New bulbs?
Do you have a lot of plankton in the water when the lights turn off?
What is your daylight pH?
why might my sps be closed during the day and open at night??? any thoughts???
- Thread starter Pallobi
- Start date
Do you have a lot of plankton in the water when the lights turn off?
What is your daylight pH?
i am not having PH problems, but it has gotten down to 8.0 to 8.2... i jus thought this wasnt good, so i buff once in a while... your thoughts sound very valid about the swings though... and as far as aeration, i guarantee you that is not a problem...
and i dont really know anything about kalkwasser...
bulbs have only been used since the first week of june
not sure about the plankton
and my daytime PH i am assuming you mean by when the lights are on... last time i checked it was about 8.1 to 8.2
hopefully this added info helps, you guys are helping me a ton, thank you so much
Didnt mean to offend you at all. I must not have looked closely enough and thought the 75 was your reef.
The reason I asked you why you would be dosing vodka is because you already stated that your nitrate were next to nothing, if anything at all. Vodka dosing is used to reduce nitrates and Phosphate, which I doubt a 2 month old tank has any reading for either. Personally I wouldnt complicate things with vodka.
Many reefers do not run a media reactor, including myself. It is not needed to keep stable pH. pH buffer is kind of a band aid and really shouldnt be used. What kind of pH swings are you having and what is causing them, there are normal day/night swings. A refugium with cheato running on an opposite day schedule can help with this.
Your KH should not vary from 9-12 even in 2 months. This, and pH, are probably the two most important things to keep stable in a SPS tank. I wouldnt ever dose something that I havvent tested for, specially KH. You should test everyday for a week and average your daily consumption of Cal and KH, then dose to replace that daily. Then test weekly to make sure the consumption has stayed the same.
These all "could" be reasons that your corals dont have good polyp extension during the day. But, as I have stated before, not all SPS exhibit polyp ext during the day.
I like DSB's.
I think 1 mp10 is ok until your SPS grow out some. Personally I would stick it on the side though.
Good Luck
flame angel removed to 75 fowlr... jus sayin... still open to other ideas however as i still dont feel this is the culprit, but its worth a shot
I have a Flame angel, hope he doesnt start polyp nippin Ill never be able to catch him. I also have two emerald crabs, havent had any trouble. I know these are hit and miss animals, I am taking the gamble that a large tank would help reduce the risk. Hope it wass your problem though, would be an easy fix
Another thought, how new are these SPS. I have had SPS take up to several months to get fully adjusted to their new environment. And then on the other hand some do great straight out of the bag. If they other wise look healthy, not fading, are growing, not receding, I wouldnt worry too much about it.
i didnt mean to sound offended tmg, sorry to come off that way...
i am new to sps keeping and all so i have alot of questions...
i will stop buffing ph and start testing my KH daily to see exactly how its reacting and try to dose based on that need... i dont believe low calcium is a huge dea as i think they jus might not grow as fast with a lower calcium level, least thats what im thinking, like i said i'm still learning...
and i will in fact be adding a dsb, i love them too... i used to have a second 20 gallon that was gravity fed until i foolishly cracked it when i moved my tank... i have a 30g breeder for a sump and a good 16x18 inch area to add a sand bad... i was thinking i could jus find maybe a 6" deep storage container from walmart or something that i could jus fill with sand and literally jus place into my sump and the water will flow right over it... i plan on doing this very soon... when i had my dsb, it was the only time i had 0 nitrates as now they seem to be around 5 or so, from what i test anyhow... and at the time they were 0, i had 6 fish and now i have none as i ahve removed the flame angel and figured i would take out the magenta dottyback jus for the heck of it...
i do have a good amount of inverts though... 6 emerald crabs, 2 porcelian crabs, b1 blue tuxedo urchin, 2 fire shrimp and 8 turbo snails to keep my rock and glass clean... i also have some small in tank refugiums in my sump that house my purple reef lobster and my green mantis shrimp...
not sure if inverts contribute to much of the nitrates normally, but they do produce waste, especially the turbo snails as they munch and poo all day long lol...
maybe this added info will help... thank you tmg, again i didnt mean to come off brash, i apprecaite every single response i get here
i am new to sps keeping and all so i have alot of questions...
i will stop buffing ph and start testing my KH daily to see exactly how its reacting and try to dose based on that need... i dont believe low calcium is a huge dea as i think they jus might not grow as fast with a lower calcium level, least thats what im thinking, like i said i'm still learning...
and i will in fact be adding a dsb, i love them too... i used to have a second 20 gallon that was gravity fed until i foolishly cracked it when i moved my tank... i have a 30g breeder for a sump and a good 16x18 inch area to add a sand bad... i was thinking i could jus find maybe a 6" deep storage container from walmart or something that i could jus fill with sand and literally jus place into my sump and the water will flow right over it... i plan on doing this very soon... when i had my dsb, it was the only time i had 0 nitrates as now they seem to be around 5 or so, from what i test anyhow... and at the time they were 0, i had 6 fish and now i have none as i ahve removed the flame angel and figured i would take out the magenta dottyback jus for the heck of it...
i do have a good amount of inverts though... 6 emerald crabs, 2 porcelian crabs, b1 blue tuxedo urchin, 2 fire shrimp and 8 turbo snails to keep my rock and glass clean... i also have some small in tank refugiums in my sump that house my purple reef lobster and my green mantis shrimp...
not sure if inverts contribute to much of the nitrates normally, but they do produce waste, especially the turbo snails as they munch and poo all day long lol...
maybe this added info will help... thank you tmg, again i didnt mean to come off brash, i apprecaite every single response i get here
none of my sps have been in there for more than a few months really. most since june... and admittingly, my tank has changed a few times and moved twice to its current spot...
also hoping my new tunze skimmer will be less harmful to plankton than my large reef octopus i was using for my reef...
