Need ideas, can't seem to keep coral thriving.

[hard2bej]

Looking for ideas. I have purchased zoanthids, some frogspawn, palys, leather, and mushrooms. Some are doing ok and others are kind of shrinking and I'm sure will wilt away to nothing. I am running out of ideas of what my tank is missing or what is out of wack causing it.
Tank info:125 gal with 2 overflows
40 gal breeder with diablo skimmer and chaeto in middle section
Tunze ATO
Use all RO/DI water
Jaebo wp-40 wavemaker
3-LED full spectrum lights, 2-Chinese mars aqua, 1-ocean revive, on for 8 hrs a day, they were on 10+ hrs but my LFS suggested reducing. They are all on very low power on the whites and blues. Coral not reaching for light.
Bio-churn bio pellet reactor
Nitrates-0
Phosphates-0, I don't think it ever shows up, indicator is algae problem and I have no algae.
Alk-9.5
Cal-450
Mag-1400
Temp-77-78
Temp Controlled by Apex
Ph monitored by Apex, usually around 8.1, fluctuates up and down a little
All fish and inverts like snails and shrimp doing great.
Maintain Alk and Cal with kalkwasser in my ATO.
I'm not sure what's going on, I've had it set up for over a year now and my corraline is also not spreading, a few spots here and there.
I also had Xenia that came from my old tank that seems to be shrinking, it spread and grew like crazy before, only difference would be old tank was "dirtier".
Water changes-30gal once a month.
Is my tank too clean? Doubt it, frogspawn Should thrive in clean.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[ReefWreak]

Honestly, too clean is a thing, and no corals like it. I would take the biopellet reactor offline unless you start seeing a big increase in nitrates or start having algae issues.

I wouldn't have suggested otherwise, but recently with my tank I stopped my vodka dosing (similar to bio-pellet reactor) and increased feeding of my fishes, and within 24-48 hours of this new regimen, my corals colored up significantly (they were brown/purple/pale before).

It sounds like you're on the right track and have a solid setup.

One more thing, I'd recommend starting new corals on the bottom of the tank when you add them to the tank, even if the LEDs are turned down, just to be extra cautious. As you mentioned, if they turn brown and start reaching, fine, you can raise them, but at least you'll know they need more light. If they die off the bat, then you may not know what is causing it.

If you want your coralline algae to explode, you can add a bit of kalkwasser powder to your top off water. What are you using for water change water?

You can also look at adding a Poly Filter pad just as a blanket "something is wrong and I don't know what but maybe this will fix it" attempt since it will pick up heavy metals and some other nasties that you otherwise wouldn't really be able to measure and capture. Just a thought.

 

[LuizW13]

A couple of weeks ago i posted a thread similar to yours. I think i have since found the sweet spot for my system. For me, it was a combination of light and flow tweaking.

My lights are on for about 12 hours, ramp up and down on a schedule.
It peaks at 35% W, 67% B and 15% S

I tweaked my flow for low-med with little high during the evenings when i'm home. I noticed that if i leave my flow at max for too long, my corals, specifically my frogspawn, will shrink down.

The only mechanical filtration i used is a polyfilter pad that i changed every 3 days.

My nitrates are somewhere in the 0-5 and Phosphate something like .03.

 

[hard2bej]

Thanks for the reply! I always start my corals at the bottom.
I dose kalk in my ATO every time I fill my ATO container with RO/DI water unless my alk and cal are good.
My water changes also use new RO/DI water and instant ocean salt that is mixed for at least 4-5 hours Up to a day before I do the water change.
I will try shutting down my reactor for a while and maybe look into that poly pad.
Thanks!!

 

[lionfish300]

I would up your No3 and Po4