Reverend Reefer
New member
ok so i've had my tank up and running for like 4 yrs or so now and i just don't know what to do next... let me give some background so as to avoid basic questions about my setup and regiment. to quote my sig:
Tank: 65G glass 48" long tank
Sump + Display Fuge: 30G
Filtration: LR + Aquamedic Turboflotor Blue 1000 + DSB + Fuge: Macroalgae+LR
DT Lighting: 4x54W T5HO, ATI blue+ x2, Fiji Purple, DIY fixture + ballast
(recently added 3x12W Ecoxotic Panorama LED Modules 8000K/453nm Actinic Blue to get the shimmer effect)
DT Nightlight: IceCap 48" Blue Moonlight T5-tube LED
Fuge Lighting: Hagen Glo T5HO 2x24W
Livestock Fish: bengaii cardinal, ocellaris clownfish, saddleback clown, yellow watchman goby, sailfin tang
Livestock Coral: LPS dominated, deepwater zoas and softies
Additives: Kalkwasser Auto-Top Off, B-ionic 2 part automated dosing pump
can't think of much else. i do 4G water changes every week, sometimes 8G if i'm ambitious. my tank params as of 2 days ago are:
(no mag test yet)
Ca: 500
DKH: 9
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Ammonia: 0
ph: 8
temp: 79F
refractometer reading: 1.026
phosphates: 0
(i know i must have some phosphates, i definitely have some cyano in my sump)
now to my problems. i'm just unhappy with my growth and my coloration of my corals. i keep mostly softies and LPS (zoas, acans, euphyllia, leathers, xenia, duncan, scoly, elegans, etc). i'm at a loss of where to go. i see TOTMs with envy, i buy beautiful corals that eventually dull in coloration, and i read about insane growth rates while nuthin in my tank grows very much at all. i've been at this for 4 years and i just don't get results like what i see and read online. i feed daily varying combinations of: mysis, cyclopeeze, oyster eggs, where am i going wrong?
here's a list of what i've tried or would like to try. i'd like to know what you helpful people on RC can suggest on what i should do next to achieve a tank that will wow people. i know i should be patient but 4 yrs patient? i just need to pick one, try it again, or something new, and then stick it out in the hopes of success:
1. VSV dosing
- been trying it for a couple months, just getting cyano, currently dosing MB7 and vinegar, vitC, sugar, still nuthing's happening
2. NP Biopellets
- considering this, costly experiment with reactor and all
3. MH
- i know, extreme measures, but from the tanks i've seen, the MH lighting really looks bright and i dunno, the corals seem to pop and the colors are amazing in a way i can't describe
- still, from what everyone says, i should be seeing nice stuff with my 4x54W T5s, plus i added some LEDs, could it be i have too much lighting? my tank is deep though (tall)
4. Flow
- more flow or less flow? i used to run a whole lotta koralias but now i have: 1xMP10 (in lagoon mode, i've tried short pulse mode also), 2x Koralia 3or4, 1 small rio (for dead spot behind rock)
- i guess i could get another vortech? i have mostly LPS though, is that a myth about lower flow for LPS?
5. Phyto
- i keep seeing live phyto bottles at LFS, wondering if this would help with growth or coloration of LPS and zoas
6. Zeo or ULNS
- seems like a lotta money and creepy alchemy, but still..
- i just started using KZ LPS amino acids, no noticeable change after 1 week dosing
7. Phosban Reactor
- will this actually help with much? my phosphate tests are 0 and i do grow macro and harvest it once or twice a month...
- i realize i must have some since i have cyano in my sump and sometimes here and there in DT but it could be the carbon dosing...
8. Canister Filter
- i know i know, but i started the tank with an eheim canister and sort of stopped maybe 1.5 yrs into it and made a sump, but honestly i just felt my water was way more clearer when i ran it, i dunno, i know clear isn't always necessarily a good thing, i do have a lot of pods in my fuge that sometimes end up in DT, but still, it was on my mind as an easy experiment to see if it would help with my problem
thanks in advance. just wanna put my patience and money towards the next stage of my reefkeeping in the right direction.
