Help me figure out my tank issues

Could it be the residual Lanthanum from my rock soak? I rinsed and soaked as best I could but you can even see in the tests it's still present..

That would bind PO4 like nothing else..
 
How long ago? I don't have direct experience with lanthanum... I can imagine that dissolved lanthanum chloride would keep reacting with PO4 until the chloride is completely used up.
 
This was before I set up the tank. I let it soak for a month or so in a low concentration solution dripped and with a fine mesh sock filtering precipitate.

I have PE Mysis. That stuff is a phosphate bomb if not rinsed. My fish will love me..

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go for it.. phosphate is not the enemy most think it is.

I've gone full circle on this.. I started out using LaCl and now I think it's the worst thing I ever did.

N and P are really our friends :)
 
I still think LaCl has its place. It's great for making sure rock won't leach, for example. I just didn't rinse well enough it seems..

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That's what I mean- I don't think leaching rock is bad.

There are much worse things like coral dying due to unknown factors :)
 
karimwassef said:
That's what I mean- I don't think leaching rock is bad.

There are much worse things like coral dying due to unknown factors :)[/QU OTE]
:fish1: Hi Inktomi, the next time you setup a system, try using a very high quality live rock, there will be no need to treat it for excess PO4, and the added biodiversity will help with your maintenance. Very good live rock is more expensive then dead rock, in the short term, but in the long run it's much cheaper, and more enjoyable to watch. Hi karimwassf, by looking at the pictures of this system, there is a PO4 problem, the rock is probably still leaking PO4. :fish1:
Click to expand...
 
I built mine out of concrete.. was paranoid about P... not so much anymore. Life needs P- it's all about managing it.
 
inktomi said:
Those are good points. Certainly there are benefits to fresh air. I agree.

I do have a plan for running an airline into the crawlspace, but it's not that trivial unfortunately for a number of reasons (one of which is that the previous owners fed feral cats and they used the crawlspace as a litter box.. stinky)

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Click to expand...

That could end with you introducing ammonia to your tank.
 
Yep - and also into my house!

This time of year I can keep my windows open more often and so that's what I'm doing.

At 20 ml my nitrate has went down to 10 ppm on the API test kit. I increased it by 1 ml today, and will retest on Wednesday. I will also test phosphate again then -- I'm feeding my fish a little more often as well. Anecdotally the algae in the tank has turned much darker green, and appears to be growing more. The tangs are getting more food so they're skimping out on their duties haha
 
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Question - do you live in the valley? Some folks on the So. Cal boards have mentioned weird water quality issues with their water. May want to poke over there and see if that is related...
 
Thanks for the heads up - I'll check it out tonight for sure. I don't live in the valley, I live almost in Orange County on the edge of LA/OC.

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For the past several days Nitrates have been 0 (API and Red Sea low range) along with 0 ppb phosphate on the hannah checker at 25mL of vodka daily.

My corals are obviously improving.

Today I'm halving the dosage as recommended in the vodka dosing literature once you reach 0/0 - and hopefully can level off with some small amount of phosphate and nitrate in the water as I do think that 0/0 is going to be bad long term.

I think that there is likely some in the water being used by the algae in the tank as it's plugging along as usual. I'll begin more aggressive manual removal, as it's jusssstttt barely out growing my tangs appetite for it.
 
Sounds like you are on the solid ground to recovery. Good job, keep it up. You will be able to tweak your nutrients for optimal color/growth once you are out of the woods and your frags start taking off. Watch your filters with any kind of foam pads for excessive bacteria growth/clogging, this would indicate that you are overfeeding vodka and dosing should be adjusted down. Keep your NO3 low range testing schedule to once a week for the time being.
Your algae won't be able to compete with vodka much longer.
 
I did actually notice my filter socks felt a bit slimy. We'll see if that continues at the half dosage.

For now I'm going to keep testing and adjusting every three days untill I have a vodka volume stable for a little while.

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Also, I've been able to have windows open all week.. pH has been 7.95 to 8.12

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Have you looked into you area's water quality from the tap? I have seen a few reefers that had chloromine used in the municipal water without their knowledge. Have someone (lfs) test for chlorine in your RODI water. Additionally maybe run some polyfilter in your tank and see if it pulls anything. Heavy metals and such.
 
If I understand RODI systems correctly, I think any well maintained system should be removing chloromine from the output water.

This does remind me.. probably time to change my filters.

I did another test today at half vodka dosage, still at 0 nitrates. Montiporas are looking better!
 
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