My 30L (long question short answer)

[NukeEM]

Ive have it set up for about 18months now after i joined the navy i had to drastically reduce the size of my tank. Started this one new with just a t5 ho 36in, skimmer(shitty), a rio, a penguin, a power sweep some live rock and 40lbs of live sand. ive since added just a couple fish some corals and inverts. my question is, over the last week or so, my brain is losing some color, my chalice seems to be whitening around the edges, red flower pot only half opens and my torch looks like a boquet of flacid... params are perfect though due to the new summer conditions im not sure how constant throughout the day (lots of a/c). im pretty sure its just old bulbs because ive also recently had a spike in brown algae growth which ive never had (possibly phosphates but i doubt it). on top of all this my lifestock other than corals is flourishing. shrimp moulting, crabs growing nassarius zombie apocalypse everytime i feed. i was hoping for some intelligent feedback or maybe an agreeance with my bulb hypothesis (new bulbs come in fri anyway)
-thanks in advance
on a side note, anyone know how to drastically reduce the bubbles thrown from a hob skimmer? just never had this problem

 

[NukeEM]

someone at least look at this so i can feel good about myself

 

[Toddrtrex]

What are the numbers for your "perfect" water conditions, including; Cal, Alk and Mag. What temp?

What lights do you have? How old are the bulbs?

 

[NukeEM]

lol yes with 11 posts i probably would sound like someone who doesn't understand perfect water quality and while i said perfect there is no such thing as far as im concerned but its as good as i assume i need it which is better than most people. 0 on all base tests(NH3,NO2,NO3) ph steady at 8.2
calcium stays at about 380-400, alkalinity at about 9 +/-1 everyday temp is stays between 80-82 but it does dip to about 78 at night. as far as magnesium ive never tested it so im not sure but i add it to my water change water (probably not the best of ideas without measuring tank levels) change water about once a month
lights...well i went cheap and got a current nova extreme with 4x39w....zoo med t5s but i made a poor assumption that i could go with bulbs ive never used before and that may have been my main issue over a 30l i get 5ish watts a gallon (not that watts per gallon is THAT great an indicator)

 

[sporto0]

no one will judge you because you have only posted a few times, the problem is that it's hard to give you a definitive answer as to your specific problem, we can hash over water params all day, sounds like you know what your doing so theres no magical right or wrong here. chalice corals typically prefer lower light, brains & torches prefer more light & a little more flow. gonipora is hard to keep, altho i've heard the red ones do better, i've also heard they thrive in low flow & a more nutrient laden water. problem with a 30 gal is if something is askew it will affect it much faster than a larger tank. i am not a big proponent of the light bulbs being a culprit all of a sudden, i change mine once a year or so but i've never really felt that was the sole reason for any changes in tank condition. if you've used the same bulbs for 18 months, it couldn't hurt to change them but i would not expect a miraculous recovery because of this. the bubble problem can be fixed with a sponge placed in the return area, a place for them to diffuse. a better skimmer would help, a phosphate/gfo reactor might help. good luck & thanks for your service in the military (U.S. I hope)

 

[NukeEM]

thanks for the advice. i guess being an electrician (nuke) the first thing that came to mind was an electrical problem lolol
and there is only one military.lol
anything potential problems i should look into specifically?
i understand the uncertainty but im just looking for a few possibilities

 

[sporto0]

thanks for the advice. i guess being an electrician (nuke) the first thing that came to mind was an electrical problem lolol
and there is only one military.lol
anything potential problems i should look into specifically?
i understand the uncertainty but im just looking for a few possibilities

well, i can just give you what works for me, i keep my calcium closer to 500 & magnesium around 1300, ph & especially alk are important for corals. for a 30g tank manual dosing of supplements is easy as well as water changes, i would do 20g a month, either 5g a week or 10g every other week. hope this helps a little

 

[Faye]

First, and most importantly, thank you for your service. You are an inspiration to all of us in this country. Your deeds will not soon be forgotten, and your principals will be honored. Respect, integrity, and above all, freedom.

Are you using RODI water? Maybe it is just time to switch the filters in the unit?

 

[NukeEM]

I love my job and would do it everyday dill i die so thank you for the appreciation
i use lfs ro water and its never been a problem. valid hypothesis though