Ok but if I get my nitrate and phosphate up things should look better. All of my other parameters look good and stay stable except for nitrate and phosphate.
Being new to the Hobby I suggest maybe some basic corals to start out with so you can understand water parameters and what it takes to control them. It might not be the things that you want to hear currently but it does take a lot to get the understanding of your tank. As far as for the hammer and the frogspawn it could be a number of things flow lighting nutrients could have some kind of bacterial infection that is transferring to your LPS slowly. I understand getting into the hobby corals look so appealing but without proper practice and knowledge things can fall rather quickly. I am not saying that you haven't done your research. But I am saying that knowledge comes with experience and we have all been there. I feed my fish twice a day two cubes of a variety of things. I also implement a coral food into every feeding to ensure that everything is being fed since I don't Target feed. A lot of people will tell you slow and steady wins the race and again it might not be what you want to hear but take it from me I have lost corals I have some that are thriving I have some that I still have yet to completely understand all I know is that I keep my parameters consistent every day. I tested every day for months to be able to figure out what my tank consumes what my tank doesn't consume and to make sure that my parameters were stable. Even adding corals now I test for the first couple of days to make sure that there isn't any swings in those parameters. Again please do not take this post the wrong way as I am sincerely trying to help. But you will lose more Coral is that it is inevitable it happens there is a lot of corals I no longer have that were starter corals that I learned a lesson on. So with that being said rent a par meter get your levels at a stable parameter with no swings phosphate levels up nitrate consistent regardless of what you dose or what you feed and you will be able to start seeing success. I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out anytime via personal message and I will do my best to assist you.
yes I do and I already calculated it. I am taking 2 AP classes. I do most of my research on my own but sometimes I can’t find answer so I come here or see what people have to say.
I totally under stand. Thanks for the help. I am going to reach out to you in a private message.
It's not just that. The complete biome has to develop and establish. I tried to add corals early to in an unstable environment and most didn't make it. You need to slow down and let the tank build its biome. Focus on stability but building the biodiversity and microfauna. This will eventually lead to healthy corals. The key to this hobby is patience. Right now you don't have the key but you can develop this trait with time.
Ok I am not going to the fish store for a while. I will let my tank mature. How long until you think it will be ready?
Well that is debatable because each tank is unique. Work on your biodiversity. Add pods and phytoplankton. Dose beneficial heterotrophic bacteria like PNS probio. Work through your upcoming ugly stages without adding harsh chemicals. Get your true par numbers by renting a par meter. Weekly water changes are essential on a new tank. Test everything weekly so you have baseline numbers to work with. Keep nitrates 10 to 15 and phosphate. 05 to .1. My tank had its evolution after one year. Everything became much more stable and predictable.
Ok I will get some pods and phytoplankton. I will try and rent a par meter. But why should I do weakly water changes if my nitrate and phosphate are so low? Don’t I want those to build up and then do a water change?
Because water changes keep everything in balance like trace elements not just nitrates and phosphate. Between 4 and 8 months I had to double dose neophos and neonitro to get measurable numbers. It's just part of the tank instability that you need to manage.
Well kudos to you young man for taking on this challenging hobby but you got to be patient and build it. It's not going to happen overnight but you will get there.
Will do. Thanks
That's not a bad option temporarily or you can try to help them turn around in your tank.
Yup I will see what he says. Maybe I will jays give him the corals that don’t look good.
You will get there it just takes time and commitment. Trust me, we have all been there right where you are now.
Actually 4 months is where I started to add my first corals and turn the lights on.
