In Wall 125 Gallon

[philip_r5]

Mixed. Can't seem to keep the hards right now. The softies are fine. However, for some reason recently my GSP has receded and doesn't come out much at all. Also, the anemones seems to not fill up as good as they did once before.

Cyna / red algea on bottom of sand.

[SaltWater]

Phil, this is just my opinion! but i think your alk is to high because you have 0 phosphates and 0 nitrates, that combo usually burns the tips of my hard corals.
I'm not sure why you have ammonia, is this tank new could it be it didn't finish cycling?
The main reason I think your having problems is the vegas I hope you don't have them at 100%? What percentage do you have ea channel at?


P.S. I'm just trying to troubleshoot from my experiences, I'm just trying to help, I don't know everything.
Maybe master reefer Jim can pitch in, Ed tells me he knows everything about reefing.

[philip_r5]

85% of the blues, an green. The whites are at like 65-70 and the red is at like 60.

The nitrates and such might be from my skimmer not seeming to dial in correctly not to sure.

[philip_r5]

Note to add. The GSP seems to extend out at night time....

[bobbravo2]

Getting upset. My coral doesn't seem to be happy, and my snails are falling on their backs with no signs of life....

Parameters are as follows:

Temp: 77.6
Salinity: 1.025
Ph:7.93 (Trying to raise)
Alk: 11.3 DKH
Ammonia: 0-.05
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0.25tops
Phosphate: 0
CA: 440
Mag:1200

What do you guys suggest I look at ?

Those levels look good. Only things I'd adjust are mag 1350+ and make sure free ammonia = 0. As for the ph, I can share my recent experience in a new home:

I thought my ph probe was bad, reading 7.65, calibrated it, then had LFS run a colorimetric pH test to confirm. Turns out I had excess CO2, so I ran a spare RO line to a commercial fish air blower, and ran that to the calcium reactor port on my AquaC skimmer. PH rose from 7.6 -> 8 in 48 hours. I ended up installing the pump permanently with a carbon prefilter and soda lime CO2 scrubber. Now when my ph dips below 8, it kicks on to help the skimmer blow off excess CO2. Now my ph swing is from about 7.95-8.15!

Also- do you have some pics of the corals that aren't doing well?

[Jim28fl]

Mag is a little low for sure.
Check any one of the pumps that runs warm and look at the shafts on the inside make sure you didn't have a precipitation event. it will likely be caked on the magnets. or maybe you have noticed that? when i ran the CO2 from my system recently i had much better Ph numbers, but it drastically cvhengd the amount of additional stuff i have to need on top of what my kalkwasser adds. i also pushed up the alk and ca high the 12 doh 440 ca range and i got to the point i was getting some build up, so i backed down to 10 420 ish watch for that.

I also think yours is that newer system right? i was not able to get my Red sea 250 to support SPS for about 5 months.. and i couldn't even get The fuge to grow. i started adding a bit of IRON supplement every day right to the fuge area and also feeding excessively with no water changes for the first 6 months, I still can't detect any Phosphate or nitrate at all. and thats not really the best thing.. a very small amount is needed to grow most all corals.

Maybe just be too clean still.
Mine was all new rock all new parts, no sand bed except in huge with new sand. now that I'm kinda over feeding everything is looking better skimmer is working harder and the pre filters are cloging up. which i Btw ran with out for three weeks just to lets some of that crap break down in to the water to dirty it up a bit.. only thing i have not reintroduced back to this tank was my montipora frags. all Acro look great Birds nest species doing great. euphillia are perking back up a bit as well now that the water is getting a bit "DIRTY"

like everything it may be a bit of light shock as well on new introductions. When in question go with less light at first. Its slow to kill things with not enough light fast with too much.

[philip_r5]

The thing is everything was happy, now its not. Would mag effect coral that much?

Tanks been running for over 7 months now, and Most of the rock came from my 75, along with sand. Reduced whites to 30 percent.

[SaltWater]

Phil don't change to many things at once, just change a couple and wait a couple weeks to see if things start looking better

[philip_r5]

Yea, I have only reduced the lights. I have been doing water changes like twice a month at 12.5%. I have been doing this as the cyna algea just doesn't want to go away. Ill post pictures shortly. I just don't like posting pictures of bad stuff.

I think I read about this somewhere but I don't remember. Is it bad to wet skim to much? Reason why I ask is the skimmer I bought doesn't seem to produce thick skim it only produces a tea like skim.

Another note, from when I started noticing these problems. In the last two months or so I have done the following:

Added Skimmer (Changeds)
Put Bio Pellets online
Reran some plumbing (vinyl tubing)

[philip_r5]

I regret to post these but I have to do it for recommendations as I am obviously doing something wrong....

Green Star Polyp


My lovely anemone....


Kenya Tree?

[CoralolisEffect]

Another note, from when I started noticing these problems. In the last two months or so I have done the following:

Added Skimmer (Changeds)
Put Bio Pellets online
Reran some plumbing (vinyl tubing)

If looking at red flags for changes I would look at the bio pellets. I see you were running a refuge. I would do one or the other. Have you noticed and die off on your Cheato. You may be over stripping the phosphates if the bio pellets have too many in there and water changes and cheato and cyano. I would run cheato or the bio but not both.