Tank: 65G glass 48" long tank
Sump + Display Fuge: 30G
Filtration: LR + Aquamedic Turboflotor Blue 1000 + DSB + Fuge: Macroalgae+LR
DT Lighting: 4x54W T5HO, ATI blue+ x2, Fiji Purple, DIY fixture + ballast
(recently added 3x12W Ecoxotic Panorama LED Modules 8000K/453nm Actinic Blue to get the shimmer effect)
DT Nightlight: IceCap 48" Blue Moonlight T5-tube LED
Fuge Lighting: Hagen Glo T5HO 2x24W
Livestock Fish: bengaii cardinal, ocellaris clownfish, saddleback clown, yellow watchman goby, sailfin tang
Livestock Coral: LPS dominated, deepwater zoas and softies
Additives: Kalkwasser Auto-Top Off, B-ionic 2 part automated dosing pump
can't think of much else. i do 4G water changes every week, sometimes 8G if i'm ambitious. my tank params as of 2 days ago are:
(no mag test yet)
Ca: 500
DKH: 9
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Ammonia: 0
ph: 8
temp: 79F
refractometer reading: 1.026
phosphates: 0
(i know i must have some phosphates, i definitely have some cyano in my sump)
now to my problems. i'm just unhappy with my growth and my coloration of my corals. i keep mostly softies and LPS (zoas, acans, euphyllia, leathers, xenia, duncan, scoly, elegans, etc). i'm at a loss of where to go. i see TOTMs with envy, i buy beautiful corals that eventually dull in coloration, and i read about insane growth rates while nuthin in my tank grows very much at all. i've been at this for 4 years and i just don't get results like what i see and read online. i feed daily varying combinations of: mysis, cyclopeeze, oyster eggs, where am i going wrong?
here's a list of what i've tried or would like to try. i'd like to know what you helpful people on RC can suggest on what i should do next to achieve a tank that will wow people. i know i should be patient but 4 yrs patient? i just need to pick one, try it again, or something new, and then stick it out in the hopes of success:
1. VSV dosing
- been trying it for a couple months, just getting cyano, currently dosing MB7 and vinegar, vitC, sugar, still nuthing's happening
2. NP Biopellets
- considering this, costly experiment with reactor and all
3. MH
- i know, extreme measures, but from the tanks i've seen, the MH lighting really looks bright and i dunno, the corals seem to pop and the colors are amazing in a way i can't describe
- still, from what everyone says, i should be seeing nice stuff with my 4x54W T5s, plus i added some LEDs, could it be i have too much lighting? my tank is deep though (tall)
4. Flow
- more flow or less flow? i used to run a whole lotta koralias but now i have: 1xMP10 (in lagoon mode, i've tried short pulse mode also), 2x Koralia 3or4, 1 small rio (for dead spot behind rock)
- i guess i could get another vortech? i have mostly LPS though, is that a myth about lower flow for LPS?
5. Phyto
- i keep seeing live phyto bottles at LFS, wondering if this would help with growth or coloration of LPS and zoas
6. Zeo or ULNS
- seems like a lotta money and creepy alchemy, but still..
- i just started using KZ LPS amino acids, no noticeable change after 1 week dosing
7. Phosban Reactor
- will this actually help with much? my phosphate tests are 0 and i do grow macro and harvest it once or twice a month...
- i realize i must have some since i have cyano in my sump and sometimes here and there in DT but it could be the carbon dosing...
8. Canister Filter
- i know i know, but i started the tank with an eheim canister and sort of stopped maybe 1.5 yrs into it and made a sump, but honestly i just felt my water was way more clearer when i ran it, i dunno, i know clear isn't always necessarily a good thing, i do have a lot of pods in my fuge that sometimes end up in DT, but still, it was on my mind as an easy experiment to see if it would help with my problem
thanks in advance. just wanna put my patience and money towards the next stage of my reefkeeping in the right direction.
