Can I save this coral?

[Robert McCreary]

artificial rock, such as Real Reef, which is basically cement, and will leach alkalinity into your system in the form of calcium hydroxide for quite a while after immersion.

thanks for the tip.

 

[Evand68]

I almost forgot I used marine buffer last week to raise my ph. The test showed it was below 8.0. That may have raised the alkalinity also. I used all real dry and live rock. I'm going to order a new filter for my rodi system since next month will be 6 months using it. Already replace the di resin

 

[Evand68]

I have a new di resin to change out. Still getting 0 tds. Orderi g a new sediment filter next month since it will be 6 months used. I forgot. I used marine buffer to raise the pH last week before the water change. Haven't used it again but that could have raised the alk also since all my rock and sand was live/dry real.

 

[Evand68]

Sorry for the double post. Did not think the first posted

 

[RJ F.]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Dkeller_nc]

That was it - all "ph raisers" for marine aquariums will raise the alkalinity. The only way to raise the pH of a marine aquarium and keep it there is to decrease the dissolved CO2 in the tank water, remove any excess organic acids (this is not common), or both. Unless your pH is excessively low (below 7.8), you really shouldn't worry about it too much. For an SPS aquarium, however, alkalinity must remain stable - most suggest within +/- 0.5 dKH.

The way to accomplish this is to measure your alkalinity, preferably at approximately the same time of day, for 3 or 4 days straight. Calculate the daily drop, and average it. This, along with the tank volume, will allow you to calculate the correct dose of an alkalinity supplement, which you should add daily to maintain alkalinity stability. Ideally, you will also want to be adding a balanced amount of a calcium supplement, though this is less critical as long as your calcium stays above 380 ppm.

 

[Evand68]

That was it - all "ph raisers" for marine aquariums will raise the alkalinity. The only way to raise the pH of a marine aquarium and keep it there is to decrease the dissolved CO2 in the tank water, remove any excess organic acids (this is not common), or both. Unless your pH is excessively low (below 7.8), you really shouldn't worry about it too much. For an SPS aquarium, however, alkalinity must remain stable - most suggest within +/- 0.5 dKH.

The way to accomplish this is to measure your alkalinity, preferably at approximately the same time of day, for 3 or 4 days straight. Calculate the daily drop, and average it. This, along with the tank volume, will allow you to calculate the correct dose of an alkalinity supplement, which you should add daily to maintain alkalinity stability. Ideally, you will also want to be adding a balanced amount of a calcium supplement, though this is less critical as long as your calcium stays above 380 ppm.

Thank you. Are the red sea coral reef energy a&b amino acids the same that you mean? What about phytoplankton?

 

[markalot]

Thank you. Are the red sea coral reef energy a&b amino acids the same that you mean? What about phytoplankton?

Hi Evan,

my opinions ...

slow down or you're going to run into a world of hurt. Do less, not more, and tolerate some algae for a while.

Toss the PH test kit, the only reliable way to test PH is with a calibrated probe and the only safe way to alter PH is by letting outdoor air inside. It's rarely a real problem so just ignore PH for now.

As was said above, the PH buffer spiked Alk and did harm to this stylo or birdsnest.

Don't dose a lot of stuff at this stage, you're feeding the algae and then trying to reduce nutrients by dosing NOPOX. NOPOX is strong stuff, and will drive nutrients down quickly if you have a good skimmer. You can't skip the ugly phase and have healthy corals without some manual labor, or algae eaters, usually both.

As far as KH, I recommend very low, between 7 and 8, because it's much easier to maintain than higher Alk. A spike in Alk from 7 to 8 does much less harm than a spike from 8 to 9 or 9 to 10. As mentioned above, lower alk is also better for lower nutrients. If your salt is high in Alk then you may have to change salts.

I don't know what your future plans are but if you want to grow other SPS, in particular Acropora, you need to get the stability mindset down pat. It's difficult, or it was for me anyway, I'm tempted to always change things and every change can lead to another problem.

 

[Evand68]

Hi Evan,

my opinions ...

slow down or you're going to run into a world of hurt. Do less, not more, and tolerate some algae for a while.

Toss the PH test kit, the only reliable way to test PH is with a calibrated probe and the only safe way to alter PH is by letting outdoor air inside. It's rarely a real problem so just ignore PH for now.

As was said above, the PH buffer spiked Alk and did harm to this stylo or birdsnest.

Don't dose a lot of stuff at this stage, you're feeding the algae and then trying to reduce nutrients by dosing NOPOX. NOPOX is strong stuff, and will drive nutrients down quickly if you have a good skimmer. You can't skip the ugly phase and have healthy corals without some manual labor, or algae eaters, usually both.

As far as KH, I recommend very low, between 7 and 8, because it's much easier to maintain than higher Alk. A spike in Alk from 7 to 8 does much less harm than a spike from 8 to 9 or 9 to 10. As mentioned above, lower alk is also better for lower nutrients. If your salt is high in Alk then you may have to change salts.

I don't know what your future plans are but if you want to grow other SPS, in particular Acropora, you need to get the stability mindset down pat. It's difficult, or it was for me anyway, I'm tempted to always change things and every change can lead to another problem.

Thank you I am going to shoot for stability now... as for the nopox and reef energy, should I stop them altogether?

 

[markalot]

Thank you I am going to shoot for stability now... as for the nopox and reef energy, should I stop them altogether?

NOPOX yes, you're stripping the water. I don't know what Reef Energy does but I doubt you need it. Don't add anything unless you know what it does and why.

 

[Stigigemla]

If I had that tank I would just add one salarias and some snails to eat algae. Stop nopox and take out the chaeto from the sump. No amino acids.
I would let the No3 and PO4 go up to at least 5 and 0,05 before doing anything.
If You dont have a problem - Dont fix it.
Dont think about trace elements before You have to begin with a 2 or 3 part method to have Your kH and Ca in balance. You are getting enough trace elements from water changes now.
Just use the KISS method for now. It is the best for beginners.
If anyone says You should have the ultra low values I say wait 2 years and do that when You are more familiar with all the testing and chemistry.