Cant keep corals alive and thriving

[Franki]

Hi reefers,
So i got into this hobby about 3yrs ago with a 13g tank which i own to this day. Its the only tank ive had so far and its not doing so well. As a nooby i made a lot of mistakes and spent a lot of money because of such mistakes but i think ive got most of them out of my system. But for some reason i cant seem to achieve the dream of having healthy, growing corals. I now have a gsp which seems relatively healthy but not growing and 2 leathers which are doing really bad (one of which is already dying). I get my water parameters to a sweet spot for a few months and things stay the same and then i get depressed and slack of a bit. Anyways id like to hear some tips from all of you to see what i can do. My current problem is algae covering the corals. Im running a phosphate removal product and still not any better.

 

[James M]

What’s your lighting ?

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

This will require a lot more information. One being the lighting as mentioned above. Testing results of Alk, Cal, Mag, No3, Po4, Salinity, temp... light schedule.

First concern would be that after 3years you do not show any coralline algae growth.

Please let us know these things and everyone is happy to help you get back on track

 

[Franki]

Hey everybody, sry for keeping you waiting i only got to testing the water just now. My light is an aqua ray (old model idk exactly which) but i borrowed it from my lfs so ill have to return it. My actual lighy is a SERA Precision LED Light with 2 blues and one whight. So these are the values right after a 30-40% water change:
NH3/NH4- 0
pH- 7,5 (not a very reliable test kit)
KH- 8.2
Ca- 380-400
Salinity- 1.25
I run filter whool bio filter and phosguard (phosphate removal).
Ive also run carbon 24/7 for a year or so but stopped last week as i didnt see any difference at all. Good decision?
Dont have phosphate nor magnesium kit (my lfs doesnt have those very often).
Hope this is enough.

 

[ccombs]

Hey everybody, sry for keeping you waiting i only got to testing the water just now. My light is an aqua ray (old model idk exactly which) but i borrowed it from my lfs so ill have to return it. My actual lighy is a SERA Precision LED Light with 2 blues and one whight. So these are the values right after a 30-40% water change:
NH3/NH4- 0
pH- 7,5 (not a very reliable test kit)
KH- 8.2
Ca- 380-400
Salinity- 1.25
I run filter whool bio filter and phosguard (phosphate removal).
Ive also run carbon 24/7 for a year or so but stopped last week as i didnt see any difference at all. Good decision?
Dont have phosphate nor magnesium kit (my lfs doesnt have those very often).
Hope this is enough.

Is the salinity 1.25 or 1.025? I am sure it is a type but want to be sure.

 

[Franki]

Is the salinity 1.25 or 1.025? I am sure it is a type but want to be sure.

Yes sry![emoji28]
1.025

 

[Franki]

Heres all the tests btw

 

[Scotty Buttons]

What are your nitrates and phosphates at? Do you have any fish or inverts?

 

[SPR1968]

Hi there

I would stop doing such large water changes as 40% is very large and will on its own upset the water chemistry in the tank. Unless you have a major problem, I would stick to water changes of around 10% and certainly no more than 20%

Also I think you need to check your magnesium levels, it’s a vital part of the water chemistry and if it’s to low the corals won’t grow and won’t look healthy.

Phosphate is also very important and you need to test for it and keep it locked down very low at around 0.03ppm otherwise you will get algae and other issues.

You don’t say what phosphate remover your using but you may need to change the media regularly if it’s becoming spent until things are under control

The following is a very good guide for you as to what figures to aim for

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

All you need to do is keep the water parameters stable and stop fluctuations

 

[sfin52]

No3 and po4 are essential to coral. Having the at zero is not good.

 

[NS Mike D]

what's your water source? Pre-made, rodi, tap, distilled etc? A new/bare tank is a bit more more work. To keep the nuisance algae to a minimum, we try to strip out the NO3 & PO4 but corals need them as well as other nutrients and we end up staving our corals while the nuisance algae/bacteria can better adapt. It's a fine line until the corals fill out and out compete the nusiance stuff for nutrients and space.

Soft corals should do Ok in a new tank, and with no coraline I wonder- could be if you're using tap water there may be something like copper killing the corals

 

[Franki]

What are your nitrates and phosphates at? Do you have any fish or inverts?

Id really like to know that but the test kits above are all i have. I have a pair of clowns, a watchman goby, 2 nassaurius and an annoying crab that is not helping at all.

 

[DiZASTiX]

The temperature is the most important thing, as a function of dissolved oxygen. I use KZ's published recommendation of 25 C myself with good results on a 16 gal (kindly see sig). It fluctuates around +/- 0.1 C, with 2 heaters, one set to turn ON and OFF at 25 C, the other set to turn on at 24.9 C and off at 25 C, via APEX.

