I just dont get it!!!

[regalangelfish]

105 gal disp, 29 gal sump 2 kessil lights, tank dim 36" x 36" x 18" with lots of surface aggitation. running dual chamber cal reactor, bio pellets 700 ml, no GFo, no carbon for a few weeks now. miracle mud and chaeto refugium.

water changes at 35% every month religiously.

feeding is: reef nutrition
phyto 2 ml
oyster eggs 2ml
fish get syclop-eze, bryne and fish eggs 4 ml
target feed LPS every couple of weeks with shrimp.

current params:
kh - 9.8 dkh
po4 - .04
no3 - 8-10 hard to pinpoint exactly on red sea but other test is approx the same
cond 33.9
ph 7.9
mg - 1630
cal - 425

So, magnesium is always high, phosphate is always low, nitrates somewhat high and can not reduce. been running bio pellets for about 5 months took GFO offline three weeks ago.

why cant I get No3 lower? is it that Po4 is always low? I cant raise po4, should I feed more to do so? why is MG always high cant lower it... why??? PH is always on the low side. why??? always 7.8 - 8.1...


I tried plumbing a fresh air intake to skimmer and nothing happens. not surprised as window always open in room with window fan so plenty of fresh air. Just got a second chamber on my cal reactor and still no change in PH...

eflo out of cal reactor with one chamber is 7.0... after adding second chamber will be determined tomorrow once ph is at target inside the reactor.

any ideas why I'm dealing with these issues? ugly brown algae on side walls every week. I run ro/di with sediment and carbon 1 and 5 micron. in the NY area should I be running any other filter?

ok all ears....

 

[HighlandReefer]

You could try dosing vinegar to reduce your nitrates.

Magnesium may be high due to your salt mix. Have you tested the level of your salt mix? It doesn't rise by itself without adding it somehow.

The pH is not a problem IMHO, I wouldn't worry about it.

How do all your organisms look now?

 

[bertoni]

I'd get a second opinion on the nitrate test kit, and run a test for nitrite. Nitrite can confuse nitrate test kits. I agree that vinegar or vodka dosing might help. I'm not sure why, but some tanks don't seem to benefit from pellets, despite a reasonably high nutrient level.

 

[regalangelfish]

I'd get a second opinion on the nitrate test kit, and run a test for nitrite. Nitrite can confuse nitrate test kits. I agree that vinegar or vodka dosing might help. I'm not sure why, but some tanks don't seem to benefit from pellets, despite a reasonably high nutrient level.

huh... can one automate vodka dosing once the set amount is determined? ill post results of nitrite...

 

[regalangelfish]

You could try dosing vinegar to reduce your nitrates.

Magnesium may be high due to your salt mix. Have you tested the level of your salt mix? It doesn't rise by itself without adding it somehow.

The pH is not a problem IMHO, I wouldn't worry about it.

How do all your organisms look now?

yeah I have instant ocean tests high for Mg. but many others use IO and they are fine...

most of the corals are fine... as select few are not growing but kept thier color. then even fewer have withered away. a red monti and stag and a blue tort. recently two baby clams while three mature clams are just fine.

 

[Reefer54]

what is the sg and temp....

ph is good, some tanks just run lower, especially with cal reactor.
brown algae is good, you want that to happen, just sucks having to clean it all the time (i have to clean mine a couple times a week, and scrape with a rasorblade every other week or so). it is a sign that you have nutrients in the system. if that is a daily feeding routine listed above, maybe break it up so you are not feeding so much every day, or skip days altogether, that may help reduce the No3. do you have a good bit of algae in the sump, that will also help reduce phos and nitrate.

how much LR do you use, in dt and in sump.... do you have a sandbed

your alk is maybe a bit high for bio pellets, it is commonly recommended to run it between 8 and 9 when carbon dosing....might explain the loss of those corals, maybe not too.

 

[bertoni]

A dosing pump is fine for adding vodka to a system. I suspect that it'd be fairly straightforward to automate.

 

[regalangelfish]

what is the sg and temp....

ph is good, some tanks just run lower, especially with cal reactor.
brown algae is good, you want that to happen, just sucks having to clean it all the time (i have to clean mine a couple times a week, and scrape with a rasorblade every other week or so). it is a sign that you have nutrients in the system. if that is a daily feeding routine listed above, maybe break it up so you are not feeding so much every day, or skip days altogether, that may help reduce the No3. do you have a good bit of algae in the sump, that will also help reduce phos and nitrate.

how much LR do you use, in dt and in sump.... do you have a sandbed

your alk is maybe a bit high for bio pellets, it is commonly recommended to run it between 8 and 9 when carbon dosing....might explain the loss of those corals, maybe not too.

I have about 75 lbs. LR in a 105 gal DT w/ 1.5" sand bed. No LR in sump nut have 2" miracle mud (about 2 gallons worth with about 3-4 bags of chaeto currently and some grasilaria -2 bags) it is growing.

 

[regalangelfish]

A dosing pump is fine for adding vodka to a system. I suspect that it'd be fairly straightforward to automate.

thank you... hard to think about just yet after springing for reactor. I may wait a couple of months and see if No3 reduces now that I took GFO offline. something must be working as Po4 was always higher and I would have to use GFO befor I went to bio pellets. just no3 is stubbornly steady at between 10-20

 

[Reefer54]

what is the stock list of fish


i would toss some good porous LR in the sump if you can. you are running a little over 1\2 lb of LR per gallon of water. While i am not saying there is any sure-fire rule, many contend the 1 lb per gallon of water as a good guide. i use more, and i have a hard time keeping nitrate readable without blatantly polluting my water (not really, but you get the emphasis). but my bioload is moderately low (6 fish) and my sandbed is DEEP.
The more LR, the more nitrogen reducing bacteria...in a nutshell.

 

[regalangelfish]

what is the stock list of fish


i would toss some good porous LR in the sump if you can. you are running a little over 1\2 lb of LR per gallon of water. While i am not saying there is any sure-fire rule, many contend the 1 lb per gallon of water as a good guide. i use more, and i have a hard time keeping nitrate readable without blatantly polluting my water (not really, but you get the emphasis). but my bioload is moderately low (6 fish) and my sandbed is DEEP.
The more LR, the more nitrogen reducing bacteria...in a nutshell.

Thanks everyone for great and helpful suggestions... I just placed some of the LR that I took out a couple of months ago. I chopped it up on my wet saw and was going to use them as frag disks in a frag tank. I can still do this but I think rather than dry they are well served back in my sump. I'm actually going to try and get some more rubble and do the same, chop it up and throw in my sump. I am guilts as I have been removing more and more rock to make room fro coral growth. great suggestion.

 

[Psyops]

just one more thing to add if possible. Is your salt mix clumped together or sandy as usual? My IO mix usually tests around 1400 for Mg. For whatever it's worth.

Alex