems and some success. The one concern I have is that my LPS corals have not done well. I have had them for the longest but they refuse to thrive. I have two frogspawns, one hammer and a torch. I also have Zoes and mushrooms that are doing ok but not much growth. I have a birds nest, monti , Duncan, Favia and others that are doing great and I don't know what the problem is.

I used to have a marine orbit light but an now running two SB reef lights over my 55. I have a 20 gal sump with filter socks and cheato and running carbon/gfo . Skimmer is a Skimz that pulled lots of skimmate.

Tank is at 78 degrees
1.026 SG
Calcium 400
Kh 8.4
Mag 1320
Phosphate 0

My PH has always run low and just last week I added a CO2 scrubber and am now running at 8.1 when it was 7.6-7.8.

Plenty of flow and I am dosing 2 part. At this point I am at the end of my ideas as to why they won't thrive when they are supposed to be the easier ones in my tank. I included photos of how they looked when I got them and current photos. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 389282

Current

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It's mostly flow related. I had to move the corals quiet a bit. I'm surprised about the torch though. All my corals are LPS. Placed lower half of the tank and my flow is 20 Times my tank volume for 6hrs a day, 15 Times for 10hrs and just return for the night time. My pumps are located all the way up and one on each side. I know you cant shut off your power heads completely, But see if you can cut it for a day and see if you notice any difference.

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[mcgyvr]

Will my SPS suffer if I let nutrients climb?

In general people are reporting better results with SPS when nutrient levels are measurable..
A few ppm of nitrate (typically under 10ppm) and something like .03-.15ppm of phosphate or more has been shown to be just fine..

 

[acso151]

It's mostly flow related. I had to move the corals quiet a bit. I'm surprised about the torch though. All my corals are LPS. Placed lower half of the tank and my flow is 20 Times my tank volume for 6hrs a day, 15 Times for 10hrs and just return for the night time. My pumps are located all the way up and one on each side. I know you cant shut off your power heads completely, But see if you can cut it for a day and see if you notice any difference.

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I have started to think about changing my flow to alter direction and duration but I don't think it's flow. I moved to almost no flow area and did not change a thing. Nice tank!! That's how I want them to look!


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[acso151]

In general people are reporting better results with SPS when nutrient levels are measurable..

A few ppm of nitrate (typically under 10ppm) and something like .03-.15ppm of phosphate or more has been shown to be just fine..

Do you think running no gfo and pulling the socks would do it? I do frequent water changes. Should I slow that down as well?


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[mcgyvr]

Do you think running no gfo and pulling the socks would do it? I do frequent water changes. Should I slow that down as well?

I make no guarantees that doing any of that will be of any benefit and if not done knowledgeably could cause more harm than anything..
But yes.. All of those can allow nutrient levels to increase..
Most would recommend doing it slowly/a bit at a time..

If you aren't removing/cleaning your socks every few days then they aren't really serving any nutrient reduction purpose anyways so...

and I don't know what frequent water changes to you are but in general if they are helping to maintain consistent parameters then I wouldn't change that unless you are doing something to maintain consistent parameters..

You also mention phosphate at 0.. If thats using a test kit like API thats really not that accurate at lower or any level really then it wouldn't be a bad idea to get an accurate number on your phosphate before doing anything..

 

[smatter]

How long have the new lights been on the tank?

 

[acso151]

Thank you! I think I will keep water change schedule the same weekly. The tank usually looks great for a day after a water change. Polyps extended the most and nice and clear. Makes me wonder what my tank is missing if a water change makes them respond. Must be something used up in short order. I'll pull socks and no gfo and see what happens. Thanks again.


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[acso151]

How long have the new lights been on the tank?

About a month. They are the16 basics so I keep my old lights on as well for the moon phase. These are all efforts to keep the LPS corals happy. I have lots of happy healthy corals but I really want them to respond. It's a mission at this point.


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[smatter]

I ask because light shock is quite common when new lights are installed. Did you use a meter to gauge the brightness of your old lights and adjust your new light accordingly? Careful acclimation is required with any lights, especially LEDs as they don't appear as bright to the eye.