I've also experienced good results with Aquaforest's recommendations of 24 C as the target point. I've experienced poor results with softies and nearly 80%+ deaths with all sorts of SPS at 28 C at my old place that had higher CO2 levels and lower O2 levels.

I suggest checking the temperature using a reliable source of measure (I've seen TDS pens with decent accuracy).

 

[Franki]

Hi there

I would stop doing such large water changes as 40% is very large and will on its own upset the water chemistry in the tank. Unless you have a major problem, I would stick to water changes of around 10% and certainly no more than 20%

Also I think you need to check your magnesium levels, it’s a vital part of the water chemistry and if it’s to low the corals won’t grow and won’t look healthy.

Phosphate is also very important and you need to test for it and keep it locked down very low at around 0.03ppm otherwise you will get algae and other issues.

You don’t say what phosphate remover your using but you may need to change the media regularly if it’s becoming spent until things are under control

The following is a very good guide for you as to what figures to aim for

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

All you need to do is keep the water parameters stable and stop fluctuations

Ok smaller water changes, but how often? I also think knowing the magnesium levels is very important but every time i ask at my lfs for a kit they say they dont have in stock and claim that as long as you keep your alk in check, ca and mg will be too. They also say that when alk is low so is ca which contradicts what i read online. The phosphate remover is phosguard form seachem. Ive used it for a week or so and havent noticed any significant decrease in algae.

 

[Franki]

No3 and po4 are essential to coral. Having the at zero is not good.

Ive seen some debate over this and i seriously dont know what to do about it. But if i were to raise No3 and Po4 levels how should i do it?

 

[DiZASTiX]

Ok smaller water changes, but how often? I also think knowing the magnesium levels is very important but every time i ask at my lfs for a kit they say they dont have in stock and claim that as long as you keep your alk in check, ca and mg will be too. They also say that when alk is low so is ca which contradicts what i read online. The phosphate remover is phosguard form seachem. Ive used it for a week or so and havent noticed any significant decrease in algae.

I don't really agree with this. I do 10 L automated water changes, daily, via APEX Neptune DoS, with a 16 gal tank, which is around 13.7% daily water change with very good results. Caveat: I do dose full ZEOvit system.

 

[Franki]

what's your water source? Pre-made, rodi, tap, distilled etc? A new/bare tank is a bit more more work. To keep the nuisance algae to a minimum, we try to strip out the NO3 & PO4 but corals need them as well as other nutrients and we end up staving our corals while the nuisance algae/bacteria can better adapt. It's a fine line until the corals fill out and out compete the nusiance stuff for nutrients and space.

Soft corals should do Ok in a new tank, and with no coraline I wonder- could be if you're using tap water there may be something like copper killing the corals

I use sea water, as most people do here where i live including my lfs, and top it off with (supposedly) RO water.

 

[Franki]

The temperature is the most important thing, as a function of dissolved oxygen. I use KZ's published recommendation of 25 C myself with good results on a 16 gal (kindly see sig). It fluctuates around +/- 0.1 C, with 2 heaters, one set to turn ON and OFF at 25 C, the other set to turn on at 24.9 C and off at 25 C, via APEX.

I've also experienced good results with Aquaforest's recommendations of 24 C as the target point. I've experienced poor results with softies and nearly 80%+ deaths with all sorts of SPS at 28 C at my old place that had higher CO2 levels and lower O2 levels.

I suggest checking the temperature using a reliable source of measure (I've seen TDS pens with decent accuracy).

Temp is sitting at about 26C. Maybe turning it down a bit will help but i dont think thats the main issue.

 

[DiZASTiX]

It's not the old water new water thing. Bacteria and other things primarily grow on rocks and other surfaces, not the water column. When there's a major problem, it's usually something glaring. It's rarely going to be something like copper.

I recommend testing the TDS level of the top off water, but I first recommend checking the temperature.

I've thrown in acroporas with no coralline with no problems.

 

[DiZASTiX]

Temp is sitting at about 26C. Maybe turning it down a bit will help but i dont think thats the main issue.

If you're confident of that reading, that would be important. I had a calibration thermometer that was different from another, that was off by 0.5 C, which would be critical if you're closer to the top of the band. 27 C is okay.

I'd suggest checking nitrate and phosphate. You technically just have to have one be the limitation reagent to stop algae from growing, but it's better to have both be at reasonable levels. (i.e., it's okay theoretically to have 0 nitrates but 1.00 phosphates).

I suggest using a nitrate exportation mechanism first, then a phosphate exportation mechanism. Doing it the other way will cause nitrates to not drop (unless you use a denitrator).