Nitrate Dosing
- Thread starter Spyderturbo007
- Start date
Please don't throw it away. hang in there; you're close. I would also stop dosing commercial products.The array of food you have sounds very good. I personally don't care for the selcon though. My mind just keeps pulling me toward a precipitous drop in PO4 and I'm still not sure bout the lighting either.
Sorry corals are dying.It can be very frustrating.
Sorry corals are dying.It can be very frustrating.
Interesting that coraline on sps frags presumably from relatively birght tanks fades away in your tank. That coud be from a singificant change in lighting or a nutrient deficiency or perhaps a toxin got in sour tank k some how. Any chance brass fittngs are in use somewhere? Any silcone work?
Corallinales are classified into 40 genera and over 500 species. They live in a variety of conditions and light intensities depending on the species. All are considered rhodophyceae) red algaes. They need some phosphorus and nitrogen but are less likely to be PO4 limited than green algaes.They also need alk ,calcim and magnesium . In more dimly lit tanks on the main system I get more of it but do get a nice quantity of some nice pink variants in the intensely lit tanks on the system too. In the tanks I run at higher nutreint levels( P0 4 around .15ppm and NO3 as high as 40ppm , I get almost none.
Corallinales are classified into 40 genera and over 500 species. They live in a variety of conditions and light intensities depending on the species. All are considered rhodophyceae) red algaes. They need some phosphorus and nitrogen but are less likely to be PO4 limited than green algaes.They also need alk ,calcim and magnesium . In more dimly lit tanks on the main system I get more of it but do get a nice quantity of some nice pink variants in the intensely lit tanks on the system too. In the tanks I run at higher nutreint levels( P0 4 around .15ppm and NO3 as high as 40ppm , I get almost none.
Big E
Premium Member
Some very good advice about the foods and additives. I dump all that juice from PE mysis in my tank and that causes SPS filaments instantly to feed. Someone mentioned it collapses the skimmer bubbles for a few hours and my comment was "so what".
I'd suggest stop sifting any juice from foods if you practice this..........it won't even register on a test kit because of the vast dilution level when mixed in a tank full of water. This is the good stuff acros take in.
You can also try making a slurry with a blender and fresh seafoods not as a coral food specifically, but for fish too.
One other thing I would do is baste your rocks every evening about 15 minute or so before lights out. That detritus will feed the corals when they are getting ready to start night feeding. Basting will also give the coralline a chance to get a leg up and not give things like cyano and bad algae a chance to sequester nutrients.
On Coralline---
Two things that weren't mentioned is the Mg needs to be at least to natural levels. Coralline takes up a lot more Mg than corals. Corals have the ability to take in less Mg in there skeletons if it's not abundent and still thrive............coralline can't do this.
Check for the asternia stars........they can decimate coralline in a few weeks and it doesn't take a lot of them. Look for them when your lights come on in the morning.
I'd suggest stop sifting any juice from foods if you practice this..........it won't even register on a test kit because of the vast dilution level when mixed in a tank full of water. This is the good stuff acros take in.
You can also try making a slurry with a blender and fresh seafoods not as a coral food specifically, but for fish too.
One other thing I would do is baste your rocks every evening about 15 minute or so before lights out. That detritus will feed the corals when they are getting ready to start night feeding. Basting will also give the coralline a chance to get a leg up and not give things like cyano and bad algae a chance to sequester nutrients.
On Coralline---
Two things that weren't mentioned is the Mg needs to be at least to natural levels. Coralline takes up a lot more Mg than corals. Corals have the ability to take in less Mg in there skeletons if it's not abundent and still thrive............coralline can't do this.
Check for the asternia stars........they can decimate coralline in a few weeks and it doesn't take a lot of them. Look for them when your lights come on in the morning.
dkeller_nc
New member
Spyder - A few comments about food, and a few questions to hopefully let us diagnose the issue(s) in a comprehensive way.
Food - I would recommend against re-freezing any food. The initial freezing already damages the cell walls in the critters in the food, further thawing/re-freezing breaks them down further. That results in a good bit of the nutrients being leached out with a rinse, or being inedible because they've been liquified (inedible to the fish, anyway). In fact, Larry of Larry's Reef Services specifically works with fresh seafood (not frozen) to maintain the texture and nutrition of the food he makes.
