How do you keep your corals extra happy?

[LuizW13]

Currently my DT is fish-less 25 gallong AIO tank with a few hermits and conch- fish is in QT.

I have a GSP frag in there for about 2 weeks, a pocillopora frag for 5 days and a frag of Blue Pavona, Green Candy Cane and a Micromussa for 1 day.

They way the Pocillopora looked today prompted me to write this post, it's mostly closed up and looks more unhappy than it did after introducing it to my system. I believe this is due to my really low Alkalinity levels, it was so low, that I had trouble testing it.

Here are the results of my water test I performed a little while ago:

Salinity 1.025
Temperature: 78F
MG: 1200
DKH: 5.6
CA: 450
Nitrate: 0 (low enough that I can't read it)

My lights(miday/most intense) are:
White: 55%
Blue: 75%

The Poci frag is location a little over half way up the rocks and is getting a lot of flow.

For comparison, here are the parameters of freshly made saltwater:

MG: 1400
DKH: 7.0
Ca: 550

I'm thinking that I for sure need to dose Alk. - maybe the RedSea product?

Salt brand: Tropic Marin Pro

What do you guys think?

 

[oscargrumete61]

Tropic marine has 8.5 alkalinity and Red Sea Coral Pro 12.5 so do the maths


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[oscargrumete61]

Sorry i though you were talking about changing salt


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[mcgyvr]

You keep corals happy by providing a stable environment with parameters in an acceptable range..
You provide them with light to allow the zooxanthellae inside them to grow and feed the coral..

What is your water change schedule?

Usually with a tank your size and the few corals you have water changes alone are sufficient to keep levels stable enough..
Routine testing will confirm that and give you a good approximation of your daily consumption rate of those elements alk/cal/mag.
Only after you know the daily rate and if your water change routine isn't enough to keep stability then you start thinking about dosing..

I doubt you are there yet..

 

[ryeguyy84]

what lights do you have? 75% might be burning the coral (Assuming LED)

Mcgyvr is right, I doubt you need to dose at this point. you could just do a few water changes over the next few days to get your alk back up.

Check your heater, is it covered in a white film? the Alks going somewhere, might be hungry corals, impellers, coralline or heaters

 

[mcgyvr]

I kind of doubt your alk is that low anyways.. Unless you haven't been doing water changes at all..
Could certainly be a testing error...

 

[LuizW13]

Tropic marine has 8.5 alkalinity and Red Sea Coral Pro 12.5 so do the maths

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From Tropic Marin website:
Parameters: approx. 7° KH, calcium approx. 440 ppm, magnesium approx. 1350 ppm

I've tested that before and it's pretty accurate.

You keep corals happy by providing a stable environment with parameters in an acceptable range..
You provide them with light to allow the zooxanthellae inside them to grow and feed the coral..

What is your water change schedule?

Usually with a tank your size and the few corals you have water changes alone are sufficient to keep levels stable enough..
Routine testing will confirm that and give you a good approximation of your daily consumption rate of those elements alk/cal/mag.
Only after you know the daily rate and if your water change routine isn't enough to keep stability then you start thinking about dosing..

I doubt you are there yet..

My water has been stable, at least the temperate (cobalt heater) and salinty (Tunze Osmolator)

I was thinking the same thing; very little (small) corals, which is why i haven't purchased any additives yet. I'm going to test fresh salt water later today for comparison.

 

[LuizW13]

what lights do you have? 75% might be burning the coral (Assuming LED)

Mcgyvr is right, I doubt you need to dose at this point. you could just do a few water changes over the next few days to get your alk back up.

Check your heater, is it covered in a white film? the Alks going somewhere, might be hungry corals, impellers, coralline or heaters

I have the Aquamaxx Prism. So, i thought it was too bright before, so i dialed the whites down to 50% and it looked more upset than it did before at 65%. now it's at 55%.

I Haven't seen any white film, but i'll inspect it later today. I don't have any coralline yet.

I kind of doubt your alk is that low anyways.. Unless you haven't been doing water changes at all..
Could certainly be a testing error...

Testing error was my first guess..so I tested 2 more times.

I'm using the Red Sea foundation pro test kit.

 

[ryeguyy84]

I think the prism is a lower wattage LED, someone else will chime in but it might not have enough PAR. Lighting isn't my area

the red sea is the one that goes from orange to blue right? make sure when it turns blue it stays blue while you're swishing the water around.

