Help with SPS color
- Thread starter kissman
- Start date
Adrnalnrsh
New member
Yes. I forgot about that too. It helps, I think I went a week without mine, maybe two can't remember.
kissman
New member
I am not boosting any bacteria. I am running just basics skimmer, lights , rock. No dosing, no GFO, no GAC. I do have to clean glass about every 3 days. I am feeding my fish twice a day.
kissman
New member
I removed the rock the weekend of New Years and cleaned the rock of Xenia with a Dremel tool and that last all of about a few days and the Xenia was growing back. The big reason I think Xenia is part of the problem is I have done some reading where people are actually using Xenia in a sump for export. Most of my rock can't even be seen becuase of the Xenia I hate the stuff and I want it gone!
Just a total left field toss out idea here for the xenia, what about injecting some of it with 3% peroxide or vinegar? There is a lot of debate out there about how bad peroxide is for your tank, and some good reading in then chem forum from the chem heavy weights.
As for my tank, Im going to give zeo a run.
As for my tank, Im going to give zeo a run.
Newsmyrna80
Active member
Makes sense. I did a complete testing of my water yesterday and everything was at 0. And that is 3 weeks after I turned off my skimmer. I do not dose anything....just feed and do WC weekly.
stevedola
Master of my domain
1-Replacing some or all of your live rock is a good idea IMO...get rid of the xenia. It is too prolific to try and maintain...it will always regrow and overwhelm.
2-Take out the DSB OR at the very least vacuum the @#$* out of that bed.
I would add back already CURED CLEAN live rock. If possible get it from a fellow reefer to save some bucks.
If you dont feel confident that your corals will make it through this process set up a small 5g tank and use some of the water change water to hold the corals until the tank is ready. If you have a HOB filter or something like that you could set it up on there but sm water changes and a shop light can keep your struggling corals alive for the while. This way youre not introducing the corals to the ups and downs of the minicycle (of sorts) thats going on in your tank.
follow Elegance's instructions and after a few days you should be able to add back the corals to your tank. dont rush into getting more corals...I would let the tank settle in for a month or so and feed the fish regularly...maybe add 1 or 2.
2-Take out the DSB OR at the very least vacuum the @#$* out of that bed.
I would add back already CURED CLEAN live rock. If possible get it from a fellow reefer to save some bucks.
If you dont feel confident that your corals will make it through this process set up a small 5g tank and use some of the water change water to hold the corals until the tank is ready. If you have a HOB filter or something like that you could set it up on there but sm water changes and a shop light can keep your struggling corals alive for the while. This way youre not introducing the corals to the ups and downs of the minicycle (of sorts) thats going on in your tank.
follow Elegance's instructions and after a few days you should be able to add back the corals to your tank. dont rush into getting more corals...I would let the tank settle in for a month or so and feed the fish regularly...maybe add 1 or 2.
danil
New member
BP is an evil for low nutrient "classic" tank. The worst part is recovery time... Mine was about two months and only 50% of my corals survived. The BP effect stays in the tank for a long time after reactor has been stopped. Unfortunately for our corals many can't recover from it. Also I don't think xenia is responsible for stripping water from all nutrients. I would stick with basics at this moment and probably get more fish. I repeat it took me two+ months to stabilize my system from BP nutrients cleaner (aka vacuum cleaner
). When you'll find that system is stable - get new corals to check it out. GL
kissman
New member
I was actually thinking of going with new Pukani and doing a acid wash, and cycling in a seperate conatiner. I never really liked my rock and never that it was very porus. I want better rock! its so old I can't even remember what kind it is. My rock is set up in 2 seperate islands. When I do replace the rock I will do one island at a time. As far as the sand bed goes. About a year and a half ago I vaccumed the $#%% out of it. Down to the bottom each water chnage, even removed the rock. I think rather than vaccum it again I am just going to slowly remove it with each water change.
