Do I need to upgrade my skimmer?

[Rawsreef]

Hi everyone!

not really sure if my skimmer up to par, this system came with this skimmer. But ever since I took over this tank I’ve battled high nutrients in the water. Probably cause of my feeding habits, but I like to see my fish and corals happy and eating

System: very established 90 tank running over 10 years fish only. with an older model e-shopps 30 gal sump

Livestock:
added fish for a total of 9 fish
OGs
- yellow tang
-tomini bristletooth tang
- 2 large clowns
- small blue damsel
- fire fish goby

new additions are these fish and a bunch of different corals
- 2 small black percula
- six line wrasse
really want to add a Midas blenny!!

- Decently stocked on corals, mostly small frags.



I feel the main issue is the tuning on the current skimmer. When I tune it so the water level reaches the mark on the skimmer, it shows signs of running lean and no foam collects into the cup. When I eyeball the tuning and get the water level to what I feel is a good height to collect foam, it ends up over flowing while I’m gone.

not sure if I need to upgrade or I just need to get this one workin properly.

pics attached for reference

 

[TCoach]

Please define “high nutrients”. What are the current parameters and why do you want them to be different from where they are? Your tank looks beautiful!

 

[Rawsreef]

Please define “high nutrients”. What are the current parameters and why do you want them to be different from where they are? Your tank looks beautiful!

Thank you so much!
Let me dive in a bit deeper
I have been testing nitrates for over 3 months and the lowest I’ve seen them is at about 5 PPM which is around where I would like to keep them. That is around the first week I added my chaeto fuge after and after weekly 20% wc’s. Since then I slowed down to 20%wc every 2 weeks and I have been unable to get them to around the light pink which is what I understand to be around 5 PPM.

reason I want to lower nutrients is to have cleaner more prestine water quality with less water changes and over all more waste export.

lost 2 torches the first month I owned them due to what I would assume is nitrates or phosphates or both since it’s really the only thing that is inconsistent in my tank. And now I am losing both sps frags you see in the top right

E - current params are :

Salinity - 1.026
Ph 8 - 8.2
Mag 1360
Calcium 420
Alk 8.4
Nitrates - 20 - 50 hard to tell where exactly it is. But not as dark as the 50 but not as light as the 20. What I would assume is in the range of the 2

 

[ZoWhat]

Women can never have TOO BIG of an Engagement Ring

AND

You can never have TOO BIG of a Skimmer


.

 

[fish farmer]

What are the phosphates? If those are high it could be leaching from the rocks since this was a 10 year old fish only tank and could take some time to come down.

It took me several months with a chaeto fuge/WC to get nitrates and phosphates down to the levels I wanted. My nitrates were 40 and phosphates were 1 ppm on salifert kits and this was on a 29 gallon tank.

I can't comment on that model skimmer, but I did upgrade my skimmer eventually.

 

[TCoach]

Thank you so much!
Let me dive in a bit deeper
I have been testing nitrates for over 3 months and the lowest I’ve seen them is at about 5 PPM which is around where I would like to keep them. That is around the first week I added my chaeto fuge after and after weekly 20% wc’s. Since then I slowed down to 20%wc every 2 weeks and I have been unable to get them to around the light pink which is what I understand to be around 5 PPM.

reason I want to lower nutrients is to have cleaner more prestine water quality with less water changes and over all more waste export.

lost 2 torches the first month I owned them due to what I would assume is nitrates or phosphates or both since it’s really the only thing that is inconsistent in my tank. And now I am losing both sps frags you see in the top right

E - current params are :

Salinity - 1.026
Ph 8 - 8.2
Mag 1360
Calcium 420
Alk 8.4
Nitrates - 20 - 50 hard to tell where exactly it is. But not as dark as the 50 but not as light as the 20. What I would assume is in the range of the 2

I’ve heard that torches seem to be touchy. I’ve never heard of one dying from nutrient levels where you have them. I would put them Up to being torches are difficult.

As far as the SPS issues.

1. Turn down your lights by 50%. We have an unknown issue here and having too much light wllill be an additional stressor. Better to be a little low than a little high.

