Feeling Frustrated!

snapshot11 · May 19, 2013

Ok So I am feeling a bit frustrated and here's why..... It's long but after reading I would appreciate any advice or encouragement.

I have a 24 gallon aquapod (made by current) the tank itself is now discontinued. I was not as educated the first time I tried putting the tank together and while I had some success It just never developed into what I had envisioned. Now I am sort of starting new in terms of stocking the tank with fish, inverts, and corals. Currently I have a peppermint shrimp, and skunk cleaner shrimp, and 3 astrea snails.

Lighting:

The lighting is the stock lighting and it runs 32w dual compact florescent daylight and 32w dual actinic. The lighting is not MH so I know I am limited to the kinds of corals I can keep... but the stock lighting seems too hot for the tank. 24 gallons is a small tank to run a chiller right? I've thought about trying to upgrade to LED's but I know nothing about electrical wiring so I can't do it myself and I have no idea where I could take it. I also liked the fact that the tank was self contained so I really don't want to have to change the hood or take it off. I've seen the same size tanks I have with tons of beautiful corals and such so I know it's possible.

Corals:

I have a few mushrooms in the tank already that are left over from my first attempt. I feel like they aren't happy (losing their color) because again the lighting is too strong. Im working on reducing the light cycle to see if that helps them. I may also need to move them down in the tank as they are at mid height right now and maybe they need to be lower.

Zoas are supposed to be some of the easiest corals to keep and I've had two different rocks with zoa colonies on them and neither has held up. My water parameters (listed below) seem to be great unless Im missing something. I have checked for irritants and predators and one of the colonies had amphipods all over it so I dipped it to get them off.

Coraline is also not growing very rapidly. My tank is 4 years old and I have some but not much. I haven't tested my alk but Im looking into that now. Recently the purple coraline I had bleached to white. Again because I think the light cycle was too long and I have noticed since I have reduced it the purple is coming back. I just pictured my LR covered in it and it's just not happening.

I know this hobby takes time but I also want to see some results and I feel like Im working hard and not seeing anything. Again ecouragement or advice is gladly accepted.

Ph: 8.2
calcium: 440
amonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5ppm
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 76

snapshot11 · May 19, 2013

Thanks In advance for anyone who takes the time to read my Super long post!

ronnie · May 19, 2013

Some things to check:
Alkalinity (as you said)
Phosphates - how much do you feed and how often?

For your lights - the PC you have now aren't too strong. If anything, they arent providing enough light to your coral. 76 degrees isn't bad, so I don't think temp is an issue unless you are spiking up to 82 or something every day. If you are, bump your heater up to 79.

LEDs are fairly easy to retro into the hood. It just takes some time and patience. I would really recommend looking at upgrading to LEDs to get the light your coral need and to avoid having to buy PC bulbs again.

Can you post pics of the tank as it is now? That might help us out as well.

46gReef · May 19, 2013

Agreed..& pics would definitely help

Zack · May 19, 2013

You probably doesn't have enough light to grow most corals, maybe not even enough for softies. 76 degrees is DEFINTLEY not too hot by any standards. my tank gets up to 80 and sometimes even 81 and i have only sps which are all thriving in those temps.I keep my heater at 79 to prevent large temp swings.
Like ronnie said it is actually really easy to retro fit leds. Just do a little research to find what leds you could buy that would fit in your with with the least amount of modification.

Tom Does Disney · May 19, 2013

The post wasn't too long !!

PC lighting is def a thing of the past. I would recommend REALLY looking into an LED upgrade. I know you said you are not good with wiring but there are some pretty simple ways to do this.

Can you take the hood off and snap a picture of what it looks like as well as measure the area where the PC bulbs are now

NanaReefer · May 19, 2013

I ran my 8g Oceanic Bio-Cube with the original stock lights for almost 2yrs. Had everything but sps and they did wonderfully!!
Your not as limited as you think

Does the Aquapod not come with a fan?

Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

snapshot11 · May 19, 2013

Ok so I tried to get some pics of the things I explained above.... Many of you are saying that its not that my lighting is too much but that it's not enough. What I don't understand is why I have seen some results (mushrooms regaining a little color and coraline purple coming back from white) when I reduced the amount of time my lights were on. Since Im new Im guessing Im missing something.

In the picture you can see the mushrooms that while open they just aren't the dark reddish brown with vibrant blue spots and lines like they should be. They have reproduced well and I now have several spots in my tank where they are attached. But their color is off.

Also you can see where the coraline algae on the rock was totally white. The spaces that are purple only came back once I changed the lighting. But for a tank that is 4 years old I would think there would be more of it. I have noticed a couple spots of bright pink popping up to which is nice. I'd like to have more of that.

I know the aiptasia is a nuisance and needs to go. I have a peppermint shrimp but I also know one will not eat it all and so I will be taking care of that as soon as possible.

As for the Upgrade in lighting I think Im going to ask around at my LFS and see if they know of someone or place that can retro-fit LED lights and then i need to start saving.

Thanks so much for your input!

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1369007120.426771.jpg

justgotwet · May 19, 2013

You said your tank is 4 years old? Have you ever replaced the bulbs in your hood? PC lighting the bulbs should be changed between 9 months and a year.