I have been toying with the idea of DIY rock! The one thing about a 55 is its hard to aquascape, and it would be a learning experience for an upgarde later
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Ptyochromis
New member
I would cease dosing both St and I. Iodine is toxic and very easy to overdose and St can be toxic if overdosed. You will supply enough St from water changes
I keep SPS in a 100% NNR setup. I have only had 1 incident where a monti lost 99% of its color. All I did was move it up in the flow/light and dosed phyto at night (Isochrysis galbana and Nannochloropsis sp.) to keep the coral from starving to death. It has been a month and it has regained 15-20% of it's color.
I keep SPS in a 100% NNR setup. I have only had 1 incident where a monti lost 99% of its color. All I did was move it up in the flow/light and dosed phyto at night (Isochrysis galbana and Nannochloropsis sp.) to keep the coral from starving to death. It has been a month and it has regained 15-20% of it's color.
brad65ford
New member
Wow I haven't been on this RC or looked at this thread in some time. Still haven't found your nirvana yet kissman? Sorry to hear this, its also a shame you haven't tried some of what myself and other has suggest a while ago. I really hope you get your tank back up an running the way you would like to see it. Would love to hear your results if you actually did replace your live sand and also get some fresh live rock.. But again that's just me (and others ;-)). Once you do this get rid of GFO stuff you just don't need it at the leave of bio load if not over feed with correct water changes IMO. If you want an easier control of your p04 go BB since its much easier to tune once you get the hang of it. It then becomes a water changing schedule mixed with correct alk/cal dosing.
happy reefing
Brad
happy reefing
Brad
Ptyochromis
New member
I keep my PO4 @ .06-.08 ppm. Many people would cringe if their PO4 hit .08, I find I get good growth around the .06-.08 range. If it drops below that I dose extra phyto (the mixture has a bit of phosphates in it).
If you are browning your PO4 may be too high. Hard to say without knowing what the level is in the tank.
If you are browning your PO4 may be too high. Hard to say without knowing what the level is in the tank.
Ptyochromis
New member
0.029ppm of PO4? It wouln't hurt to turn off your GFO reactor during the day and possibly run your skimmer @ night (if your bioload is the same as it was on your intro post you should be fine).
deepseadan
New member
Kissman, after reading and following this thread I've come to the conclusion your best bet is to give your corals to someone with a stable tank or your lfs to hold or as a donation. I would then shut your system down and start from scratch or start your 120. You corals have been through to many changes and instability and it will probably take them 6 months in a stable system to recover if ever. Next time around go back to the bare essentials regarding equipment and additives. Start your next reef with minimal skimming and fresh cured live rock and live sand. Start off with just one fish and wait a bit to put your first coral in. Then when you hit the three month mark, add a couple more small fish and maybe one more lps coral. Then around the 8 -9 month mark, if your tank is stable and healthy and you see good growth your lps, add one sps. If it does good then add more slowly. Feed your fish daily just a small amount, and do 10% water changes weekly. Your coral load will be small so you won't need to add any anything and your water changes will provide all needed items. Don't add any reactors or dosing pumps or other chemicals to your reef unless you know 100% for sure the cause and effect. Once you have a stable sps tank, then test and track your results. If for example you start to notice good sps growth and you're testing low on calcium or alk experiment with a calcium alk doser. If you see any negative results you will know the source. if you start from a healthy tank you will know what works and doesn't. In the last few years its amazing how many new products have hit the market, and to be honest some are beneficial but I think most are just causing problems. I've tried many and truthfully probably 90% have either done nothing or caused problems. Ultimately kissman, keeping things simple, stable and being patient will bring you good results. I do believe you will need to start over from scratch though.
kissman
New member
I am consedring this very option. However I don't have the option of trading these or giving these corals to my LFS. That would equal death for sure. They are still trying to figure how to get a Marineland LED to grow SPS on a 120g tank. They can't keep corals alive long enough to sell them. I am thinking of just letting the system run the way it is and see if I can get the 120g going later this summer
