help, issues with digitata..

[coralcruze]

my params are all in check please see http://www.reeftronics.net/ and click on ben w for info.

cal and alk are all good too. yet my digi colony is closed up for days now... tried moving to an area of less light. what could be causing this??? help

 

[coralcruze]

anyone??? any idea???

 

[bogg]

Check for nudis? How's the potassium? Any swings in the temp etc

 

[coralcruze]

potassium???? I've been in the hobby for10 years and never heard of potassium... did you mean Phosphates? po4 is under .15 at all times and no nudis... something in the water is causing this but not sure why???

 

[reefWW96]

He means potassium^

 

[Radioheadx14]

I've found that digis respond mostly to ALk issues

 

[maroun.c]

isn't .15 too high for Phosphates?

 

[Radioheadx14]

yeah, I've read that you should shoot for under .03ppm

 

[jacksback]

Even at 0.3 the phosphate levels are considered to high for succesfull sps growth, it is considered that levels even above 0.015 will reduce calcification by 50%
Have you changed anything else to your tank that might contribute to your montis sulking? change of salt brand, lights, or food even?

Regards steve

 

[maroun.c]

even at 0.3

0.03

 

[coralcruze]

ok guys... please help... I've never been able to keep my PO4 under .15 how do you guys achieve this? I use ferric oxide and test and change it out every 2 weeks religiously and cant keep the po4 under .15 I feed frozen and use ro/di filter sock for detritus protien skimmer and apex computer to keep the params. Please offer real suggestions on what to do. thanks

 

[coralcruze]

He means potassium^

how do you test for potassium? and how do you dose it? never heard of this...

 

[Toadally]

I wouldn't worry too much about your potassium being too low. If you do regular water changes of at least 10% a week then you should be ok. Are you having any algae issues? Algae is a sure sign of high phosphates. How are the colors of your corals?

To get your PO4 down to less than .03

water changes (I can't stress this enough)
GFO
less feeding (a lot of foods have PO4 especially flakes)
Blow your rocks with a turkey baster to move things around so it can be filtered out.
Keep your sump clean

 

[M007]

<0.1 is still acceptable. Not the best but not totally bad either. I have number of wild acro colonies that thrive at 0.08. Any picking fish in your tank?

 

[coralcruze]

I wouldn't worry too much about your potassium being too low. If you do regular water changes of at least 10% a week then you should be ok. Are you having any algae issues? Algae is a sure sign of high phosphates. How are the colors of your corals?

To get your PO4 down to less than .03

water changes (I can't stress this enough)
GFO
less feeding (a lot of foods have PO4 especially flakes)
Blow your rocks with a turkey baster to move things around so it can be filtered out.
Keep your sump clean

Thanks Michael your info confirms what I've always known to be fact... many people above though are mislead (I think) of whats acceptable.

to answer your questions... Yes I do have some micro algae but really not that much and it seems to be concentratedin one area of the tank... as for color only one sps browned out but I think it was because of harsh light conditions. I use GFO and try and keep up with water hanges... I will lower the feeding and will clean the sump this week but its not that derty (very little ditritus ect).

 

[coralcruze]

<0.1 is still acceptable. Not the best but not totally bad either. I have number of wild acro colonies that thrive at 0.08. Any picking fish in your tank?

These are the numbers that I've always knows to strive for. many above seem to be mislead...

My yellow tang is the only one that picks but just at the rock not the corals.

 

[coralcruze]

I've found that digis respond mostly to ALk issues

tested today...

alk is 8 dkh (Tropic marin)
cal 480 (salifert)

Po4 is testing at .13 though... agrrrr (hanna po4 electronic tester)

 

[CeeGee]

be very careful if you try and pull your phosphate down too quickly it can have serious consequences. GFO will also pull down your alk until your system gets used to it.

Bottom line be careful because you could end up in worse shape while trying to do the right thing. Take it slow.

 

[coralcruze]

be very careful if you try and pull your phosphate down too quickly it can have serious consequences. GFO will also pull down your alk until your system gets used to it.

Bottom line be careful because you could end up in worse shape while trying to do the right thing. Take it slow.

Thank you... good point. My reactor only allows me to fill about 2 cups of the GFO so I don't think it can do much in my system.

 

[coralcruze]

anyone haveany other suggestion? I did a water change yesterday and will test the PO4 again tonight and see if it droped any. thanks