does high nutrients cause sps to peel ?

David Cher · Mar 24, 2017

does high nutrients cause sps to peel ?

my no3 is 12ppm measured using nyos and po4 at 0.007ppm ( hanna phosphourous )

i seen a lot of high nutrient tank

andrew james · Mar 24, 2017

those two numbers alone wouldnt hurt sps all that much. Roller coaster dKH on the otherhand will.

Brewman1987 · Mar 24, 2017

What is your dkh and have you been checking daily/weekly?

David Cher · Mar 24, 2017

Brewman1987 said:
What is your dkh and have you been checking daily/weekly?

Trying to keep it at 6.5 using zeovit now . Measuring daily

Brewman1987 · Mar 24, 2017

Hmmmm any pest in the tank or limpets?

andrew james · Mar 24, 2017

Have you asked on the Zeo Forum?. Zeo is very unforgiving something as little as getting the flow wrong on your zeo reactor can cause STN. Especially when starting.

Donovan Joannes · Mar 24, 2017

Does limpet eats coral? I have e few but they are busy grazing on algae.

Brewman1987 · Mar 24, 2017

Keyhole limpets will and have eaten acropora and other sps. I have caught several munching on my sps.

Donovan Joannes · Mar 24, 2017

Brewman1987 said:
Keyhole limpets will and have eaten acropora and other sps. I have caught several munching on my sps.

I see. Maybe i have a different type of limpets. They are better grazer than turbos.

2Wheelsonly · Mar 25, 2017

David Cher said:
does high nutrients cause sps to peel ?

my no3 is 12ppm measured using nyos and po4 at 0.007ppm ( hanna phosphourous )

i seen a lot of high nutrient tank

If they are changing alot then yes...I think WWC runs their tank at around 15-20 no3 and 0.08 po4. That ULNS stuff kills SPS more than the numbers you posted; zeovit is way more trouble than it's worth. Some of the most beautiful tanks iv'e seen in person have nutrients in the tank and I have YET to see an ULNS in person that I envy. I think this fad hurts new people in the hobby more than anything. People new to SPS think their tank has to be free of all no3 and po4 and they starve their corals.

I feel like making sure alk is stable is the true key to SPS.

David Cher · Mar 25, 2017

2Wheelsonly said:
If they are changing alot then yes...I think WWC runs their tank at around 15-20 no3 and 0.08 po4. That ULNS stuff kills SPS more than the numbers you posted; zeovit is way more trouble than it's worth. Some of the most beautiful tanks iv'e seen in person have nutrients in the tank and I have YET to see an ULNS in person that I envy. I think this fad hurts new people in the hobby more than anything. People new to SPS think their tank has to be free of all no3 and po4 and they starve their corals.

I feel like making sure alk is stable is the true key to SPS.

How to keep the alk stable using cr ???

2Wheelsonly · Mar 25, 2017

David Cher said:
How to keep the alk stable using cr ???

I have a calc reactor, I test alk almost daily until I get it "dialed" in. I have an aquarium plants regulator and use an Apex controller with a PH probe in the reactor. I shut off my regulator once my ph hits 6.70 and then on when it rises to 6.75. I set the drip rate to where my alk rises or falls very very slowly to the point I get it to stand fairly still. I know it's stable and dialed in because whenever I check my alk with my hannah checker it's always 7.6-7.8 to the point I stop checking daily and switch to once a week and then checking if things look "off".

The drip meter on my Vertex reactor is garbage so I constantly tweak my drip valve until I visually see the drip pattern into my sump is where I want it based on memory. I eventually will get a peristaltic pump but it's a pain in the rear IMO to find the right one for the right price and then get all the plumbing integrated with the medical grade tubing you need for it.

BCSreef · Mar 25, 2017

2Wheelsonly said:
I have a calc reactor, I test alk almost daily until I get it "dialed" in. I have an aquarium plants regulator and use an Apex controller with a PH probe in the reactor. I shut off my regulator once my ph hits 6.70 and then on when it rises to 6.75. I set the drip rate to where my alk rises or falls very very slowly to the point I get it to stand fairly still. I know it's stable and dialed in because whenever I check my alk with my hannah checker it's always 7.6-7.8 to the point I stop checking daily and switch to once a week and then checking if things look "off".

The drip meter on my Vertex reactor is garbage so I constantly tweak my drip valve until I visually see the drip pattern into my sump is where I want it based on memory. I eventually will get a peristaltic pump but it's a pain in the rear IMO to find the right one for the right price and then get all the plumbing integrated with the medical grade tubing you need for it.

I had the same issue with my reactor. Constantly adjusting the valve. I thought about peristaltics, but after working with them for over 30 years in labs, I know they fail. Usually a tubing split or over pressure tubing burst. I came up with a $15-$20 solution.

I gravity feed my reactor at about 1 inch of head. Of course, the feed line gets clogged with sediment just like the valve. What I did is added a small centrifugal pump to pump in the opposite direction of the feed to dislodge sediment. I have my controller turn the pump on to reverse flow for 10 seconds twice a day. The reactor pH stays at 6.6 with no adjustments needed for months.

If you can't gravity feed, buy two pumps and install in opposite flow directions. 2-4 times a day turn the feed pump off for 10 seconds and the reverse pump on. Of course, you need a controller to do any of this.

Hope that helps,

Bob