 

[acso151]

I did not measure as I don't have a par meter. I did turn the new lights way low (30% blue 10% white) to start with and moved up every three days. I'm at 70 and 40 now. Did not flourish under old or new lights. Was hoping that was key. I'm starting to think about current leakage and more obscure problems as I'm running out of ideas. Gonna try raising nutrients now and see.


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[Jesterrace]

I can't prove this scientifically, but I did notice a significant response from my Frogspawn in particular and a little from my hammer when I did two small feedings per day of Frozen LRS Reef Frenzy. Foods (they don't respond well to dirty food sources ie pellets, frozen mysis with fillers) and frequency of feeding have made a big difference for me.

 

[acso151]

I can't prove this scientifically, but I did notice a significant response from my Frogspawn in particular and a little from my hammer when I did two small feedings per day of Frozen LRS Reef Frenzy. Foods (they don't respond well to dirty food sources ie pellets, frozen mysis with fillers) and frequency of feeding have made a big difference for me.

I will give it a go. Seems to fall in line with not enough nutrients theme. Thank you.


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[smatter]

I did not measure as I don't have a par meter. I did turn the new lights way low (30% blue 10% white) to start with and moved up every three days. I'm at 70 and 40 now. Did not flourish under old or new lights. Was hoping that was key. I'm starting to think about current leakage and more obscure problems as I'm running out of ideas. Gonna try raising nutrients now and see.


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A simple LUX meter that can be had for $15 is a great tool for measuring how bright lights are. I use it all the time to compare light sources at the LFS to mine at home, makes acclimation much easier. They are good for knowing when to change T5 and Halide bulbs too. With a little math one can approximate PAR levels.

As you have said though your coral was doing poorly before the light change and you started low with the new one so we can probably rule the lights out.

 

[acso151]

A simple LUX meter that can be had for $15 is a great tool for measuring how bright lights are. I use it all the time to compare light sources at the LFS to mine at home, makes acclimation much easier. They are good for knowing when to change T5 and Halide bulbs too. With a little math one can approximate PAR levels.



As you have said though your coral was doing poorly before the light change and you started low with the new one so we can probably rule the lights out.

Thank you Smatter


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[homer1475]

I don't see a problem here.... All those corals look to have grown to me, and look nice and healthy. That torch has grown a few heads, the frogspawn has split into 2 heads...I don't see a problem, should they grow faster? My torch and frogspawn grow about the same, maybe a little faster. I think you may see a small increase in growth with the increase in PH though.

I will say that since removing the mechanical filtration(socks), and running the tank a little dirtier(no gfo with slightly measurable no3 and po4), my corals look much healthier.

 

[acso151]

I don't see a problem here.... All those corals look to have grown to me, and look nice and healthy. That torch has grown a few heads, the frogspawn has split into 2 heads...I don't see a problem, should they grow faster? My torch and frogspawn grow about the same, maybe a little faster. I think you may see a small increase in growth with the increase in PH though.

I will say that since removing the mechanical filtration(socks), and running the tank a little dirtier(no gfo with slightly measurable no3 and po4), my corals look much healthier.

Thanks homer1475. They have grown more heads but they never extend like they used to. The hammer especially stays very tight. The torch is doing the best and actually looks better than in the photo but lights just came on. Like I said the hammer is the worst and I actually thought I was losing him a few times. Maybe I expect to much but I want them to look as good as they did at the LFS. Must be a reason they looked better there. I have removed socks and will feed tank a little more to see if I can add nutrients slowly.


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[acso151]

Thanks homer1475. They have grown more heads but they never extend like they used to. The hammer especially stays very tight. The torch is doing the best and actually looks better than in the photo but lights just came on. Like I said the hammer is the worst and I actually thought I was losing him a few times. Maybe I expect to much but I want them to look as good as they did at the LFS. Must be a reason they looked better there. I have removed socks and will feed tank a little more to see if I can add nutrients slowly.


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Were you looking at the photo of FishD@addys tank. I did not post a photo of my frogspawns. Believe me if mine looked like his I would be very happy.


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