System Revamping Need ADVICE

[Diver86]

Ok so my wife may have lost her mind and gave me permission to finish off my tank with what ever my little heart desires and she promised not to say a word about the money i spend on it ( YEA RIGHT). What I'm looking for is to be able to keep sps alive and keep its color. Sounds simple enough? not really cause right now i'm having a hell of a time with it. A big problem i've had with my system is consistency (i like to tinker with things). I'll break down my equipment based on before and what i'm thinking of adding.

tank

120 with custom stand and 40 breeder sump

Flow

2 mag nines
2 mp40s

Skimmer

NWB110

Lights

Ai Vegas

and i run a carbon in a bag.

I was doing weekly water changes but frankly got a little lazy and have cut it down to about once a month if that. My nitrates are the highest they have ever been at 2ppm RED SEA PRO test kit.

Thinking of getting

For an ato i want to do a spectrapure litermeter III and run kalk thro it
thinking of upgrading skimmers but not sure on it
possibly more flow if needed?
moving sump system to garage?

I'm not sure whats happening with my corals. They start of great then slowly fade away. But some sps does amazingly well. Some just kinda hangs on and some looks like crap and i wish it wasn't in my tank.

parameters

am 0
nitrite 0
alk 11.3 (was holding it at 8 but things started looking way worse) Salf
cal 435 (trying to get it to 450) salf
mag 1320ish Red sea pro
sg 1.025 Milwaukee refractometer
nitrate 2ppm red sea pro

 

[DopeCantWin]

That skimmers looks like it's rated for a 55 gallon. The Skimmer's function isn't only to remove waste, but also oxygenate the water. I'd be interested in your pH with such a small skimmer.

How many Vegas were you thinking? What lights are you using now and what's the photoperiod?

What are your Phosphates? Considering your Nitrates are so low, and if your Phosphates are low, then your Alk may be way too high and you're burning your corals.

Could you take some close ups of the corals that aren't doing so hot? Maybe there are some pests we can see. Close ups would be great.

 

[Diver86]

I'm using 2 vegas as of now... my ph stays between 8.0 and 8.3 depending on the time of day

 

[DopeCantWin]

I'm using 2 vegas as of now... my ph stays between 8.0 and 8.3 depending on the time of day

I'd expect you'd want 4, don't you have a lot of shading?

 

[Diver86]

let me see if i can get some close ups...

 

[DopeCantWin]

The pH you stated makes sense, you probably have a little too much CO2 in the water, but not by a big deal. What's the fish load like?

 

[Diver86]

i've never had much of a shading issue...

 

[DopeCantWin]

i've never had much of a shading issue...

That must mean those guys are well above your tank, too low PAR?

 

[Diver86]

fish load is
2 small clown
1 powder blue
1 yellow coris wrasse
1 diamond goby
thats all i'm adding unless i find a purple tang at a good price then i'll jump

 

[Diver86]

idk on the par i have never measured it

 

[DopeCantWin]

fish load is
2 small clown
1 powder blue
1 yellow coris wrasse
1 diamond goby
thats all i'm adding unless i find a purple tang at a good price then i'll jump

Sounds like you have a good combo. I'd probably concentrate on pests, lights and phosphates. After lowering the dkh.

 

[Diver86]

what are most people running their dkh at? i had mine lower and it was really looking bad at that point

 

[Diver86]

i'm going to do a revive dip on one of my struggling acros and see what comes off of it

 

[Diver86]

where can i buy a par meter and not break the bank?

 

[reefgeezer]

what are most people running their dkh at? i had mine lower and it was really looking bad at that point

If you are not carbon dosing, and alkalinity between 7 and 11 dKh is probably ok. It does however need to be stable to about .2 if you want to keep SPS corals sucessfully.

Personally, I'd buy a Litremeter configured for at least 3 dosing pumps, a much bigger skimmer, and a GFO reactor. I'd look at using the Litremeter for dosing two-part (alk & calcium), and top-off water instead of messing with kalk. I'm not up on the AI Vega's so I can't help there.

 

[scar79]

First things first - do NOT tinker! Stability is your friend and when you tinker, you are the enemy of stability.

That said, a controller with dosing pumps, or a standalone dosing pump will be a tremendous help to you. You've got a good size system and excellent random flow.

Lighting - The Vegas will do you nicely, but you're going to need better coverage. I recently upgraded from a 36x18 to a 48x24. I kept my two AI SOLs, but instead of getting more, I'm supplementing them with four T5s for that midday burst. I've always been in love with the ramp up/down of the AIs, but can't get over the color that T5 setups produce. I feel I'm getting the best of both worlds in this scenario.

Phosphates - Invest in a Hanna checker. Salifert color tests are incredibly vague and when you're aiming for such a trace amount, the Hanna PO4 checker is priceless. To keep the phosphates in check, absolutely get a reactor. There are a lot of options out there at a lot of price points, but remember they all do the same basic thing. Start your GFO low as not to crash your alkalinity or phosphates (if they exist in higher levels) too quickly.

Nutrient export aka skimmer - One of the SPS keeper's most valuable pieces of equipment. "Feed heavy and skim hard". You're going to want to feed your corals, but you're going to want to keep your water clean, so invest in the biggest, baddest skimmer you can justify. There are a ton of excellent options out there, so search around this place and others to find the best one for you.

One last note - stability, stability, stability! Good luck

 

[blakers82]

I would tend to agree with scar79's assessment. What is your feeding regimen for your five fish anyway? At this point I'd advise a crank up in the skimmer department and feed away.

my ph stays between 8.0 and 8.3 depending on the time of day

And if these numbers were your dKH, you should be looking like ------>

The word of the day should be repeated...stability!

 

[reefgeezer]

... but it's so hard not to tinker!

Maybe you can install the equipment then "tinker" with husbandry tasks i.e. regularly turkey baster blasting the rocks, doing weekly water changes, changing filter socks daily (if you elect to use them), keep the skimmer clean, testing phosphates to make sure the GFO isn't depleted, testing alk and calcium weekly to adjust the dosing pumps, making sure magnesium levels are sufficient, and etc.

That said... a big +1 for "stability" and a Hanna Checker for phosphates!

 

[Diver86]

Well the big question now becomes what skimmer? Bubble Magnus? I ran deltec for years but never saw the justification...

 

[DopeCantWin]

Well the big question now becomes what skimmer? Bubble Magnus? I ran deltec for years but never saw the justification...

I don't understand why people mispell it as Magnus, I'm guessing you're not thinking of Magnus Carlsen. It's Bubble Magus. But if you do go with that brand, I wouldn't go any lower than a Nac9. That company vastly overrates their skimmers.