Problem with corals

[crumbletop]

Howard.

Got the water, and here are the readings:

pH: 8.2
Alk: 3.5 meq/L
Ca: 370 mg/L
PO4: .75 mg/L (inbetween the 0.5 and the 1.0 color bars on the Salifert)
NO3: 160 mg/L
Cu: 0.0 mg/L

So your nitrate and your phosphate are both very high. They are both probably the reason that some of your corals have trouble. I don't have a high resolution nitrate test, so that is the only reading I took that may be suspect, but it should be reasonably close to your actual value. My test doesn't go above 160, so it may have been higher.

Jack

 

[gflat65]

PO4 is very hard to test for IME. The slightly differing color strips for comparison are usually worthless. I did find that La Motte sells one that comes with an ampule of distilled water and the rack to add some tank water for a 'blanking' sample. With the La Motte kit, you compare liquid to liquid rather than liquid to paper. The kit is pricy, though.

 

[crumbletop]

Well it was definately darker than the 0.5 and maybe as dark as the 1.0. I wish they had a titratable kit that did a color change like the calcium and alkalinity tests. Comparing colors is a pain...

 

[HowardCath]

Jack, thanks so much. I'll have to see if I can test accurately for myself and reproduce your results. As for the nitrates, I removed the bioballs long ago, but in a hard to reach area at the bottom of the sump is a large, sponge filter that has been there forever. I only even realized it was there last fall. I asked someone at the Critter at that time and was told it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe that is a potentially toxic source for me. I'll look into your other suggestions as well. Is setting up a refugium as simple as adding a light and plants to where the bioballs used to be?

As for water, I only used what I bought from the Critter, so I assume phosphates must come from my fish food. If you find yourself in this corner of town and would like to drop it for look someday, please do!
- Howard

 

[crumbletop]

I don't have a fuge, so someone else will have to chime in on that. They can be simple or complex. The simplest is some chaeto in the sump with a grow light.

A skimmer can also help with nutrient export. Do you have a good skimmer?

Yes, and a sponge filter can become a nitrate factory much like bioballs can.

Jack

 

[DMBillies]

I'm not totally sure of how the set-up looks, but if you already have an area about the size of a 12" cube with a little flow going through it (that's the hard part), it can't hurt to throw some cheato in there and light it with a cheap plant grow floodlight from Lowe's/HD. Just make sure that lot's of little run away pieces of algae can't easily get to your return pump. The light shouldn't cost more than about $10 and you'll just need to splice on a pigtail.

Doing this can help in two very important ways: (1) Nutrient export when you trim back your cheato ball, (2) 'pods living in the cheato will help sustain a larger population and you should be able to cut back on the amount of food you feed the tank.

 

[HowardCath]

No skimmer.

 

[HowardCath]

The cheato (I'll look that up) idea sounds like an easy one. If I can get that block of filter material out from the bottom of the area where the bioballs used to be, I quess that would keep "little run away pieces of algae" from getting into the pump.

 

[HowardCath]

"The light shouldn't cost more than about $10 and you'll just need to splice on a pigtail."
What's a pigtail?

 

[crumbletop]

Howard,

Your tank has been running for a while, so you may need to really clean up the substrate. I haven't been in the hobby for that long, so I'm not sure of the order of importance, but it seems to me that RE nitrates, you're options include:

1) Detritus buildup in the substrate/sump.
2) Get that sponge out of the sump.
3) Make sure you have good feeding habbits for the fish.
4) Make sure you don't have an excessive bioload.
5) Continue your regular water changes.
6) Get a skimmer suitable for your tank/sump.
7) If the sump has a low flow area, do the chaeto/fuge thing.

There may be others. I started with a reef tank from scratch and so didn't start with high nitrates, as you are. Hopefully someone with experience with getting nitrate levels under control when establishing a reef tank from a FOWLR will chime in with some advice.

I too, have no clue what a pigtail is

Jack

 

[HowardCath]

I am optimistic about a plan that gives me a place to start for now. I spoke with Shawn at Emerald Bay. He thought that the temperature issue along with phospate/nitrate problem that you identified are likely my 2 main issues, and that old sponge could really be significant. I got rid of the sponge and replaced it yesterday, cleaned the cylindrical filters that surround the inlets in my overflow, did a water change, added a pouch of Seachem Phosguard and a pouch of Purigen (which Shawn said acted like carbon).

Shawn was very friendly and helpful. New to me, and this may sound like heresy, but we discussed using tap water. Since my temperature control involves evaporation of about a gallon each day, water replacement has become a major issue. Shawn said there were no phosphates in water in our area (he a did test and showed me it was zero) and he felt it would be okay to use tap water after dechlorination. Recommended J.R. (? Everette) Simerly (300-5162) to set up an auto-top-off unit for me (I have a sink under the tank, but it's in an enclosed space with no room to store large volumes of water) with an inline dechlorination filter (simpler than an RO unit) -- I have left a message for him to call me to discuss this. Shawn said that as I change to tap water, I will need less buffer until I need none at all. I should test water weekly and add buffer if alk decreases. Test specific gravity with each water change. Salt water mix says 1/2 cup/gal = 1.025, but Shawn recommends 2 cups/5 gal = 1.023 (this should give me leeway during evaporation and also make an environment less conducive to protozoan growth).

I could still add a skimmer later, if needed, but I would like to the system simple, if I can. Sounds like a good place for me to start. Jack (& others), thanks for your help and continuing interest.
Howard