Relative Noob would like some help - not having much luck

[Kahuna]

I really need some help and would appreciate some solid direction. This tank setup is intended for LPS, SPS, and inverts/fish.

Here's my system:

90g tank
35g refugium sump - copepods alive and well, uses filter socks, live sand, copious cheato and caleurpa
mag 9.5 return - 3 outlets
Reef Octo 160 Extreme skimmer
Reef Keeper Elite running the system
Two hydor Koralia 1050's running wavemaker A/B in 3 minute cyles 24/7
Lighting is a Coralife Pro fixture, dual 96w actinics, two 150w MH's using Phoenix 14000K bulbs
Phosban 150 reactor running GFO
GAC in a filter bag in the sump overflow
60 lbs live rock
40 lbs live sand

Lighting Photoperiod -
96w PC's - 9AM-9:30PM
MH's - 11AM - 7PM
Moonlight LEDs all other times
Refugium lighting runs 6PM -3 AM - is a 35w full spectrum PC

Water parameters:

Max temp swing - 78.3-81.5 deg daily
pH - 8.10 - 8.25
Salinity - 36 ppm
Sp Gr - 1.026
Amm - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5-10 ppm - working on getting this to zero
Phosphate - 0 - trace, but less than the .003 ppm that salifert test shows
Calcium - 450-490
Alk - 9.9-10.6 dKH
Mag - 1350 -1400

Every Monti or Acro placed in the tank browns out or greys out, and dies. 2-weeks to do an acro, but the monti's will start to grey in 2 days.

LPS's and softies as well as fish are thriving. Removed all leathers except one and all other soft corals due to toxin and chem warfare questions.

These corals that are dying are about 10-16" from the MH's, and have constant flow. I've tried various levels in the tank, and they are coming out of a local vendor with great color and have been sitting under 250-400w MH's about 14-16" from them. If I take a coral back to the LFT, it recovers in anywhere froma few days to a couple of weeks.

We feed live phyto, oyster eggs, cyclopeeze, as well as the usual for the fish and inverts, and target feed where necessary.

I had acrylic canopies on the tank to slow evaporation, but found that they were lessening my light somewhat, so they are gone to be replaced by a canopy that won't interfere with the lighting. All UV shields are in place on the lights. Will go to LED's eventually.

35 gal water changes every one-2 weeks
Dosing cal and alk using Randy's recipe #1.

Please help. Tank is 6 mos old and established. Coralline is growing, no algae blooms, small amount of cyano in the fuge, but this gets wiped out during the water change with a paper towel.

I'm at my wits end.

Kev

 

[GhostCon1]

If there is some cyano, I would try to find the cause of that. Usually cyano is being fed somehow.

How old is your RO/DI filters? They may be on the way out and feeding nutrients into the system.

35g WC is a lot. I am not sure how much rock you have in your tank, but even if it was bare that would be ~30% WC (I didn't include the sump). Try cutting back on the amount of water that you change out, see if that helps at all.

Try to keep alk at 8.0-9.0.

As for the browning... the only two culprits that come to mind are: nutrients and lighting.

Hope this helps, and hope someone else may have better answers.

 

[mthomp]

are you using a ato of some kind? are you dosing anything?

 

[Kahuna]

The cyano seems to be only in the sump, and only in areas of poor circulation (corners). Very small areas. Should I dose for this?

I'm using Tropic Marin Reef Pro salt. Always comes in at around 8.8 dKH, 430 calcium. Usually I punch this hardness up slowly using Randy's recipe #1 for alk. Is hardness a possible issue?

On the nutrients side, my nitrate was really high, like 10-100 ppm depending on how you read the Salifert kit, but is now around 5ppm using both Salifert and API to confirm.

RO system has TDS coming in at 247 ppm, coming out at 002 ppm. I do not use DI resin.

On the lighting issue, was planning on going to a 72-LED split white/blue dimmable system. Could this resolve my lighting issue?

 

[Kahuna]

are you using a ato of some kind? are you dosing anything?

