Coral phases

[Brooks Allman]

I took a 10 year break from the hobby and now I’m back with a reefer 350 2x mp40’s set at reefcrest and 45%.

DKH -8.9-9.1
Calcium 460
Mag - 1390
Phosphates - .02 / 7 on Hanna ulr test
Nitrates - undetectable

Dose BRS 2 part

Fallow tank due to a velvet tang from saltwater fish.com
Drop small pellets to keep system fed and dose 5ml of fuel every other day.



So randomly my corals will all look closed or unhealthy all at once. Different corals and species all looking ‘deflated at once’
Anything from Leptastrea to my acan colony. Usually happens when the blues come on.

Oh and I have two radion xr15’s at radiant setting at 35% ramping up to 50% over the next 6 weeks, about 1.5 weeks into that ramping.

 

[Reeferdood]

All of you parameters look good but I would try to get a slight amount of nitrate. Unless you are dosing amino acids you might be starving your corals out, having the tank fallow might not be helping either because corals love fish poop! I doubt it is the lights unless you just put them over the corals. I run radions and the livestock in my tanks has never been upset at any spectrum those lights put out.

 

[mcarroll]

Phosphates - .02 / 7 on Hanna ulr test
Nitrates - undetectable

.02 is effectively zero when considering the accuracy/precision of your test kit. Corals really need ≥0.03 ppm to support photosynthesis.

So randomly my corals will all look closed or unhealthy all at once. Different corals and species all looking ‘deflated at once’

They probably perk up when there's a dose of phosphates from either feeding or (more likely) die-off and then start to regress again when PO4 drops to a low enough level to become unavailable.

If you're doing anything to remove PO4 from the system stop.

You may have to dose some. Certainly dose some if you intend on raising nitrates. DO NOT raise nitrates without addressing phosphates too.....raising N without P will bleach your corals almost for sure and will definitely stress them.

 

[Brooks Allman]

.02 is effectively zero when considering the accuracy/precision of your test kit. Corals really need ≥0.03 ppm to support photosynthesis.



They probably perk up when there's a dose of phosphates from either feeding or (more likely) die-off and then start to regress again when PO4 drops to a low enough level to become unavailable.

If you're doing anything to remove PO4 from the system stop.

You may have to dose some. Certainly dose some if you intend on raising nitrates. DO NOT raise nitrates without addressing phosphates too.....raising N without P will bleach your corals almost for sure and will definitely stress them.

I have been trying to maintain a constant supply of food to feed snails and put protein in the water. Would you suggest a piece of nori on my clip to raise both p and n??

 

[mcarroll]

Feeding is not usually the way to go for making corrections, but in the longer term definitely.

Personally I'd use liquid N and P fertilizers like those from Seachem and Brightwell, or similar DIY solutions in the short term – until you can normalize the tank's feeding routine.