2. Do you know the names of them? Genius species name is even better.

3. How new are they to your tank?

4. Were they growing, or have they had issues for a while.

5. Please describe your in tank flow.

6. Would you please provide some close up shots of the sps.

7. Any other corals doing poorly or any doing really well?

Sorry for so many questions. Trying to help diagnose the issue.

 

[TCoach]

Didn’t see the clam in your tank from my phone. It looks really happy along with the other corals. I would ask myself if I want change the tank for the 2 sos, or run it for the other happy corals. Just a thought.

 

[Rawsreef]

I’ve heard that torches seem to be touchy. I’ve never heard of one dying from nutrient levels where you have them. I would put them Up to being torches are difficult.

As far as the SPS issues.

1. Turn down your lights by 50%. We have an unknown issue here and having too much light wllill be an additional stressor. Better to be a little low than a little high.

2. Do you know the names of them? Genius species name is even better.

3. How new are they to your tank?

4. Were they growing, or have they had issues for a while.

5. Please describe your in tank flow.

6. Would you please provide some close up shots of the sps.

7. Any other corals doing poorly or any doing really well?

Sorry for so many questions. Trying to help diagnose the issue.

It’s okay, I really appreciate it. I feel they are most likely goners due to a sps eating parasite.. if that’s even a thing? Lol.

not overly worried about it. Wouldn’t be the first corals I lose since I’ve been in the hobby.
One is a purple birds nest stylo that started going first. Been in the tank for about 10 months I feel like it was showing growth maybe a tiny bit. Whatever is getting to it started from the bottom of the frag and worked it’s way up, went down hill very fast.

started on the stylo about a month ago now it’s almost a goner, the green sps i started noticing a decline about 2 weeks ago.

not sure the name on the green sps but here’s some photos when it was healthy, it was a beauty, one of my favorites.

this ones been in my tank about 3 months, no noticeable growth but the polyps would open beautifully every day since day 1.

These photos were taken about a month ago and a half ago when they were still both pretty healthy. I am now noticing you can see at the base of the stylo some tissue already gone in these photos. I feel like it was always like this at the bottom. Definitely spread upwards though.

I will post today pics when I have a chance. The stylo is almost all white and the green sps looks more like a dark brown than green.

I have about 800 gph return pump

2100 gph power head restricted with a foam cause it blows sand around
Less powerful hydro power head. My guess is somewhere in the 1400 gph range

doubt light is the issue as sps like high light and these are under 6 48” t5s nothing more

 

[Rawsreef]

Here’s them now

The purple stylo has already lost flesh on a whole branch(the branch to the bottom right) and it has started growing algae. The same has happened at the bottom or the base of the stylo. Flesh barely hanging on at the tips.

green sps seems to be growing algae on it as well. Not as easy to see but I will post pics.

I believe the tiny spots on the stylo are vermitid snails growing on the dead skeleton. I have vermitid snails everywhere in this tank and doesn’t bother anything really.

 

[Rawsreef]

Here’s more

 

[Dan_P]

Hi everyone!

not really sure if my skimmer up to par, this system came with this skimmer. But ever since I took over this tank I’ve battled high nutrients in the water. Probably cause of my feeding habits, but I like to see my fish and corals happy and eating

System: very established 90 tank running over 10 years fish only. with an older model e-shopps 30 gal sump

Livestock:
added fish for a total of 9 fish
OGs
- yellow tang
-tomini bristletooth tang
- 2 large clowns
- small blue damsel
- fire fish goby

new additions are these fish and a bunch of different corals
- 2 small black percula
- six line wrasse
really want to add a Midas blenny!!

- Decently stocked on corals, mostly small frags.



I feel the main issue is the tuning on the current skimmer. When I tune it so the water level reaches the mark on the skimmer, it shows signs of running lean and no foam collects into the cup. When I eyeball the tuning and get the water level to what I feel is a good height to collect foam, it ends up over flowing while I’m gone.

not sure if I need to upgrade or I just need to get this one workin properly.

pics attached for reference

I think you have two separate issues: adjusting the skimmer and high nitrates. Tackle them separately. For lowering nitrates you can dose vinegar, the cheapest, though a working skimmer would be beneficial. Growing a large amount of macro algae lowers nitrate but can deplete trace elements. I have both. I like growing Ulva macro algae but it took me awhile to “figure out” how to stopped screwing up.