About Phyto & Oyster Feast: One typically adds phytoplankton to a reef tank not as a direct coral food (non-photosynthetic "flower corals" being the exception), but as a food for critters that the corals feed on. That would include numerous species of copepods, among other creatures. The phyto will also encourage sponge growth, which recent articles suggest help feed reef-building corals by shedding cells into the water column. Oyster Feast, in contrast, is intended as a direct-consumption SPS food.
I feed both phytofeast and oysterfeast every night. In a 50 gal system, that's 1.5 tablespoons of phytofeast (the "regular", not the "live") and 1.5 teaspoons of Oyster Feast. When these two are fed, I turn off the skimmer, and resume skimming about 1-1/2 hours later. Other choices from Reed Mariculture that are in the right size range are RotiFeast and R.O.E. (the fish will also eat R.O.E.).
Now to the questions:
When you started the tank, what did you use for rock? Dry rock, man-made cultured rock, or live rock?
How do you maintain specific gravity (i.e., ATO?), Calcium and Alkalinity? Do you dose kalkwasser? If so, how? Do you dose/maintain magnesium and/or potassium and other trace elements?
Do you have a sand bed - if so, how deep, and do you maintain it by vacuuming?
How often do you perform water changes, and what percentage change do you do?
Before you discontinued it, how much GFO do you use, and how often do you change it? Similar question about GAC.
What is your photoperiod? (You mention a Pacific Sun fixture - what exact model do you have?)
What sort of flow do you have in your tank?
Food - I would recommend against re-freezing any food. The initial freezing already damages the cell walls in the critters in the food, further thawing/re-freezing breaks them down further. That results in a good bit of the nutrients being leached out with a rinse, or being inedible because they've been liquified (inedible to the fish, anyway). In fact, Larry of Larry's Reef Services specifically works with fresh seafood (not frozen) to maintain the texture and nutrition of the food he makes.
About Phyto & Oyster Feast: One typically adds phytoplankton to a reef tank not as a direct coral food (non-photosynthetic "flower corals" being the exception), but as a food for critters that the corals feed on. That would include numerous species of copepods, among other creatures. The phyto will also encourage sponge growth, which recent articles suggest help feed reef-building corals by shedding cells into the water column. Oyster Feast, in contrast, is intended as a direct-consumption SPS food.
I feed both phytofeast and oysterfeast every night. In a 50 gal system, that's 1.5 tablespoons of phytofeast (the "regular", not the "live") and 1.5 teaspoons of Oyster Feast. When these two are fed, I turn off the skimmer, and resume skimming about 1-1/2 hours later. Other choices from Reed Mariculture that are in the right size range are RotiFeast and R.O.E. (the fish will also eat R.O.E.).
Now to the questions:
When you started the tank, what did you use for rock? Dry rock, man-made cultured rock, or live rock?
How do you maintain specific gravity (i.e., ATO?), Calcium and Alkalinity? Do you dose kalkwasser? If so, how? Do you dose/maintain magnesium and/or potassium and other trace elements?
Do you have a sand bed - if so, how deep, and do you maintain it by vacuuming?
How often do you perform water changes, and what percentage change do you do?
Before you discontinued it, how much GFO do you use, and how often do you change it? Similar question about GAC.
What is your photoperiod? (You mention a Pacific Sun fixture - what exact model do you have?)
What sort of flow do you have in your tank?
