Acan lighting

Eagle_Steve · Dec 17, 2018

dmolavi said:
I use Hanna for phosphate and alk, RedSea for calcium, and API for pH, Salifert for nitrates and magnesium. I will test and post tomorrow when I get home from work. Thanks for all your assistance

Not a problem. That’s what this forum is for.

dmolavi · Dec 18, 2018

Here are my readings this afternoon. An ~ 12 gallon water change was done on Sunday afternoon, using RedSea Coral Pro salt mix.

Using Hanna Checkers:
Phosphates - 0.oo
Alk - 10.19

Using API:
pH ~8.3

Using Salifert:
Magnesium - 1330
Nitrate - barely a whiff of pink, so I'll call it 0.1

Using RedSea:
Calcium - 370

Eagle_Steve · Dec 18, 2018

dmolavi said:
Here are my readings this afternoon. An ~ 12 gallon water change was done on Sunday afternoon, using RedSea Coral Pro salt mix.

Using Hanna Checkers:
Phosphates - 0.oo
Alk - 10.19

Using API:
pH ~8.3

Using Salifert:
Magnesium - 1330
Nitrate - barely a whiff of pink, so I'll call it 0.1

Using RedSea:
Calcium - 370

Before I begin, this is my opinion and others will love your tank for having such low po4 and no3.

I would stop the phosguard, stop the Vibrant, and feed a little more to start out. You can also spot feed the acans some coral food of your choice. I use a mix of reef roids, coral vite, and amino supplements. Those will raise po4 and no4 some if not consumed by the corals, but from my experience in my tank, it is consumed quickly only doing that. So I do dose sodium nitrate and phosphorus. I was using spectraside stump remover for no3, but after an ICP test, changed due to high potassium. All of my dosing is done via a dosing pump in the big tank and it took a while to figure out how much to dose, but it is just what I have to do. The small tanks were easier as they are more specialized in terms of corals, so they just get it added to the top off water based on consumption. Both ways I still have to adjust it some here and there, but not by much. Although I did have to adjust a bunch in the beginning, as I can hold about 2 nitrate now without dosing, at least for a week or 2 in the big tank.

For now though, I would try feeding a little heavier and spot feeding the corals. This combined with the removal of the Vibrant and phosguard may do the trick for you. Give that a month with regular testing and see what happens. Just be sure not to rush. A phosphate or nitrate spike is nasty. Need to let everything adjust slowly or algae and all other sorts of uglies bloom fast.

Your mag looks good, but your calcium is low. Try to get that up some as well. It needs to be somewhere around 420.

Alk gets argued about what is what all the time, and I have tanks from 7.8 to 10.6, and they are all doing well. (7.8 tank is an all SPS low nutrient 10g tank on my night stand lol) With your tank being at 10, it doesn’t need to be an ULNS. This usually leads to burnt tips on sps and receding tissue in lps. If you all were around 8 then having low nutrients would have less of an effect. So with that said you can up some nutrients and the calcium slowly and watch the tank.

If you want to read up more on alk, calcium, and all other things reef chemistry wise, @Randy Holmes-Farley has an awesome write up at the link below.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/re...-coral-reef-aquarium-randy-holmes-farley.html

Last thing, whatever you decide to do, go slow, watch the tank, test your parameters and note them down in a notepad or on your PC. I am old so I use a notepad lol.

Keep us posted and we always love pics, so feel free to post pics of progress and test results here as well.

But for some encouragement here is one acan that was in the same boat as yours and in 3 months went from the top picture to a pic taken tonight. (The tank was rescaped a week ago when I got my new lights, so the acan got moved down as I am higher par mid level now and the plug got the base cut and then puttied into a shell to keep my wrasses from kicking sand into it lol.)

September 20th, 2 heads and receding tissue.

Today, 11 heads and no receding tissue

dmolavi · Dec 19, 2018

Thanks for all the information, the linked post was a very good read

I dosed some Calcium this morning before work, so I'll do another round of tests tonight and log the results. I do have an algae issue, not GHA, more of a "matting" type on the sandbed and some rocks. Doesn't appear to be cyano (not red). I'll post pix tonight. I've got some coral chili from BRS that I can feed, too

Your results are encouraging. I should note that I noted in my logs when I started dosing Vibrant (for bubble algae...which it completely eradicated), and that after that is when my acan started receding. I've always had phosguard in the system. As an engineer, I'll change one thing at a time - first cutting out the Vibrant (it's been 2 weeks, so I'll just stop the dosing), monitor and log, then remove the Phosguard...

