My tank doesn't like vinegar?

[ssdawood]

I changed my lights in April. Then for month or month and a half I had excellent growth. This is the time I noticed some algae on rocks not cyano. I started dosing prodibio around this time.

This is when all my sps started browning. Montis and Digis are all fine and colorful. Acans are good too.

I am also looking for pests like aefw or red bugs but havent found any. Now my ph does not climb above 8.

 

[d2mini]

Damn.

I changed my lights in February, and everything was kickass until the cyano appeared in the display around June. And even with the cyano, my coral still looked fine.

Some of my montis are fine, some not so much.
I don't have acans. I tried two frags after the light change but they slowly went down hill all that time, never did well for me.

 

[d2mini]

ORP is up to 240, no ozone. (i broke the ozone fitting... on the ozone generator :facepalm: )

So I'm thinking maybe that means organics are decreasing.
The skimmer is still working overtime.

 

[Aquarist007]

ORP is up to 240, no ozone. (i broke the ozone fitting... on the ozone generator :facepalm: )

So I'm thinking maybe that means organics are decreasing.
The skimmer is still working overtime.

I've always used a rise in orp as an indication of decreasing organics
I've had the same results with carbon dosing(vodka) rather then using ozone however. My orp was 510 last week when I reached no measureable nitrates or phosphates.

 

[billsreef]

I've always used a rise in orp as an indication of decreasing organics

ORP doesn't tell you anything about organics. Randy can explain it far better than I can

 

[Aquarist007]

ORP doesn't tell you anything about organics. Randy can explain it far better than I can

I have however noticed a trend as the poster that as the organics are removed from the water through carbon dosing or running inorganic carbon that the orp will increase

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FWIW, I don't think that a reef aquarium can get to 510 mV for ORP in the absence of added oxidizers. I think the ORP probe may be dirty or have algae on it, which can lead to higher than actual readings.

 

[billsreef]

I have however noticed a trend as the poster that as the organics are removed from the water through carbon dosing or running inorganic carbon that the orp will increase

You can't reduce organics by adding carbon...the typically used carbon sources (vinegar, alcohol, sugar) are all organic carbon. There are other mechanisms that might be causing that ORP to rise (and I agree with Randy on that 510), but it's not the organic removal itself.

Classic example that I've done myself in the lab. Our SW well pulls through old mangrove sediment, so it's high in organics, especially those nice brown tannins. I can hit that water with ozone, make it crystal clear and raise the ORP to 400 (or whatever I choose to set the controller at). No organics have been removed, just broken down into smaller molecules. Now, if I add in protein skimming and carbon, then I can remove the organics. Without any further effect on ORP

 

[Tucson_Phish]

I believe it is the lighting I'm running LED and I change the spectrum through the day and when it is mostly white some of the corals appear to turn a rusty Brown when I add the blues the colors return

 

[Aquarist007]

FWIW, I don't think that a reef aquarium can get to 510 mV for ORP in the absence of added oxidizers. I think the ORP probe may be dirty or have algae on it, which can lead to higher than actual readings.

I'll check it out Tks
To tell the truth I was only watching it to see if there was a pattern..really not concerned about an exact measurement due to reading your articles previously

 

[Ztrain]

/puts on flame retardant suit.

It's probably too late for it to make a difference anyways but could you try putting back on one of the radions over a section of the tank and see if it helps anything in that area? Like you I think it's probably not a lighting issue but it would just be interesting to see.

 

[tmz]

Well, lower pH would raise ORP or higher nitrate. Generally increased organics will raise it too but it's hard to draw conclusions from it.

 

[Aquarist007]

Well, lower pH would raise ORP or higher nitrate. Generally increased organics will raise it too but it's hard to draw conclusions from it.

That is the reason I started monitoring it on my own system...the general trend just perked my curiosity

 

[d2mini]

I believe it is the lighting I'm running LED and I change the spectrum through the day and when it is mostly white some of the corals appear to turn a rusty Brown when I add the blues the colors return

/puts on flame retardant suit.

It's probably too late for it to make a difference anyways but could you try putting back on one of the radions over a section of the tank and see if it helps anything in that area? Like you I think it's probably not a lighting issue but it would just be interesting to see.

As I mentioned earlier, I still have Radion Pro over the frag tank.
All frags are dead. Worse than the main tank.
It's not the lighting.
Plus, everything did amazing under the MH since February. Wasn't until the cyano lights out that everything went downhill... FAST.

 

[Ztrain]

As I mentioned earlier, I still have Radion Pro over the frag tank.
All frags are dead. Worse than the main tank.
It's not the lighting.
Plus, everything did amazing under the MH since February. Wasn't until the cyano lights out that everything went downhill... FAST.

Yeah I just noticed that a bit ago on your behind the scenes video how you've got the garage setup. That's really kind of worry some if like on my smaller tank I get some cyano and kill it will it tank the whole system? That's kinda scary.

 

[animalkingdom]

Was there a large pH low swing when you did the lights out? If your tank was teetering on the low side before the lights out this could have pushed it over the edge. Also, as some have mentioned, the cyano die off probably released a lot of stuff into the water creating a nutrient spike. I dunno whats going on just throwing out ideas. I wouldn't skim that wet, but that is just me.

 

[animalkingdom]

I just watched your video and it definitely looks like a rapid nutrient change too me. It also look like things can still come around so that is good. Maybe throw a polyfilter in between some baffles for a few days to catch any possible toxins though.

 

[d2mini]

Was there a large pH low swing when you did the lights out? If your tank was teetering on the low side before the lights out this could have pushed it over the edge. Also, as some have mentioned, the cyano die off probably released a lot of stuff into the water creating a nutrient spike. I dunno whats going on just throwing out ideas. I wouldn't skim that wet, but that is just me.

Yes, I had low ph due to the CaRx. It would go to around 8 during the day but would drop to around 7.65 overnight. Since this event, I have started using some Kalk in my ATO again, which has kept the ph at around 8.0-8.3.

 

[d2mini]

Another thought...
I've changed out enough water by now that it probably is equal to AT LEAST as much as my total system volume.
I can understand the damage has been done to the SPS, but why do my LPS still look just as sad as they did two weeks ago?

 

[Aquarist007]

Another thought...
I've changed out enough water by now that it probably is equal to AT LEAST as much as my total system volume.
I can understand the damage has been done to the SPS, but why do my LPS still look just as sad as they did two weeks ago?

A lot of lps don't like "clean' tanks or low nutrient levels that can be altered greatly by water changes
Try stirring up the substrate frequently or add some reef roids for eg daily for a bit