should I start Dosing any color elements or subplements to my tank?

[IceFire5]

Hi bros and Sis,I have been keeping sps corals for about 9 months, have been searching and have make some necessary changes along,how ever , I have some question which need more advice about my tank, till now , I still having some funny algae here and there, what can be done?
Some of the sps color are not there,should I dose any Elements?
Below are some info of my tank set up .

Dt 4ft(L) x 15in(W) and 18in(H)
Sump tank is 4ft(L) x 15in(w) and 15in(H)[ceramic ring and bac hse]
Total water volume 290lit
DIY 4x54w ATI T5(Coral plus, purple plus, blue plus,aqua blue special) with ATI ballast with glass mirror as Reflector.light tube is 6in above water level,switch on 10 hrs a day.
Eheim: 1262 as return pump.
Jebao: 1x rw4 and 1x rw8 wm.
Skimz: sn143 skimmer
Sorb4: with Fr and eden 700lit pump
4 channel Dosing pump
kh 7.5 - 8.0
Cal 450
Mag 1500
NO3 0.2
PO4 0.03-0.06
Temp 26-27 degree.
weekly water change 20-30lit.
FM salt.
Dose after water change are: totto psb Bac, 2 lit fish potassium, Continuum Phyto-blast.

Fish list: Salfi tang(1in), Clown(2.5in),leopard wrasse(3in),Marble Wrasse(3in),Frame Hawk(2in),Dr Wrasse(2in),Yellow gobby(1in)
Diamond gobby(3in),Algae Blenny x2(3in)

 

[IceFire5]

 

[AdamNC]

I would first get test kits for the elements in question. See if they are low or otherwise out of whack and then decide about dosing from there?

 

[IceFire5]

Hi Adam, may I know what others important elements I need to check for?

 

[sahin]

How much do you feed the fish? With what foods, and how often?

 

[IceFire5]

I fed them once a day , pellet only. With no left over within 10sec

 

[sahin]

I fed them once a day , pellet only. With no left over within 10sec

I had a feeling you would say something like this. Its actually worse than I thought.

If you only feed once and all the food is finished within 10 seconds, I believe you are not feeding your tank enough.

I am sort of going through the same problem. I have no algae on the glass for nearly two weeks. Only two fish now left and my corals have lost some colour.

I think you ought to feed the fish at least 2-3 times a day. Every 2-3 days you should also feed a good mix of seafoods.

 

[IceFire5]

I am confuse..
I still facing algae problems, like green hair algae and red turf algae , also those black short hairy algae.
I feed my corals with photo-blast once a week . Not enough?

 

[sahin]

You will need to increase the clean up crew to fight the algaes.

Often, many algaes can survive at very low PO4. There are algaes growing on the reefs; otherwise non of the grazers would be present. The difference is that on the reefs, despite PO4 and NO3 levels being so low, algae grows, but it is kept in check by the grazers.

I would suggest carrying out 20% water changes and increased feeding, alongwith beefing up the clean up crew.

 

[IceFire5]

Bro sahin,can share more y need to feed more?

 

[plyle02]

In the wild, corals have a constant food source, kind of hard to replicate in a closed aquarium environment, the ocean also is/has natural filtration, so the water conditions are ideal. To merely echo what Sahin is saying, is that in order to have those colorful sps, you have to FEED the tank, most sps corals nutrition comes from the by product of fish, if you feed your fish sparingly, you corals in turn are feeding the same way, this will be evident in pale or faded colors, usually... The trick is to have a powerful skimmer that can remove excess waste that corals do not take in, so by feeding many times per day, the fish poop many times per day, this poop in the water column serves as a food source for coral, the excess is quickly removed by your skimmer. Having algae present and adding another product is adding to the problem, I would address your algae issues before dosing anything, in my humble opinion. As Sahin said, a good CUC will aid in the hair algae and turf algae removal. The key point made by Sahin is that he is battling not having glass algae present for a couple of weeks. I have zero algae in my tank, test 0.00 for both NO3 and PO4, but swipe my glass every 3 days, my corals have rich coloration and insane PE, this I owe to stability, but plenty of nutrients. I have a belief that my sand sifting goby becomes a huge part in coral health, as the sand is stirred, and all day long, a constant micro food source is sent into the water column where the corals feast constantly... Just a theory at this point

 

[Greg 45]

plyle this is the best response that I have come across in a long time.
Input is a must also removing it is also important

 

[plyle02]

plyle this is the best response that I have come across in a long time.
Input is a must also removing it is also important

Thank you Greg,
Too many hobbyist's having too many issues, thinking the magic cure is in a bottle, while I do dose color enhancers(zeo products), I do so sparingly, really the heart of my system lies within my ATB skimmer, which literally pulls out nutrients as they make there way down to the sump. I have accidentally overflowed my skimmer which had a week worth of nasties, by using 2 part epoxy to glue corals down, which sent my skimmer going nutz, but only to remove all that overflowed into the system within minutes, no ill effects on any inhabitants. A real testament that what goes in must come out, the quicker the better Thank you for the kind words...

 

[IceFire5]

Thanks for kind input, so can I conclude:
Keep no3 and po4 in check
Introduce more cleaning crew to attack algae
Feed more to fishers I order to provide constant food source for corals.

 

[IceFire5]

Should I set my skimmer to skim dry or wet?

 

[DSMpunk]

I skim pretty wet.

Do you guys dose amino acids? I have been considering it.