A little more on coraline and corals and maganesium:
<table class="listing nosort" id="table1"><thead><tr><th>Organisms</th> <th>Magnesium content of skeleton (weight %)</th> <th>Reference</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Corals</td> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Asterocoeniina and Faviina</td> <td>0.07 - 0.36%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Fungina</td> <td>0.095-1.22%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Fungia actiniformis var. palawensis</td> <td>0.091%</td> <td>6</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Caryophylliina</td> <td>0.18-0.21%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Milleporina</td> <td>0.12-0.53%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Millepora sp.</td> <td>0.12-0.53%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Stolonifera</td> <td>2.98-3.52%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Tubiporidae</td> <td>2.98-3.52%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- -- Tubipora rubrum</td> <td>2.98-3.52%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Dendrophylliidae</td> <td>0.05%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Porites</td> <td>0.095-1.22%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- -- Porites lobata</td> <td>0.40-1.22%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Pocillopora</td> <td>0.34%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Dendrophyllia</td> <td>0.05%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Gorgonia</td> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eunicella papillosa, E. alba, E. tricoronata, and Lophogorgia flamea</td> <td>2.2-2.7%</td> <td>5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Other Organisms</td> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coralline Algae in general</td> <td>>1%</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coralline algae: Lithophyllum and Lithotamnium</td> <td>2.0-2.8%</td> <td>7</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Calcareous alga Corallina pilulifera</td> <td>4.4%</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>benthic marine Ostracoda (crustaceans)</td> <td>0.5-1.3%</td> <td>3</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Interestingly, coralline algae that normally packs a large amount of magnesium into their calcium carbonate deposits (>4 mole percent magnesium carbonate, or >1% magnesium by weight) has been shown to incorporate less magnesium when the magnesium content of the water is reduced. The amount incorporated is directly proportional to the magnesium concentration. Consequently, the amount of magnesium that they consume in aquaria is dependent on the magnesium content of the water. This effect is also likely to extend to other calcifying organisms as well."
From this article by Randy Farely:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/10/chemistry
<table class="listing nosort" id="table1"><thead><tr><th>Organisms</th> <th>Magnesium content of skeleton (weight %)</th> <th>Reference</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Corals</td> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Asterocoeniina and Faviina</td> <td>0.07 - 0.36%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Fungina</td> <td>0.095-1.22%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Fungia actiniformis var. palawensis</td> <td>0.091%</td> <td>6</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Caryophylliina</td> <td>0.18-0.21%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Milleporina</td> <td>0.12-0.53%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Millepora sp.</td> <td>0.12-0.53%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Suborder Stolonifera</td> <td>2.98-3.52%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Tubiporidae</td> <td>2.98-3.52%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- -- Tubipora rubrum</td> <td>2.98-3.52%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Dendrophylliidae</td> <td>0.05%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Porites</td> <td>0.095-1.22%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- -- Porites lobata</td> <td>0.40-1.22%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Pocillopora</td> <td>0.34%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>-- Family Dendrophyllia</td> <td>0.05%</td> <td>2</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Gorgonia</td> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Eunicella papillosa, E. alba, E. tricoronata, and Lophogorgia flamea</td> <td>2.2-2.7%</td> <td>5</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Other Organisms</td> <td>
</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coralline Algae in general</td> <td>>1%</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Coralline algae: Lithophyllum and Lithotamnium</td> <td>2.0-2.8%</td> <td>7</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Calcareous alga Corallina pilulifera</td> <td>4.4%</td> <td>4</td> </tr> <tr> <td>benthic marine Ostracoda (crustaceans)</td> <td>0.5-1.3%</td> <td>3</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Interestingly, coralline algae that normally packs a large amount of magnesium into their calcium carbonate deposits (>4 mole percent magnesium carbonate, or >1% magnesium by weight) has been shown to incorporate less magnesium when the magnesium content of the water is reduced. The amount incorporated is directly proportional to the magnesium concentration. Consequently, the amount of magnesium that they consume in aquaria is dependent on the magnesium content of the water. This effect is also likely to extend to other calcifying organisms as well."
From this article by Randy Farely:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/10/chemistry
Spyderturbo007
New member
Spyderturbo007
New member
Please, ask away. I'm going to buy all you guys / gals a steak dinner if we can get this straightened out.
I just threw away what I had refroze. I'll use it right from the bag each time I feed them.
I started last night with the Oyster Feast. I'll do that every day in the evening when I feed the fish.
I wasn't able to get Phyto Feast because they were out of it, so I bought DT's Live Marine Phytoplankton. Will this be alright until I the LFS gets the Phyto Feast back in stock?
The bottle says "Containing Live: Nannochloropsis oculata, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Chlorella. 2-20 Microns"
Do you turn off your return pump as well? I added a 90 minute delay to the skimmer following the Coral Feed Cycle on my Apex.
