DLANDINO
D.L. Heritage Rings
Hello all,
I have been keeping a successful sps dominated tank for over two years now. In that time I have learned much about the trials and tribulations of an sps dominated reef and for the most part have weathered many storms well. Unfortunately recently I began to notice stn on the bases of a few of my acro colonies and the condition seems to be spreading to other colonies and advancing on the colonies that are showing original signs of the damage.
I have made a few changes over the past few months and I list them here.
-began a small hob 2.5 gallon fuge and grow cheato
-began dosing amino acids and potassium (discontinued once STN was evident for fear that this was the cause)
-began using less gfo and gac actually am using the recommended amounts now from over use before.
Now, I have noticed that there was a heating issue that could be the casue but I am not sold on the notion yet. About two months ago I moved my heater into the refugium. I am thinking that the light above the fuge was heating the sensor in the heater itself and not allowing it to turn on to warm the tank. I didn't notice that my tank during the off hours was plummeting to 73.5 degrees. When I was around to view the tank and thought to check the temp it was daylight and the temp always seemed to be 78-80 degrees.
I have also battled low alk and am measuring between 5 and 7 dkh daily. Also could be the cause of the stn so I am trying to get the numbers up to better levels of 9-10. I have just tonight begun this battle.
Now, about my husbandry habits. The tank is a 46 gallon bow. After you factor out the 80 lbs of LS and 62 lbs of LR there is roughly 32 gallons of water. I perform a 15% water change religiously every saturday. I blow the rocks off prior to the w/c, completely clean my skimmer body and scrape the walls.
For the most part and except for my alk issue, my chemistry is spot on.
sg 1.026
calcium 460
dkh 5-7
ph 8.0
mg 1450
ammonia 0
no2 0
no3 0
po4 0
actinics run 2pm-12am
duel 175 watt halides run 4pm-11pm
moon lights run 12am-2pm
So, I ask for help from the pros. I am starting to lose hope as I see this advancing. Thank you in advance ladies and gents and I hope to hear from you all soon as to what this could be and what I can do to save my tank. I can provide recent pics and STN detailed macro shots if you think it will help.
I have been keeping a successful sps dominated tank for over two years now. In that time I have learned much about the trials and tribulations of an sps dominated reef and for the most part have weathered many storms well. Unfortunately recently I began to notice stn on the bases of a few of my acro colonies and the condition seems to be spreading to other colonies and advancing on the colonies that are showing original signs of the damage.
I have made a few changes over the past few months and I list them here.
-began a small hob 2.5 gallon fuge and grow cheato
-began dosing amino acids and potassium (discontinued once STN was evident for fear that this was the cause)
-began using less gfo and gac actually am using the recommended amounts now from over use before.
Now, I have noticed that there was a heating issue that could be the casue but I am not sold on the notion yet. About two months ago I moved my heater into the refugium. I am thinking that the light above the fuge was heating the sensor in the heater itself and not allowing it to turn on to warm the tank. I didn't notice that my tank during the off hours was plummeting to 73.5 degrees. When I was around to view the tank and thought to check the temp it was daylight and the temp always seemed to be 78-80 degrees.
I have also battled low alk and am measuring between 5 and 7 dkh daily. Also could be the cause of the stn so I am trying to get the numbers up to better levels of 9-10. I have just tonight begun this battle.
Now, about my husbandry habits. The tank is a 46 gallon bow. After you factor out the 80 lbs of LS and 62 lbs of LR there is roughly 32 gallons of water. I perform a 15% water change religiously every saturday. I blow the rocks off prior to the w/c, completely clean my skimmer body and scrape the walls.
For the most part and except for my alk issue, my chemistry is spot on.
sg 1.026
calcium 460
dkh 5-7
ph 8.0
mg 1450
ammonia 0
no2 0
no3 0
po4 0
actinics run 2pm-12am
duel 175 watt halides run 4pm-11pm
moon lights run 12am-2pm
So, I ask for help from the pros. I am starting to lose hope as I see this advancing. Thank you in advance ladies and gents and I hope to hear from you all soon as to what this could be and what I can do to save my tank. I can provide recent pics and STN detailed macro shots if you think it will help.