As you have cyano I wouldn't think lack of phosphates is not an issue but just an idea.

On my tank I have been wrestling with cyano. All the while the cheato has slowed down. I recently put it on a 24 hour cycle to potentially have more impact

Personally like the Cheato. As it grows per available nutrients and doesn't seem to overstrip. I have not personally experienced but I've heard of people over stripping with bio pellets. This is all observations by hobbieist at on forums. Not scientific testing.

If you have a lot of pellets in the reactor could try removing half of them. And see if that helps. But again I am not intimate with all the details of your system also don't do too much all at once

[philip_r5]

I haven't put the refugium online yet. I also only started the bio pellets out half recommended dosage.

[Jim28fl]

My GSP sometimes just does that part of there shed/ growth cycle or when i move or trim them they freak out for a week or so.

The Bubble tip is just looking for a place and I think it may have been in a bit to bright area or something seems a lil shrunk down.. its trying to find the right area and good light IMO.

The kenya tree seems to me to be too much flow..

Any major change in the system or parameters will change everything in the tank to some degree.. and I'm only going off guesses here.. really the GSP and kenya, no big loss so lets stay on this road and not change anything just keep checking on parameters.. salinity temp alk, ca n MAG for a few weeks and let things settle down.. and from what i see there is plenty of light.. I think all this talk about led and are they bright enough and all this fuss over lights that past few years has pushed people into much to much light for there corals.. When i go diving with everyone.. there really is not a lot of light down there at 80 feet.. its by no means bright Metal halide lights.. the few corals that live in 10-12 feet of water in the equator region get really high exposure to light.. but most everything we tend to keep does not get that amount. i find myself dialing back the light more n more and getting better color on my ACRO and my other corals.. Its very easy to burn them with light more so than you would think.... just getting the water really clean one day to the next with carbon or something will effect clarity and can light stress some coral's. changing light bulbs to new bulbs.. all that.. thats a lot of variable so lets not change anything else for a bit and check things are the right parameters.

[bobbravo2]

I regret to post these but I have to do it for recommendations as I am obviously doing something wrong....

Green Star Polyp

Have you tried target feeding the GSP with something like BrightWell's Microvore? Mine loves that, and came back very strongly after a horrible tank move.

[philip_r5]

Thanks guys. Im concerned with the ph swing. It goes from 7.7 at night to @ 8 if im lucky in the day. I would like to get it to be 8.0 and up in that swing. Should I not stress this as much as I am? The only other thing I was trying to do was bring the mag up slowly. I really thing my problems now are coming from the skimmer I bought. First day it worked kinda ok... now it just isn't doing much but bringing in light tea colored stuff.

An by no means is there not organic waste in the system, I know there is. I heavy feed, and the skimmer hasn't been working correctly... lol

The anemone was in that spot happy for a few months, wouldn't think it would do what its doing now. I guess Ill just wait longer and try to slowly bring those parameters into check. Ill update later with current parameters again.

Thanks for your guys responses so far, it is appreciated.

[Jim28fl]

Philip, There is a lot of info here sorry and i did not spell correct it so good luck reading my gibberish but.. i highly suggest everyone plugs in there materials they use usually into the REEF calculator at this site. http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html and compare to other manufacturers similar products before they change the kind they use.

I was thinking about something.. I have a bunch of these different part A/ part B mixes around i keep trying to use up, and on my new tank i changed to BRS bulk materials like SODA ASH CALCIUM CHLORIDE and MAG mix and, I all of a sudden saw a huge demand for MAG i wasn't used to.. from the other liquid 2 part stuff i been trying to use up.

That was because nearly all of the 2 part makers add Mag to there CA liquid or powders portion. This amount varies widely amongst reef code, oceans blend and b-ionic for example. And just changing from one to the other or even throwing them into the same dose jugs to top them off or something to be pumped into the tank is a big no no...

Since i stopped dosing For example B-ionic materials completely to save on materials and $$$ and went to My own dry powder made portions which i mix into a gallon jug with RODI and then dose, i had to go way up to like portions like 250ml-200ml-10ml** ALK to CA TO MG ratios of fluids to get near a balance.

**= i have not yet reached a balance. dose of MAG for my system yet i suspect its much higher. I'm testing daily and manually adding more and adjusting the doser to try n make up a small amount of ground on my LOW numbers as well as maintain a day to day number. this is on going for about a week or two now.

I'm at 250 ML/day of ALK " soda ash IE sodium carbonate " ** NOT BI CARBONATE!! which is the other form and tends to lower PH VS raise PH while still administering The ALK the system needs day to day. Because one is better suited to Calcium reactor systems VS ATM RODI OR KALWASSER systems.
The "BRS version" of the soda ash powder is what i have.