I bought live rock from the LFS. I bought about 50lbs. It was a mixture of that bio-cultured stuff and real live rock. It was crappy live rock and really didn't come with any good hitchikers, but I didn't know any better when I bought it. I got a 2' bristle worm that I'm trying to remove and a bunch of Vermetid snails. That was about it.
My Apex handles the ATO through the BOB. The RO/DI system was just upgraded with an addition carbon block (chloramine specific), a 98% rejection membrane and I added a secondary DI stage. Everything was replaced the beginning of December. I thought that maybe my RO/Di system was the cause.
I was dosing Kalk, but stopped when I increased my Mg to kill of Bryopsis. My Alkalinity is back down where I want it (7.84dKh) so I was going to monitor the tank and see if I needed to start dosing Kalk again.
I've never had to dose Magnesium, except when I killed off the Bryopsis. I don't dose K, Sr, or any other trace elements.
The sand bed is about 2 - 2.5" deep. I do no maintenance on the sand bed and just leave it alone.
Ideally, I do 10% each week, but sometimes life gets in the way and it can be up to 10 days before I get to it. When it goes to 10 days, I normally do an extra gallon or two.
I was using 7tsp of GFO and changing it every 2 - 3 weeks. I only ran it because I saw some Macro Algae growing out of one of my rocks and thought I needed to do something before it got out of hand. I never saw the phosphate move above 0ppm.
GAC was used at about 6tbsp but only sporadically. I took it offline because I thought my Clownfish had an internal parasite so I dosed the tank with PraziPro. Turns out my Clownfish doesn't have an internal parasite and is just lazy. :lolspin:
I ran GAC after the Prazipro to clean up the water along with a couple large, back to back water changes. This was done 11/14/13.
I have the Pacific Sun Hyperion S fixture at 2 x 145w. It has a 3 hour sunrise, a 4 hour daytime and a 3 hour sunset. So the total photoperiod is 10 hours. Daytime max intensity is 45%. This is what was recommended by Yorgos with Pacific Sun as where I should start with the fixture.
All 9 channels are set at their defaults, so I haven't done anything to change the spectrum.
The fixture was installed on 12-4-13. Before that, it was a T5 HO (4 x 54w) I had on the tank for over a year. The colors were just as bad with that fixture.
The tank has 2 MP10wES, one on each side. They run from 1pm to 11pm at 65% intensity on Reef Crest. From 11pm to 1pm, they run Lagoon mode at 35% max intensity. The return pump is a Pondmasters 7 series. Apparently it's the same as a Mag Drive 700.
Thanks again for everyone's help!!!
Last edited:
dkeller_nc
New member
Well, in reading through your responses, I don't see any red flags. What I was specifically looking for was something you were doing that might compromise water quality. Just an example from my own experience: I use a kalk reactor on my 50 gallon tank. That worked extremely well up to mid-December when the weather turned remarkably colder. That drastically lowered the humidity in the house, which in turn dramatically increased the evaporation from the tank (more than 3 gallons per day!).
Bottom line is that there was way too much kalkwasser going in to the tank, the alkalinity was running at 10+ dKH, and the pH regularly exceeded 8.5. Not a complete disaster, but the SPS in the tank were clearly not happy.
I mention this because sometimes something remarkably subtle can cause some issues in a reef tank. But based on your responses, I'm going to stick with the idea that your tank's nutrients are way too low. A couple of weeks of feeding Oyster Feast in particular should bring them back up, hopefully to the benefit of your corals (as well as the direct effect of feeding the polyps).
Regarding your questions: I would think DT's would be fine as a substitute for Reef Nutrition's PhytoFeast. The reason I use PhytoFeast is simply that it's highly concentrated so it's a good value. But the mix of algal species in these products seems to be fairly standard. The only brand that I wouldn't recommend is Phycopure, simply because it's very expensive compared to the density of algal cells in the bottle.
No, I don't turn the return pump off, since I figure that the only thing in my sump that's going to remove the plankton substitutes is the skimmer. But even with the skimmer turned off, the critters in the live rock/sand bed will clear the water after the phytofeast and oyster feast are added in about 30-45 minutes.
