Would like some feedback and some advice

[Elliottcoldwell]

Hi I'm relatively new to reefkeeping my tank has been up and running for 9 months now and I've had my ups and downs recently I've been having issues with stressed corals torch,hammer, some zoas and some mushrooms are not extending and opening up like they did previously.

My parameters are
Alk 9.8

Calcium 450
Magnesium 1400
Salinity 1.025

My tank is a 195 litre aquacube with roughly a 30litre sump

Equipment
Maxpsect r420r160w 16000 led
Coralbox d700 skimmer
Biopellet reactor
Running carbon in a bag in sump
Jebao sw-4 wavemakers x2

 

[xCry0x]

What are your phosphate levels -- what test kits are you using for alk/ca/mg.

 

[Elliottcoldwell]

Looks to be about 0.5 hard to read the salifert kit
And using Red Sea foundation Pro for alk/ca/mg.

 

[Elliottcoldwell]

Help please!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

How are you controlling alkalinity and calcium? How stable are those parameters?

What ups and downs have you had? Has anything changed recently? What temp is your tank running at?

When in doubt, do some big water changes. Sometimes, something you're not testing for is off the charts and water changes can help reset it (as long as you know you have good pure source water and are mixing to the correct salinity and other parameters).

Why are you running the biopellets?

 

[garethwood]

hmm? No obvious problems with your prams, so need to look elsewhere.. you havent said what temperature your tank is running at?
A suggestion would be to test prams 3x over 24hrs for 3-4 days to get a trend on stability as they seem good as a 1 off result but fluctuations could be your issues?
another thing could be ph a rise and fall over 24hrs could be causing issues?
Have you got a reverse lit fugee, i pressume not as you would of said.
another question you will be asked is.... have you changed anything recently? salts, light, anything you can think of.. any new additions?
do you make your own water? have you tested for 0 rodi results, how are you testing it? have you calibrated your refractometer?
So many possibilities and only by elliminating all of these things one by one will you get to the bottom of your issue. Sorry but this is the route of questioning youll go thro so may aswell get them done now : ) good luck and i hope its something easily fixed!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

have you calibrated your refractometer?

That's a good point. Refractometers should be calibrated every time they are used. I've had new refractometers fresh out of the box that were off by nearly 50%, and "trustworthy" refractometers that wouldn't drift for months and then all of a sudden they would be off by 20% or more with no apparent cause. Most manufacturers call for calibration every use, it should be part of your routine.

It's also important to know how to use one properly. If you're using an auto temp compensation refractometer (most of the units sold for this hobby are) then you need to wait a while after putting the sample on the prism before reading it - the instructions for the common generic blue model most hobby vendors sell call for 45 seconds.

 

[Elliottcoldwell]

How are you controlling alkalinity and calcium? How stable are those parameters?

What ups and downs have you had? Has anything changed recently? What temp is your tank running at?

When in doubt, do some big water changes. Sometimes, something you're not testing for is off the charts and water changes can help reset it (as long as you know you have good pure source water and are mixing to the correct salinity and other parameters).

Why are you running the biopellets?

I am controlling parameters mainly with water changes and dosing as required when I test it, I am guessing that the stability could be an issue how much fluctuation would cause a problem? Because I know my alk can be between 9/10 and calcium from 400-450 and magnesium from 1300-1400

The tank is at 26 degrees Celsius

The biopellets where added a while back when I was having cyano/red slime covering the tank sand and rocks it's now all gone so thought I best just keep running them as it seemed to fix the problem

 

[Elliottcoldwell]

hmm? No obvious problems with your prams, so need to look elsewhere.. you havent said what temperature your tank is running at?
A suggestion would be to test prams 3x over 24hrs for 3-4 days to get a trend on stability as they seem good as a 1 off result but fluctuations could be your issues?
another thing could be ph a rise and fall over 24hrs could be causing issues?
Have you got a reverse lit fugee, i pressume not as you would of said.
another question you will be asked is.... have you changed anything recently? salts, light, anything you can think of.. any new additions?
do you make your own water? have you tested for 0 rodi results, how are you testing it? have you calibrated your refractometer?
So many possibilities and only by elliminating all of these things one by one will you get to the bottom of your issue. Sorry but this is the route of questioning youll go thro so may aswell get them done now : ) good luck and i hope its something easily fixed!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

I don't have a refugium yet it's something I want but struggling for space in the system
all the equipment has been running on the system for at least 2 months now only things that have changed is a couple new corals over past few month.
I make my own water I need to get a tds meter to test it I have been flushing the system before and after so it should be okay but until I test I won't know!
I desperately need a new refracometer as it is not digital it's just a cheap one so I'm guessing it's not perfect

 

[Elliottcoldwell]

That's a good point. Refractometers should be calibrated every time they are used. I've had new refractometers fresh out of the box that were off by nearly 50%, and "trustworthy" refractometers that wouldn't drift for months and then all of a sudden they would be off by 20% or more with no apparent cause. Most manufacturers call for calibration every use, it should be part of your routine.