I'm adding 200 ML/DAY of Calcium chloride full strength mix "BRS version"

I'm dosing 10 ML/ day of MAG mix "BRS VERSION"
ALL OF THIS IS IN ADDITION TO THE ALK N CA THAT IS SUPPLIED with about 1 gallon a day of fully saturated KALKWASER AS MY ATO water. Which is a considerable amount.

TO add one more variable to the mix i run a CO2 scrubber on my Protein skimmer line which also draws 100% of its air from out side and thur the scrubber. and i think as it expires it wreaks havoc with my ALK/ ca / MAG lvl as the CO2 pours into the system as the scrubber looses its potency and then i see a precipitation event that has clogged my pump impellers twice but not enough to cloud the system water.

I may remove the scrubber soon and let it just draw outside air and except the suppressed PH number lily in the 8-8.2 range with out the scrubber. The other thing here is my house is very tightly sealed so i typically have a low PH due to the CO2 from the family breathing in here and screwing it up. But haven't been able to get them to stop breathing yet.. so with the cool weather the windows are open a lot. PH/CO2 effect then has a huge swing on system CO2 exposure levels day to day lately "last few weeks" that is a lot of new variable's for me to consider. but i believe i understand what is happening just i need to then mitigate the effects of the things that are happening.

So with the above info consider how your maintaining your chemistry and what may be causing your low MAG and PH from that.. a system requires a minimum MAG to keep the ALK n CA in the water. if it drops too much the two precipitate out because Mag is a big part of what holds it in the water for the corals.. I can provide some great links to very in depth reading on how it works i found very helpful the last yr or so if you like.

FOLKS, PLEASE BE CAREFUL HOW MUCH YOU ADD AT ONCE SOME OF THESE CHEMICALS ARE VERY STRONG AND REALLY UPSET THE CORALS FOR DAYS IF THEY GET TOO MUCH AT ONCE FROM WHAT THERE USED TO. I'm looking for highly execrated growth so I'm pushing my numbers GOALS towards 11.5DKH, 440 Ca and 1380 MAG. My KALKWASSER is fully saturated and 100% of my ATO is KALKWASSER which is known to drive MAG DOWN more than the normal amount or so i have read.

I believe my one low quality hot running PUMP " IE MAG 9" on the skimmer actually, got coated because my MAG dropped from several weeks of KALKWASSER filling with out using my usual B-ionic 2 part products that have added MAG in them and instead only using BRS home mixed solutions at a rate i thought would keep up the MAG as i was used to. In addition to the huge swing in C02 the system is exposed to lately with the nice weather and open windows. Some times products recommend equal parts. Some products are way off for your personal systems needs and all sorts of things.. you can't go by that you have to test and then track it and then re balance the water and add more n so forth. Monitor it often till you reach a system balance of normal consumption for said product line or don't use them at all. Then the system will fall off the low side of its potential growth ability, but at least stay safely balanced on the way down, water change to water change.
I have changed my opinion on Water changes amounts/frequency recently to include the statement to say if you don't dose to keep your parameters at the numbers that the New incoming water will be "for example using a high quality reef buffered type salt" then do small water changes or you will shock the system just from the change all be it in a good direction with that new water and possible highly elevator ALK Ca N MAG values. 10% is still usualy a very safe number, but for example 50% would be bad if you don't dose. Many people adjust there new water batch to match there tank by multi methods depending on the difference the two may have as well as choose there type of salt mix they use to minimize the swing there particular system goes thru. for example by aerating it a lot before adding to drive down the PH, and even so far as much as change it seasonally as well once they have a very mature aged well documented systems in which they pretty much learn what to expect. Which is a huge key to success in this hobby.

I track the last three daily tank values like temp, ph, time, salinity , and ORP, as well and the last three amounts i dosed on a chart under the tank. and consider how much i added last time as well as what my test says i'm in need of each time i add. I'm also logging how much i add to the doser each time ATM till i reach my balance. and i use an arrow to show if I'm gaining ground loosing ground or stable on a certain parameter.

Hope everyone learned something, and this applies mostly to the more complicated SPS type corals and there proliferation in the system. And please correct or add to anything here i may be wrong about. I'm by no means an expert or do i have this hobby completely understood.

And then the power goes out or something crazy happens on the two days while your gone and kills everything anyway.

[philip_r5]

Thanks for your write up there Jim. I just think I did to many things at once, and the PH going down lower the 7.8 when the tank was used to 8.2+ is what shocked it. I stopped everything from last time I posted on here and just let the stuff keep going. Red algea going away, corals looking a little better, and ph up to 8.1 in the day. Going to do a water change in a few days and such.

Thanks again. An as always if anyone has any suggestions, comments or anything please feel free to let me know.

[philip_r5]

A while since last posting. Tank is cleared up. I just stopped messing with everything at once. I also think it was because I was getting to relaxed with maintenance.

Anyways last night I was sitting in my chair watching tv and noticed a crab hanging out on top of my rocks. I took a look and this is what I seen.

Emerald Crab releasing Eggs.
I honestly didn't know they held eggs in that flap and released them like that. Apparently the 3 emerald crabs I have like it in my tank