One note: oyster feast has a lot of fatty acids and lipids in it (that's a good thing). Those compounds act to considerably depress foaming action in a skimmer, so don't be surprised if the foam level in yours is quite a bit lower when it comes back on after you add the O.F. I made the error of adjusting the level in my skimmer when I first started this feeding regimen, which resulted in a skimmer overflow the next morning.
You might consider adding a test frag of acropora or montipora after you've been feeding the corals for a week or so and your tank water's nutrients have come back up some. I say this because it can take quite a long time for bleached/starved corals to recover, but a new frag should tell you whether you've corrected the issues, since it shouldn't bleach the way your other corals have.
By the way - if you wish, there are a couple of other products in Reef Nutrition's line that would be appropriate SPS foods in case you want to try them - TiggerFeast and RotiFeast. TiggerFeast contains preserved copepods, and RotiFeast preserved rotifers, both of which are in the right size range for SPS. Be sure that you distinguish between TiggerFeast and TiggerPods - the last one is live copepods in saltwater, which is appropriate for starting a culture, or enticing a finicky new fish to eat. But there's a pretty low density of critters in the bottle - it'd be a really expensive way to feed your corals/fish long-term.
Bottom line is that there was way too much kalkwasser going in to the tank, the alkalinity was running at 10+ dKH, and the pH regularly exceeded 8.5. Not a complete disaster, but the SPS in the tank were clearly not happy.
I mention this because sometimes something remarkably subtle can cause some issues in a reef tank. But based on your responses, I'm going to stick with the idea that your tank's nutrients are way too low. A couple of weeks of feeding Oyster Feast in particular should bring them back up, hopefully to the benefit of your corals (as well as the direct effect of feeding the polyps).
Regarding your questions: I would think DT's would be fine as a substitute for Reef Nutrition's PhytoFeast. The reason I use PhytoFeast is simply that it's highly concentrated so it's a good value. But the mix of algal species in these products seems to be fairly standard. The only brand that I wouldn't recommend is Phycopure, simply because it's very expensive compared to the density of algal cells in the bottle.
No, I don't turn the return pump off, since I figure that the only thing in my sump that's going to remove the plankton substitutes is the skimmer. But even with the skimmer turned off, the critters in the live rock/sand bed will clear the water after the phytofeast and oyster feast are added in about 30-45 minutes.
One note: oyster feast has a lot of fatty acids and lipids in it (that's a good thing). Those compounds act to considerably depress foaming action in a skimmer, so don't be surprised if the foam level in yours is quite a bit lower when it comes back on after you add the O.F. I made the error of adjusting the level in my skimmer when I first started this feeding regimen, which resulted in a skimmer overflow the next morning.
You might consider adding a test frag of acropora or montipora after you've been feeding the corals for a week or so and your tank water's nutrients have come back up some. I say this because it can take quite a long time for bleached/starved corals to recover, but a new frag should tell you whether you've corrected the issues, since it shouldn't bleach the way your other corals have.
By the way - if you wish, there are a couple of other products in Reef Nutrition's line that would be appropriate SPS foods in case you want to try them - TiggerFeast and RotiFeast. TiggerFeast contains preserved copepods, and RotiFeast preserved rotifers, both of which are in the right size range for SPS. Be sure that you distinguish between TiggerFeast and TiggerPods - the last one is live copepods in saltwater, which is appropriate for starting a culture, or enticing a finicky new fish to eat. But there's a pretty low density of critters in the bottle - it'd be a really expensive way to feed your corals/fish long-term.
Spyderturbo007
New member
I've been racking my brain trying to think of everything and anything that I do with the tank that may cause the problem. I have yet to come up with anything.
The DT's says every other day, so a bottle will last me 20 days. I suspect that the LFS will have the PhytoFeast in stock by then. At least I hope they will.
Awesome. I don't think that my filter sock is going to pull any of the Phyto out, so it sounds like if I just turn off the skimmer, I'll be in good shape.
