pciscott
Pirates Cove Reef
My p04 was at .16 yesterday and my colors are the best they have ever been. I do like to keep them below .1 yet I have not been chasing numbers. In combination with my p04 levels my nitrates are at 7 on Salifert.
Water at below .03 p04 and undetectable nitrates was what the Tank of the month guys had several years ago, but they got away with it because of the better spectrum of halides in my opinion. Led lights are not giving our corals everything they need so feeding them with nutrients has become necessary.
With your numbers I would not suspect water quality?
Things I would suspect are your Flame Angel nipping at corals will stress them out and a video camera will help you catch him in the act. Fish tend to swim back and forth screaming feed me when I am close to tank, but a camera will catch a fish that is stressing coral. I have had tangs and rabit fish start nipping at corals and have to be removed from the tank.
Next I would pull a couple corals and dip them to make sure you do not have a pest, they can be hard to detect and unless you quarantine everything they are easy to get. I have had red bugs and aefw in the past and did not know I had them. Now I quarantine and know better what to look for.
Stability is key and changes can set off a decline, changing salts, changing lighting, bio pellets, different methodology, all these things can stress out a reef and start a decline. Did you make any big changes the last time your tank was looking good?
My first tank back in 2009 thrived, some say begginers luck? I did not test for p04 or nitrates back then. I learned from RC that my water had to be pristine and below .03 to have tank of the month so my experience cost me corals for the next 5 years and I spent thousands on gfo, pellet reactors, and other reef devices to lower my levels. At the same time switching to Led lights compounded the problem.
I now only test for p04 once a month and it has been as high as .18 and my tank is thriving. My nitrates I keep above 5 and do nothing extra unless they get over 25 and then I up my water changes.
I do have to clean my glass every three days, but my corals are looking great and my polyp extension is good and gets better when I clean the glass or add food.
In my experience your p04 is not your issue, and try to think back when your tank was doing better and what you have changed since then? Sometimes education and advice can hurt more than it helps so focus on your past success for a good starting point?
Good luck!
Water at below .03 p04 and undetectable nitrates was what the Tank of the month guys had several years ago, but they got away with it because of the better spectrum of halides in my opinion. Led lights are not giving our corals everything they need so feeding them with nutrients has become necessary.
With your numbers I would not suspect water quality?
Things I would suspect are your Flame Angel nipping at corals will stress them out and a video camera will help you catch him in the act. Fish tend to swim back and forth screaming feed me when I am close to tank, but a camera will catch a fish that is stressing coral. I have had tangs and rabit fish start nipping at corals and have to be removed from the tank.
Next I would pull a couple corals and dip them to make sure you do not have a pest, they can be hard to detect and unless you quarantine everything they are easy to get. I have had red bugs and aefw in the past and did not know I had them. Now I quarantine and know better what to look for.
Stability is key and changes can set off a decline, changing salts, changing lighting, bio pellets, different methodology, all these things can stress out a reef and start a decline. Did you make any big changes the last time your tank was looking good?
My first tank back in 2009 thrived, some say begginers luck? I did not test for p04 or nitrates back then. I learned from RC that my water had to be pristine and below .03 to have tank of the month so my experience cost me corals for the next 5 years and I spent thousands on gfo, pellet reactors, and other reef devices to lower my levels. At the same time switching to Led lights compounded the problem.
I now only test for p04 once a month and it has been as high as .18 and my tank is thriving. My nitrates I keep above 5 and do nothing extra unless they get over 25 and then I up my water changes.
I do have to clean my glass every three days, but my corals are looking great and my polyp extension is good and gets better when I clean the glass or add food.
In my experience your p04 is not your issue, and try to think back when your tank was doing better and what you have changed since then? Sometimes education and advice can hurt more than it helps so focus on your past success for a good starting point?
Good luck!