 

[LuizW13]

I think the prism is a lower wattage LED, someone else will chime in but it might not have enough PAR. Lighting isn't my area

the red sea is the one that goes from orange to blue right? make sure when it turns blue it stays blue while you're swishing the water around.

I believe my model is 48 watts- so maybe the lights aren't bright enough?

Umm, if you're talking about the Alkalinity test, it goes from blue to green > yellow (over dose)

I couldn't even get a full green, it was very faint with a slight yellowish tint

 

[gprdypoo04]

Talk to them and ask.......

 

[LuizW13]

Talk to them and ask.......

That's a good idea, I just emailed them.

Man, keeping corals is difficult :fun5:

 

[gogo7]

i gotta say something.....
leave them alone... forget about the chemistry.... let everything do its thing, do your top offs, go to work, take the girlfriend out for dinners, leave the animals alone...keep your hands out of the tank .... i've seen too many 'aquarists' jack it in worrying about [profanity] they shouldn't, wasting time and money on created delemnas.... i know this forum needs this to stay alive, but i gotta say, you newer folk gotta learn patience.......put the chemistry kits down and let the animals grow into their new environment...... they're corals..... they take time to settle in...
..... come back in a week or so and observe how beautiful those animals you bought are.

 

[LuizW13]

i gotta say something.....
leave them alone... forget about the chemistry.... let everything do its thing, do your top offs, go to work, take the girlfriend out for dinners, leave the animals alone...keep your hands out of the tank .... i've seen too many 'aquarists' jack it in worrying about [profanity] they shouldn't, wasting time and money on created delemnas.... i know this forum needs this to stay alive, but i gotta say, you newer folk gotta learn patience.......put the chemistry kits down and let the animals grow into their new environment...... they're corals..... they take time to settle in...
..... come back in a week or so and observe how beautiful those animals you bought are.

Thanks, I like your style.

She's going to have to take me out! Most of my money went bye bye lol.

I'm going to LFS Saturday afternoon to pick up a few more hermits and i'll take a water sample for a second opinion since i'm there anyway.

 

[gogo7]

i hate to use lol,,, but lol....

yeah sure, you're just gonna buy some hermits....... i said that in my wifes voice....
if you're in the part of the aquarium shop that sells the live fish, you should check out the gobies.... they're personable, small, somewhat inexpensive, well except for that one species, oh, and that tiny black other one, which i could afford if my wife gave up........ and you can pretend you've still got a coral only reef......lol.....
all the best...

 

[LuizW13]

i hate to use lol,,, but lol....

yeah sure, you're just gonna buy some hermits....... i said that in my wifes voice....

HAHA that's funny!

I like the diamond goby, but that will be my last fish -if i can contain myself, a year from now. I have a Chalk Bass that will be graduating from QT soon, then a pair of clowns will come next.

A Galaxea coral that I have been looking at for 2 months finally came back in stock and I'm using every bit of strength to hold off purchasing it :mixed:

 

[ca1ore]

I can't tell when my corals are happy, let alone 'extra' happy .......

I know when they are alive, and when they are dead. Aspiring to the former means stable conditions, adequate alk/ca levels, proper light and water movement. Though others may demur, it was my experience that better alk/cal management and supplementation was what took SPS from 'impossible' in the 1980/90 to almost 'easy' now. Maintain those levels properly, and your corals will be far more resilient to other stuff.

 

[Heuristic]

I tell mine funny jokes

 

[LuizW13]

I can't tell when my corals are happy, let alone 'extra' happy .......

I know when they are alive, and when they are dead. Aspiring to the former means stable conditions, adequate alk/ca levels, proper light and water movement.

I think what i might be struggling with is light - currently on the wait list for my reef clubs PAR meter.

I think i may buy a Hannah checker for Alk as well; Alk is kinda hard to test.

 

[ca1ore]

I think what i might be struggling with is light - currently on the wait list for my reef clubs PAR meter.

I think i may buy a Hannah checker for Alk as well; Alk is kinda hard to test.

Sorry, modified my post above. It's probably not light, at least not over such a short period of time. It's almost certainly alk problems. Glib responses notwithstanding, chemistry is actually really important (though I do agree that fiddling with the tank should be minimized). An alk hanna checker is essential equipment IMO; it's about the only thing I test for anymore.