I was at a frag swap over the weekend and even though I told my wife I wasn't going to buy anything until I figured out what was wrong, I couldn't help myself. :lol: Came home with a single head Trumpet Coral, a Limeaide and a Favia. I guess we'll see what happens. The funny thing is that my wife turned to me and said "wouldn't it be cool if all the other coral was that bright?". :sad2:
As of right now, I'm open to anything irrespective of the price. I think they have RotiFeast at the LFS. I'll pick them up the next time I'm down there.
So for now, should I continue trying to keep the Nitrates up at 1ppm by dosing?
dkeller_nc
New member
It's hard to predict what will happen with dosing nitrate, since I think most would consider it "experimental". My personal preference is to manipulate nutrient levels by feeding and adjusting export filtration (skimmer, GFO reactor, GAC, etc...).
But I'd doubt that adding enough nitrate to give you 1 ppm is dangerous in some way.
But I'd doubt that adding enough nitrate to give you 1 ppm is dangerous in some way.
Spyderturbo007
New member
Well, it doesn't appear as though anything is getting better, in fact, I'm pretty sure most of my corals are now dying.
I'm not sure what's going on with my Bleeding Apple and it if you look at the right side of the Bennet Tort, it appears to be dying as well. There is also some weird stuff growing on my plating montipora, which was actually the only decent looking coral in the tank. This is so disheartening. I looked at my wife last night and said "I hate this tank..." I think it might just be time to throw in the towel. There just isn't anything else I can do. :sad2:
I'm not sure what's going on with my Bleeding Apple and it if you look at the right side of the Bennet Tort, it appears to be dying as well. There is also some weird stuff growing on my plating montipora, which was actually the only decent looking coral in the tank. This is so disheartening. I looked at my wife last night and said "I hate this tank..." I think it might just be time to throw in the towel. There just isn't anything else I can do. :sad2:
Last edited:
Someone in Singapore had the exact problems as you. Everything tested perfect but flesh of SPS would peel off and LPS would start showing the same symptoms as yours. In the end it was the salinity. Do make sure your refractometer is accurate & get a salinity meter to determine salinity level. My friend used 3 different refractometers and all showed the same reading of 1.023 which in theory should be fine for coral. However, Triton lab test confirmed low sodium levels and it was double confirmed with a american pinpoint salinity meter that showed only 20PPT salinity.
Spyderturbo007
New member
I'm willing to try anything at this point. Even though I calibrated with the calibration solution that came with my refractometer, I just made some myself.
I grabbed some NaCl from the lab and made a 35ppt standard. 3.6502g NaCl in 96.3490g H2O.
I'll check the refractometer when I get home and report back.
I grabbed some NaCl from the lab and made a 35ppt standard. 3.6502g NaCl in 96.3490g H2O.
I'll check the refractometer when I get home and report back.
Last edited:
Spyderturbo007
New member
I was hoping that was the problem, but it isn't. :sad2:
The calibration solution I got with the refractometer was correct. This is the reading with the new standard I made in the lab earlier.
The calibration solution I got with the refractometer was correct. This is the reading with the new standard I made in the lab earlier.
Big E
Premium Member
If it was me I'd just let the tank get dirty.
I'm not sure where your'e at right now, but turn off your skimmer and don't use any chemical or bacterial supplements. Forget about what the PO4 and NO3 numbers read.
Let algae grow.............a good clean up crew will keep it under control.
Run your lights for about 4 hours a day and that's it.
Keep your other maintenance & feeding rountines the same as you have been.
I'm not sure where your'e at right now, but turn off your skimmer and don't use any chemical or bacterial supplements. Forget about what the PO4 and NO3 numbers read.
Let algae grow.............a good clean up crew will keep it under control.
Run your lights for about 4 hours a day and that's it.
Keep your other maintenance & feeding rountines the same as you have been.
This is the correct answer. The only thing nitrate dosing for me was negatively impact corals even at low (1ppm) levels. I don't think 1ppm nitrate is bad if you get there via food but dosing it made my corals unhappy. Reefers that say that 1ppm nitrate made their corals color up are really saying the effort to get to 1pmm nitrate (feeding) got there corals to color up.
Also double check whatever you are using for alk. I have even burned twice by salifert kits now and no longer trust then (by themselves). Chronically low but stable alk will make for pale corals that do not grow.
dkeller_nc
New member
I went back and read through this thread again and looked at all of your pictures.