It's also important to know how to use one properly. If you're using an auto temp compensation refractometer (most of the units sold for this hobby are) then you need to wait a while after putting the sample on the prism before reading it - the instructions for the common generic blue model most hobby vendors sell call for 45 seconds.

That's good to know that they can be so far out I really hope mine isn't that bad!

 

[garethwood]

ill get shot down for this but... i use a refroctormeter that i callibrate once a month i no i no i should do it every time.. now this is the bit ill get spanked for... i use a float gauge to keep an eye on a daily basis and honestly its never been wrong! i use this as a 2nd check to see if my refroctormeter is on the money, seems like a backward way of doing things but like i say its never been out and gives me peace of mind.
no for my turn to tell you off! get a tds meter!! absolutely no point making your own water if you dont check it.. I no you say it's a new unit with new resin but what if its not running right from the off? nothing is deffinate and you could be setting yourself up.
another thing i forgot to ask was... the system is newly setup bit was it used for anything before ie freshwater? any kit 2nd hand? possible contamination or faulty kit, exposed wiring, stray voltage? all these things that could or not be having ill effect.
The list goes on and on im afraid. So many people have trouble and concentrate on the big prams but months later ( when its too late ) they discover something stupid that theve missed or just not thought of..
open tank furniture polish..
burning insense...
so many contaminates can enter your tank without you being aware!! its amazing anyone has a successful tank lol.

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[Elliottcoldwell]

I'm going to get a new refracometer so I can do the same because If they both say the same then can't be far wrong.
Also a tds meter does anyone have any suggestions for a reasonably priced one.
Now it looks like everything is against me a lot of my equipment is second hand and I believe the tank was used for freshwater before I had it so what do you suggest to make sure it's sutibabe?

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

A floating hydrometer is no better or worse than a refractometer. It's sad that they've gotten such a bad rep in this hobby. When used correctly, hydrometers are probably more stable in the long term from a perspective of calibration. They are sometimes inaccurate, but they are almost always consistent (assuming you're using them correctly). IMHO, the only reason why refractometers became popular in this hobby is that they're perceived as fancier and us reef keepers always assume fancy means better.

Problems and issues don't come from the type of instrument you're using. They come from the user. You need to understand the proper use and calibration, regardless of the instrument. It's not the hydrometer's fault that you never checked it for accuracy, or the refractometer's fault you didn't calibrate it.

 

[Elliottcoldwell]

A floating hydrometer is no better or worse than a refractometer. It's sad that they've gotten such a bad rep in this hobby. When used correctly, hydrometers are probably more stable in the long term from a perspective of calibration. They are sometimes inaccurate, but they are almost always consistent (assuming you're using them correctly). IMHO, the only reason why refractometers became popular in this hobby is that they're perceived as fancier and us reef keepers always assume fancy means better.

Problems and issues don't come from the type of instrument you're using. They come from the user. You need to understand the proper use and calibration, regardless of the instrument. It's not the hydrometer's fault that you never checked it for accuracy, or the refractometer's fault you didn't calibrate it.

That's a very good point, for me it seems to give accurate results but I feel it would be good to have 2 just to cross reference and make sure it does work properly

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Doing both instruments is great if you don't mind the work. Still makes sense to calibrate IMHO since that's essentially what you're doing, just indirectly and with extra variables involved.

 

[garethwood]

sorry Elliot didn't mean to fill you with doom : ) my first marine tank was a tropical conversion made from begged, borrowed, converted diy kit and it went ok.
Im not suggesting your 2nd hand kit is killing your tank but just suggesting possible issues? if your concerned about contaminants ide suggest carbon (which your using ) and polyfilter is great stuff for cleaning out nasties and doesnt leach back when spent, it will also change colour depending on what its pulled out. a tds meter will set you back between £5 and £50 personally ide go for a £30 one HDE make some good mid range testers maybe get a bundle with a ph tester also : )

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[Elliottcoldwell]

Most of the equipment seems in good condition I've cleaned it all out, I think my overflow might be part of the problem as it's a big weir but awkward to clean so I reckon there's a lot of waste in there