Appropriate ranges for mixed tank

[benmed]

I have a tank just over a year old. It’s doing okay, but I have unfortunately killed more coral than I care to think about. I try pretty hard to keep things alive but I’m not always successful.

my question is about parameters And what appropriate range is to keep things stable.

for Example, my goal alkalinity is 8.5. im Not able to keep it at exactly 8.5 all the time. It’s usually between 8.1 and 8.6 but sometimes drops below that.

goal nitrate is 15, but that runs betweeen 11 and 26.

goal phosphate is 0.05, but usually runs higher with a range of 0.04 to 0.13.

what is stable? an alkalinity of 8.5 all the time or +\- 0.5?

for those of you who advocate for very tight control, how do you do that?

 

[Nibs]

I find that nitrates and phosphates and not as vital to control strictly as calcium alk and mag. As long as the nitrates and phosphates are wildly high or 0 they should be fine

 

[gbroadbridge]

I have a tank just over a year old. It’s doing okay, but I have unfortunately killed more coral than I care to think about. I try pretty hard to keep things alive but I’m not always successful.

my question is about parameters And what appropriate range is to keep things stable.

for Example, my goal alkalinity is 8.5. im Not able to keep it at exactly 8.5 all the time. It’s usually between 8.1 and 8.6 but sometimes drops below that.

goal nitrate is 15, but that runs betweeen 11 and 26.

goal phosphate is 0.05, but usually runs higher with a range of 0.04 to 0.13.

what is stable? an alkalinity of 8.5 all the time or +\- 0.5?

for those of you who advocate for very tight control, how do you do that?

Your parameter ranges are fine.

Even with automatic alkalinity control, variations during the day of +-0.5 dKh are common.

Any problems with Coral are more likely to be related to flow or lighting.
Have you checked the light level using a PAR meter?
have you checked your salinity is 35 PSU?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I agree with gbroadbridge, most corals will not die due to .05 change in parameters. The way the OP is written, many corals have died, so I think there is more here than just a tiny change in parameters.

What kind of lighting and flow do you have? Can you post a tank picture?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I agree that none of the values and ranges posted will kill corals.

 

[benmed]

I have checked par a twice and am pretty confident with the par values.I’ve attached some pictures and will try a movie so you can get a sense of the flow. It’s a 92 gallon tank with two mp40s, two octopulses, one of each on either end of the tank. Thank you guys for any input!

 

[benmed]

Here is a video of the tank which may be helpful

 

[benmed]

Your parameter ranges are fine.

Even with automatic alkalinity control, variations during the day of +-0.5 dKh are common.

Any problems with Coral are more likely to be related to flow or lighting.
Have you checked the light level using a PAR meter?
have you checked your salinity is 35 PSU?

Yup. I’ve checked and calibrated my hand held tester as well as the one on the apex