Other than vitamins for the fish, nothing. No ATO in use, but I'm set up for it. I top off evaporated levels with up to two gallons of fresh RO daily.

 

[mthomp]

Other than vitamins for the fish, nothing. No ATO in use, but I'm set up for it. I top off evaporated levels with up to two gallons of fresh RO daily.

this could actually be a big part of the problem. SPS from what iam learning demand stability. I currently top off like you do and fail at sps for this reason.

my new tank ill be using a ato with my top off water already dosed with 2 part.

in fact from my readings a dose pump that slowly drips your top off water is best and how i may end up going.

 

[mike_cmu04]

How old are your light bulbs?

 

[wfournier]

Personally I'd think that the two koralia 1050's may not be enough in a tank that size.

 

[Kahuna]

How old are your light bulbs?

6 months

 

[Kahuna]

Personally I'd think that the two koralia 1050's may not be enough in a tank that size.

I had the next size up in there and is was like a force 3 gale...

 

[Kahuna]

this could actually be a big part of the problem. SPS from what iam learning demand stability. I currently top off like you do and fail at sps for this reason.

my new tank ill be using a ato with my top off water already dosed with 2 part.

in fact from my readings a dose pump that slowly drips your top off water is best and how i may end up going.

hmmm... i have been just pouring the water into the return area from the gallon jug. It appears this is a bad thing?

 

[smtank]

I have a feeling it is a combination of things.

The age of the tank. Sps seem to do better IMO in tanks older than 1 year. I would not even attempt to keep any acropora in a tank younger than that.

I think you need to bring the pH up to around 8.4 consistanly with the normal photoperiod swings. And possibly bring up the mag a little as well which should help with stabilization of the pH.

There are just too many things in newer systems that we can not test for that influence coral growth and appearence.

In my tank I dose Parts A/B, water changes bi-monthy on a 28gal and magnesium when needed. This just works for me and my tank is 3 years old. I did not see good growth or coloration on my acropora until it was 2 years old.

Good luck I know the frustration.

 

[mthomp]

hmmm... i have been just pouring the water into the return area from the gallon jug. It appears this is a bad thing?

heres the thing about that, as iam just learnign this myself because i do the samething on my sumpless tank.

first your ro water is pretty soft so it needs to be buffed for alk ph and such, thats where your 2 part comes in. second and i feel this is crucial for sps, your salinity fluctuates a lot when you have to add 5 gals to top off. so its going from say a 1.026 when full to a 1.03 when you need to add then back to a 1.026 suddenly. no acclimation.

 

[Kahuna]

Well, this is all great info!

 

[Kahuna]

OK, I added a nitrate reactor 2 weeks ago and nitrates now down to around 5ppm. Got rid of almost all leathers.

Was told this weekend that caleurpa algae in the fuge releases toxins as it decays, is torn, or is competing with cheato in the fuge for space. The sump was packed with caleurpa, so removed 99%. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Kev

 

[Grant W]

I think the biggest problem is those hugh water changes and the alk is a bit high plus that is a very young tank. 10 -15% wc per week is enough and a large one like you are doing maybe twice a year and just let things settle in for a while, also a little bit of nitrates 5-10 is fine, leathers release turpinates as a defense and acros don't like that so if you want to keep leathers too you will need to run some carbon to remove them, cheato needs to be harvested and tumbled in the sump if possible. sump flow also wants to be a bit on the slow side as compared to tank 5 times or so turnover for time around skimmer and easier on sump inhabitants and 40-50 times for tank. Hope some of this helps Grant

 

[Grant W]

One more thing and some may argue about this one, your parameters are a bit on the high side like they are being forced up Alk can come down to 8-9, ph seems fine sg could drop to 1.025, Ca could come down to 440 or 450 and mag to 1300 -1350 then just maintain and things should start working a little easier and use less additives to maintain. GL

 

[gasman059]

uuuuuum

too many things too quickly IMHO
keep it simple especially in a somewhat new tank. Stop dosing anything you can't test as well as all the "funky" coral food.

Be patient and concentrate on 3 things calcium/alk/mag. Disregard all the other fabs for now.