fishboy11
Community Member
Hey Everyone,
Here is another post about someone’s unsuccessful attempts at keeping acropora. I cannot figure out why they slowly STN after looking good for the first few weeks with noticeable encrusting and polyp extension, and good color. Then, they just slowly begin to STN, some from the base, some from the tips. My tank has been setup for just over 2 years. I decided to send a Triton test in this week, so I should have the results back in a few weeks. I started with 100% reef saver rock from BRS, and only within the past 3-4 months has coralline algae started taking to the rocks (perhaps dry rock is the cause). All other corals show tremendous growth. Below is a summary of my tank/equipment/water parameters.
Equipment
Tank: Reefer 250
Water Movement: 2 Gyre 230s @ 50% alternating gyre
T5 Lighting: 4 T5 (2 BP, 2 CP) for 6.5 hours (12:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
LED Lighting: 3 AI Primes ramping to max of 40% blues only from 12:00 PM to 6:30 PM (2 hour ramp up and down)
Skimmer: Skimz SN127
Water Parameters
Temp: 77.9F – 78.3F (controlled by Apex)
PH: 7.85 – 8.10 (monitored by Apex, recently recalibrated)
Alk: 7.9 – 8.3 (tested by Hanna Checker, tested each day at different times to check for consistency)
Nitrates: 4 PPM (Red Sea)
Phosphates: 0.02-0.05 PPM (Hanna ULR)
Calcium: 420-430 PPM (Red Sea)
Stock List
2 x Picasso Clowns
3 x Pajama Cardinals
1 x Royal Gramma
1 x Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse
1 x Angular Flasher Wrasse
1 x Flameback Angel
1 x Two Spot Bristletooth Tang
1 x Diamond Watchman Goby
I realize this is a dense stock list; however, all fish get along well, and I am able to maintain detectable levels of nitrate and phosphates without overfeeding.
At the moment I only have to dose Alk daily, which is done by dosing every 3 hours through my Apex. I use Red Sea Foundation B for this. I have dosed, sparingly, Sodium Nitrate and NeoPhos to increase Nitrates and Phosphates to detectable levels. I will occasionally dose Red Sea Reef energy, but it is not consistent.
I have 3 ideas to what may be causing STN. My first, and one that has been creating discussion recently, is the fact that I started without any live rocks, and may be missing out on the benefits from live rock. My second thought is that a piece of equipment has leached a metal into the tank, which hopefully would appear in the Triton test I sent in this week. My third thought is Chloramines, although I run 2 BRS universal carbon blocks in my 6 stage RO/DI, so I do not think that is the problem.
At this point, I am waiting the results of the Triton test to see if anything odd appears. My next step is probably introducing some live rock, although I am not sure from where, as none of my LFS sell good live rock filled with sponges, etc. My next step would be to create a new sump and add a refugium to support a population of PODs, and gain benefits of another method of nutrient export.
Here is another post about someone’s unsuccessful attempts at keeping acropora. I cannot figure out why they slowly STN after looking good for the first few weeks with noticeable encrusting and polyp extension, and good color. Then, they just slowly begin to STN, some from the base, some from the tips. My tank has been setup for just over 2 years. I decided to send a Triton test in this week, so I should have the results back in a few weeks. I started with 100% reef saver rock from BRS, and only within the past 3-4 months has coralline algae started taking to the rocks (perhaps dry rock is the cause). All other corals show tremendous growth. Below is a summary of my tank/equipment/water parameters.
Equipment
Tank: Reefer 250
Water Movement: 2 Gyre 230s @ 50% alternating gyre
T5 Lighting: 4 T5 (2 BP, 2 CP) for 6.5 hours (12:00 PM to 6:30 PM)
LED Lighting: 3 AI Primes ramping to max of 40% blues only from 12:00 PM to 6:30 PM (2 hour ramp up and down)
Skimmer: Skimz SN127
Water Parameters
Temp: 77.9F – 78.3F (controlled by Apex)
PH: 7.85 – 8.10 (monitored by Apex, recently recalibrated)
Alk: 7.9 – 8.3 (tested by Hanna Checker, tested each day at different times to check for consistency)
Nitrates: 4 PPM (Red Sea)
Phosphates: 0.02-0.05 PPM (Hanna ULR)
Calcium: 420-430 PPM (Red Sea)
Stock List
2 x Picasso Clowns
3 x Pajama Cardinals
1 x Royal Gramma
1 x Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse
1 x Angular Flasher Wrasse
1 x Flameback Angel
1 x Two Spot Bristletooth Tang
1 x Diamond Watchman Goby
I realize this is a dense stock list; however, all fish get along well, and I am able to maintain detectable levels of nitrate and phosphates without overfeeding.
At the moment I only have to dose Alk daily, which is done by dosing every 3 hours through my Apex. I use Red Sea Foundation B for this. I have dosed, sparingly, Sodium Nitrate and NeoPhos to increase Nitrates and Phosphates to detectable levels. I will occasionally dose Red Sea Reef energy, but it is not consistent.
I have 3 ideas to what may be causing STN. My first, and one that has been creating discussion recently, is the fact that I started without any live rocks, and may be missing out on the benefits from live rock. My second thought is that a piece of equipment has leached a metal into the tank, which hopefully would appear in the Triton test I sent in this week. My third thought is Chloramines, although I run 2 BRS universal carbon blocks in my 6 stage RO/DI, so I do not think that is the problem.
At this point, I am waiting the results of the Triton test to see if anything odd appears. My next step is probably introducing some live rock, although I am not sure from where, as none of my LFS sell good live rock filled with sponges, etc. My next step would be to create a new sump and add a refugium to support a population of PODs, and gain benefits of another method of nutrient export.