My first thought is still: low nutrients, high alkalinity, strong (too strong) light = coral bleaching. However, there's an issue with this conclusion in that it doesn't seem that your alkalinity is terribly high.
Also, when I've experienced acropora bleaching before in my tanks, its only one or two colonies that are affected, the others do well. Of those colonies affected, moving them to low-light conditions in the tank allowed them to survive, though they lost their original vibrant colors (i.e., the tissue that survived is uniform brown).
It would seem that the issue you have is affecting everything in the tank (does this include the new frags that you recently acquired?). That suggests either water chemistry that's way, way out of whack, or lighting that's way, way too intense.
Assuming that there's not something with the water quality that's messed up (such as something simple, like a thermometer that's giving you a false reading and your tank's actually at 84 deg rather than 78), I'm guessing that you're experiencing the typical bleaching associated with light shock.
One potential thing to try is to go to the home store and purchase some plastic window screen. Tape a couple of layers of this across your tank's top surface under one of the LED arrays, and see if that prevents your newly acquired corals from bleaching. You can then gradually remove layers over a couple of weeks to acclimate the corals.
My first thought is still: low nutrients, high alkalinity, strong (too strong) light = coral bleaching. However, there's an issue with this conclusion in that it doesn't seem that your alkalinity is terribly high.
Also, when I've experienced acropora bleaching before in my tanks, its only one or two colonies that are affected, the others do well. Of those colonies affected, moving them to low-light conditions in the tank allowed them to survive, though they lost their original vibrant colors (i.e., the tissue that survived is uniform brown).
It would seem that the issue you have is affecting everything in the tank (does this include the new frags that you recently acquired?). That suggests either water chemistry that's way, way out of whack, or lighting that's way, way too intense.
Assuming that there's not something with the water quality that's messed up (such as something simple, like a thermometer that's giving you a false reading and your tank's actually at 84 deg rather than 78), I'm guessing that you're experiencing the typical bleaching associated with light shock.
One potential thing to try is to go to the home store and purchase some plastic window screen. Tape a couple of layers of this across your tank's top surface under one of the LED arrays, and see if that prevents your newly acquired corals from bleaching. You can then gradually remove layers over a couple of weeks to acclimate the corals.
2FunKids
New member
Mag
Mag
You mentioned Magnesium so I wanted to share my experience with my Red Sea Mag test. I had been having similar issues with coralline algae. I found that using the 10ml syringe for a sample of 2ml water was inaccurate enough to drastically read high on Magnesium. I figured the water changes were keeping up with Magnesium even though theoretically I should have been using a given amount of supplement for every gallon of Alk and Calcium. After realizing the error on the test, I ended up having to add just about 40oz of Magnesium and that made sense to me due to the fact that I had added 2 gallons of Alk 2 part without supplementing with Mag. Now my corals are looking better and coralline has started growing again. Other factors I have changed recently has been a removal of my DSB in my sump and I raised my leds higher above my tank. I also drastically reduced my LED white channel and am running those only around noon. I haven't posted to discuss this yet, but I had to increase my supplements x 2 after getting the Mag in line. I expect its because the Mag helps with the utilization of the other foundation elements.
Mag
You mentioned Magnesium so I wanted to share my experience with my Red Sea Mag test. I had been having similar issues with coralline algae. I found that using the 10ml syringe for a sample of 2ml water was inaccurate enough to drastically read high on Magnesium. I figured the water changes were keeping up with Magnesium even though theoretically I should have been using a given amount of supplement for every gallon of Alk and Calcium. After realizing the error on the test, I ended up having to add just about 40oz of Magnesium and that made sense to me due to the fact that I had added 2 gallons of Alk 2 part without supplementing with Mag. Now my corals are looking better and coralline has started growing again. Other factors I have changed recently has been a removal of my DSB in my sump and I raised my leds higher above my tank. I also drastically reduced my LED white channel and am running those only around noon. I haven't posted to discuss this yet, but I had to increase my supplements x 2 after getting the Mag in line. I expect its because the Mag helps with the utilization of the other foundation elements.
Similar threads