Saltyanimals · Dec 19, 2018

Agree on removing phose guard and others. It’s very agreessive and you really need to ask yourself what you’re trying to solve with it. I’ve gone thru the same using it then other medias and eventually removed all and still have a zero nitrate issue. On a mix tank this is not good bc im starving coral especially SPS. I have a good amount of scans and have seen them lose color and just not looking good as they use too with more nutrients in the water. My change is to target feed them directly which I’m not a fan rather just feed the tank. But scans are hungry coral.

Dburr1014 · Dec 19, 2018

OP, you don't have a peppermint shrimp do you? They like to snack on acans too.

dmolavi · Dec 19, 2018

Dburr1014 said:
OP, you don't have a peppermint shrimp do you? They like to snack on acans too.

Nope, no peppermint shrimp

dmolavi · Dec 19, 2018

Saltyanimals said:
Agree on removing phose guard and others. It’s very agreessive and you really need to ask yourself what you’re trying to solve with it. I’ve gone thru the same using it then other medias and eventually removed all and still have a zero nitrate issue. On a mix tank this is not good bc im starving coral especially SPS. I have a good amount of scans and have seen them lose color and just not looking good as they use too with more nutrients in the water. My change is to target feed them directly which I’m not a fan rather just feed the tank. But scans are hungry coral.

The Vibrant was originally done to combat bubble algae, which it did a PHENOMENAL job of.

I will remove the phosguard, and stop the Vibrant dosing (bi-weekly at 4mL). I will keep carbon in the reactor though.

dmolavi · Dec 19, 2018

Here are some pix of the algae...hopefully upping the nutrients in the tank won't make it a problem...

Dburr1014 · Dec 20, 2018

That is cyanobacteria. I have used chemiclean as last resort with good results. But I would let the tank settle in more before trying that.

dmolavi · Dec 20, 2018

Dburr1014 said:
That is cyanobacteria. I have used chemiclean as last resort with good results. But I would let the tank settle in more before trying that.

"Settle in more"? It's 4 years old, pretty well settled hahaha

Unless you mean to get the nutrients up a little (the thought sends chills down my spine). I'm guessing I'll be fighting a major case of the uglies when I do this?

dmolavi · Dec 20, 2018

Just took a calcium reading....390. I'll dose again and measure in a few hours.

Bayareareefer18 · Dec 20, 2018

I also got cyano after vibrant.

The fastest way I found to get rid it it was manual removal. I just hung a filter sock in my sump and used like a 3/8" tubing and siphoned down through the sock so that I didn't have to change water. Once most of it was gone the rest followed

dmolavi · Dec 20, 2018

Bayareareefer18 said:
I also got cyano after vibrant.

The fastest way I found to get rid it it was manual removal. I just hung a filter sock in my sump and used like a 3/8" tubing and siphoned down through the sock so that I didn't have to change water. Once most of it was gone the rest followed

That's an awesome idea. I'd buy you a beer for that one if you were local haha

Bayareareefer18 · Dec 21, 2018

dmolavi said:
That's an awesome idea. I'd buy you a beer for that one if you were local haha

Lol no worries. Beer gratuity is always accepted

Dburr1014 · Dec 21, 2018

dmolavi said:
"Settle in more"? It's 4 years old, pretty well settled hahaha

Unless you mean to get the nutrients up a little (the thought sends chills down my spine). I'm guessing I'll be fighting a major case of the uglies when I do this?

Oh, i thought it was new. If the left post doesn't work, definitely try chemiclean. Just follow the directions.

dmolavi · Dec 22, 2018

Dburr1014 said:
Oh, i thought it was new. If the left post doesn't work, definitely try chemiclean. Just follow the directions.

I've been siphoning it out for a while. Supposedly, cyano is a a side effect of Vibrant. I'll dose some Chemiclean today.

Thanks everyone here for all the tips and advice. I'm off for 11 days for the holiday and will post updates as they become available.

Bayareareefer18 · Dec 22, 2018

dmolavi said:
I've been siphoning it out for a while. Supposedly, cyano is a a side effect of Vibrant. I'll dose some Chemiclean today.

Thanks everyone here for all the tips and advice. I'm off for 11 days for the holiday and will post updates as they become available.

Melevsreef swears by chemiclean. He has a good video about how he uses it

dmolavi · Dec 24, 2018

I dosed Chemiclean Saturday and will do the water change later tonight. Might do another dose...no appreciable change, or should I give it another day?

Bayareareefer18 · Dec 24, 2018

dmolavi said:
I dosed Chemiclean Saturday and will do the water change later tonight. Might do another dose...no appreciable change, or should I give it another day?

If I remember from Melevs video I think he says if there is still cyano present after 48 hours to treat again. Make sure there is plenty of aeration