Corals dying

[FMF0331]

my first tank was a mess , just want you to know it's going to be a bumpy road ahead of you , but don't give up . when you do get the hang of this wonderful hobby .. you're going to enjoy it that much more . here is some pictures to my stuff.

 

[Colin_1122]

my first tank was a mess , just want you to know it's going to be a bumpy road ahead of you , but don't give up . when you do get the hang of this wonderful hobby .. you're going to enjoy it that much more . here is some pictures to my stuff.

Awesome pics! I wish my corals looked like yours. This hobby is definitely a mess for me. It’s disappointing when probably close to half the corals and fish I’ve put in my tank have died, especially when I’m only 17 so it’s not like I have a full time job or anything. Hopefully it’ll start to get better soon, I knew the first few months was rough but not this rough haha

 

[Texas Rick]

How often are you doing water changes? Are you using RODI? I myself is using Just RO. Your CA and MG are a bit high. If your phosphate are off, you can try to use GFO. I started using it and i see much cleaner water. But you must be careful using GFO. I'm also dosing vibrant for reef tanks and it helps.

 

[Colin_1122]

How often are you doing water changes? Are you using RODI? I myself is using Just RO. Your CA and MG are a bit high. If your phosphate are off, you can try to use GFO. I started using it and i see much cleaner water. But you must be careful using GFO. I'm also dosing vibrant for reef tanks and it helps.

I do a 4-5 gallon water change every other week with RODI. I haven’t read much about GFO, what do you mean about being careful with it?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do a 4-5 gallon water change every other week with RODI. I haven’t read much about GFO, what do you mean about being careful with it?

The concern is to not drive phosphate too low, which is, in many ways, worse than too high.

 

[Texas Rick]

I do a 4-5 gallon water change every other week with RODI. I haven’t read much about GFO, what do you mean about being careful with it?

I personally do a 10% water change every weekend. Rarely do I do a every other weekend. On the GFO, you don't want to bring your Phosphate too low. So maybe you will need a hannah checker that checks in lower end of things. You can get phosphate way too low if your not careful when using GFO. Here is a chart that may help.

I agree, try to stay off the reef roid. Left over food can also lead to phosphate. I feed mine reef roids too but every other week or 3rd week. I also use LPS pellets by NYOS over reef roids.

 

[Nano sapiens]

This hobby is definitely a mess for me. It’s disappointing when probably close to half the corals and fish I’ve put in my tank have died, especially when I’m only 17 so it’s not like I have a full time job or anything. Hopefully it’ll start to get better soon, I knew the first few months was rough but not this rough haha

Assuming your tank was started with dry rock, it'll take quite some time to 'get there' maturity wise so patience is key. Having relatively stable parameters (within accepted reef keeping norms) and a diverse community of bacteria through the addition of some mature live rock, sand, rubble, etc. is crucial to a stable, long-lived reef aquarium.

 

[Colin_1122]

Should I try GFO or Phosguard? Or just feed less and run the skimmer? I’m also wondering if this is what is killing my corals? I know my phosphates are high but is it high enough to be killing things?

 

[CookieRdReef]

Water changes weekly not biweekly along with running the skimmer and feeding less will help and wont hurt your tank. Gfo and phosguard will lower phosphate but could also lead to phosphate too low which may be worse than the current situation. Make sure to use rodi water or phosphates will prob continue to be high.

 

[Colin_1122]

Water changes weekly not biweekly along with running the skimmer and feeding less will help and wont hurt your tank. Gfo and phosguard will lower phosphate but could also lead to phosphate too low which may be worse than the current situation. Make sure to use rodi water or phosphates will prob continue to be high.

I’m just worried about hitting 0 nitrates because I think that’s where a lot of my problems started. I finally managed to get them over 0 and now my cyano is gone, now I’m battling GHA but at least there’s no more cyano. Would beefing up my clean up crew help with controlling phosphates from any extra food and stuff?

 

[CookieRdReef]

I’m just worried about hitting 0 nitrates because I think that’s where a lot of my problems started. I finally managed to get them over 0 and now my cyano is gone, now I’m battling GHA but at least there’s no more cyano. Would beefing up my clean up crew help with controlling phosphates from any extra food and stuff?

Yes extra cuc will help. Dosing neonitro from brightwell will add nitrates with no phosphates. $14 on amazon. I used it due to high phosphates but no nitrates.

 

[Texas Rick]

Overall, Personally I would wait about a year to add any

I’m just worried about hitting 0 nitrates because I think that’s where a lot of my problems started. I finally managed to get them over 0 and now my cyano is gone, now I’m battling GHA but at least there’s no more cyano. Would beefing up my clean up crew help with controlling phosphates from any extra food and stuff?

I'm battling GHA also. I'm in the process of getting a UV Sterilizer to help with it. Its a process your tank has to go thru

 

[Colin_1122]

Ok so I think I’ll hold off on GFO and try to run the skimmer and see if that helps. I definitely know to go slow now and let the tank mature. Thanks a lot I really appreciate all of your help!

 

[Colin_1122]

I’ll try to feed less and dose nitrates if needed, also need to get more hermits and snails to help with any leftovers plus the algae. Maybe a conch too for the sand