I would not. I would try to keep your KH around 8-9. That cal level is not really a big concern but I would shoot to maintain it between 380-450.
bmiller1234
Member
Your parameters are wayyyyy out of whack!!!! Stop dosing and adding and shocking your tank. Your unstable and going in a downward spiral.
First, what type of salt do you use and how often are your water changes?
Second, Wheres your mag level at? You alks high and cal low and ph swings lead me to think your mags way low and not holding anything stable.
Third stop dosing if your not testing until you know your requirements, a good salt and a good water change routine will be more than sufficient with a tank this young.
We really need a test of all current parameters to give you an idea whats wrong cause things are getting out of control, wheres your salinity temp ph alk cal mag Nitrates phosphates levels?
First, what type of salt do you use and how often are your water changes?
Second, Wheres your mag level at? You alks high and cal low and ph swings lead me to think your mags way low and not holding anything stable.
Third stop dosing if your not testing until you know your requirements, a good salt and a good water change routine will be more than sufficient with a tank this young.
We really need a test of all current parameters to give you an idea whats wrong cause things are getting out of control, wheres your salinity temp ph alk cal mag Nitrates phosphates levels?
cveverly
New member
I have the same issue and mine is caused from being picked at by my angels. Growth is good and for me it is worth the lack of daytime PE to keep my fish.
At one time I had two tanks tied together and had all my SPS in a fishless tank. Great PE during the day. I consolidated the tanks and now no daytime PE.
This may not be your problem I am just letting you know what my causes my SPS to react this way.
At one time I had two tanks tied together and had all my SPS in a fishless tank. Great PE during the day. I consolidated the tanks and now no daytime PE.
This may not be your problem I am just letting you know what my causes my SPS to react this way.
Yes, but I would use cal and alk seperate to get you more in line. Then you could use a two part. My tank currently uses alk faster than cal, so about every other week I stop using two part and use stickly alk to let my cal come down. 8 dkh seems to be a comfort zone for my tank, most will find each tanks is slightly different. Also, as mentioned rather emphatically try to keep your mag around 1350 give or take 50.
There are some great calculators on line to tell you how much of each product to use. Here is one I like.
http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html
looks like ill have to find and learn how to use my mag test... i didnt realize that it was able to help keep other parameters stable...
how ofter do you all dose mag?
and give me a bit and i will check all of the parameters at once and my calcium and kh once again, though i jus did it lastnite...
and i dont see any reason i am in a "downward spiral"... that is a bit of a ridiculous statement... my corals are growing and healthy, colorful and do come out, jus not during the day...
though again, as i have stated numersous times here, i am a sps newb, and need some help here and there... jus trying to take my hobby to the next level
thank you agaiin guys for your patience and help... i will post my full results shortly, well, maybe minus the mag unless i can find the instructions...
how ofter do you all dose mag?
and give me a bit and i will check all of the parameters at once and my calcium and kh once again, though i jus did it lastnite...
and i dont see any reason i am in a "downward spiral"... that is a bit of a ridiculous statement... my corals are growing and healthy, colorful and do come out, jus not during the day...
though again, as i have stated numersous times here, i am a sps newb, and need some help here and there... jus trying to take my hobby to the next level
thank you agaiin guys for your patience and help... i will post my full results shortly, well, maybe minus the mag unless i can find the instructions...
bmiller1234
Member
Please don't take it as offensive. I apologize. Being an sps newbie the one thing you will find that is most important for sps is stability. If your tanks unstable and things keep getting added and dosed it will just fluctuate more and create a mess. That's where the downward spiral comment came from. All it takes is one major spike high or low to wipe out sps.
I personally have done what your doing with horrible results. I would highly recommend stopping all dosing and get a good set of water changes to tank with a good salt and get your levels stable. Then test to see your daily consumption of alk and Cal. Mag doesn't need dosed daily but you may find water changes will keep your levels stable enough for a young tank. Once you find your daily alk and Cal consumption and if you need to start dosing again then you will have an idea of how much you should be adding to prevent your swings.
I personally have done what your doing with horrible results. I would highly recommend stopping all dosing and get a good set of water changes to tank with a good salt and get your levels stable. Then test to see your daily consumption of alk and Cal. Mag doesn't need dosed daily but you may find water changes will keep your levels stable enough for a young tank. Once you find your daily alk and Cal consumption and if you need to start dosing again then you will have an idea of how much you should be adding to prevent your swings.
bmiller, you are definatly right, i need to stop dosing things like ph buffer i am sure... however i do need to add the calcium or alk buffer as needed i am assuming... at this moment i am in the middle of testing all parameters... my salinity was at about 1.024, so i added a bit of mixed salt in about a quart of water to bring it a a point or two... i will have my test results in jus a bit more...
again, i appreciate all help i am getting... did the alk and calcium already however and like last nite, the kh was up around 12 and the calcium seems to be 10 to 20 lower than yesterday... so i did add one directed dose of jus calcium... i will check them both again tomorrow after work, and again, all my results i will post in jus a few more minutes
again, i appreciate all help i am getting... did the alk and calcium already however and like last nite, the kh was up around 12 and the calcium seems to be 10 to 20 lower than yesterday... so i did add one directed dose of jus calcium... i will check them both again tomorrow after work, and again, all my results i will post in jus a few more minutes
