Looking for some help

[Payne Train]

Hello - my tank has been acting a little funny for a couple weeks now. I've been out of town for a couple days and decided to test a bunch of parameters today.

Some of my LPS have receded - one of my hammers has fell apart more or less. My zoas are semi closed up, not happy. The only thing that seems to be doing alright is my leathers.

The tank is almost 6 months old. I have been trying to get phosphate and nitrates up because they have recently zero's out. So I have been overfeeding and try to leave filter socks/pads in a little longer than usual.
I thought I was getting some NO3 and PO4's back because I have been getting film on my glass, but after testing today - they still read zero

I feed twice a day, and I have been dosing AB+ daily (I've only been dosing 60% of the recommended amount because I was already feeding a little heavy on the M Shrimp)

I have an IM SR 80 - Caribsea life rock. I run a small bag of carbon, a small bad of Purigen, filter floss and a filter sock. I have a Aquamaxx protein skimmer that I havent been running for a short bit because it was constantly overflowing. I have it turned back on right now with a pile of paper towels over the top of it to catch splatter lol .

Any advice?


Test results
Salinity - .025
PH 8.0 . Maybe 8.2
NI - 0
NA - 0
AM - 0
Phos - 0
CA - 425
KH/Alk - 10 (I thought this was high?)
Mag - 1350

 

[Payne Train]

I also use RODI water. Water changes every 10-14 days. Red Sea coral pro salt. Ummm I can’t think of anything else

 

[HuduVudu]

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[K7BMG]

Is your salinity ok and stable? ?
Do you have an auto top off?
I don't know if the API Freshwater Phos kit will read correctly for salt.
I do not want this to turn into a test kit debate.
That said I recommend getting better quality and more accurate test kits.
API is great for getting a tank cycled but not for keeping things alive.

Have you spot fed with Reef Roids?
Mysis shrimp is great food for some things but not a blanket food for everything.

I agree with 10 being high in the alk department but I question the test result.

 

[Payne Train]

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Only through water changes/salt mix at this point.

 

[Payne Train]

Is your salinity ok and stable? ?
Do you have an auto top off?
I don't know if the API Freshwater Phos kit will read correctly for salt.
I do not want this to turn into a test kit debate.
That said I recommend getting better quality and more accurate test kits.
API is great for getting a tank cycled but not for keeping things alive.

Have you spot fed with Reef Roids?
Mysis shrimp is great food for some things but not a blanket food for everything.

I agree with 10 being high in the alk department but I question the test result.

Salinty is .025 and is stable.

I don't have an ATO - but I add RODO water throughout the day in small quantities. (I've never checked my salinity and it not be almost exactly .025)

The API Phos test kit says that it is used for saltwater.

My CA, Alk, and Mag are all Salifert test kits - the rest is API.

I have not spot fed, I broadcast with AB+ and MIsis Shrimp.

 

[Payne Train]

I did a water change 7 days ago, about 15%. I plan on doing another 10% or so water change this evening.

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

I think you just have a really green tank. 6 months old and showing no nitrates and phosphates tells me it hasn't begun to grow in yet, or is maybe just starting. Hard to get good results with corals in short time. You might have too much filtration for the waste you are creating. What do you have for livestock?

 

[K7BMG]

Salinty is .025 and is stable.

I don't have an ATO - but I add RODO water throughout the day in small quantities. (I've never checked my salinity and it not be almost exactly .025)

The API Phos test kit says that it is used for saltwater.

My CA, Alk, and Mag are all Salifert test kits - the rest is API.

I have not spot fed, I broadcast with AB+ and MIsis Shrimp.

Not knowing your salinity is a big problem.
This is something you need to know, and is most likely your problem.

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

Not knowing your salinity is a big problem.
This is something you need to know, and is most likely your problem.

He is saying his salinity is always 1.025. Op just said it a little differently.

 

[Payne Train]

I think you just have a really green tank. 6 months old and showing no nitrates and phosphates tells me it hasn't begun to grow in yet, or is maybe just starting. Hard to get good results with corals in short time. You might have too much filtration for the waste you are creating. What do you have for livestock?

CUC crew of various snails and hermits.
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Cardinal
A pair of Clowns
1 Diamond Watchman Goby
1 Yellow Eye khole tang.

Various LPS and soft corals.

 

[Payne Train]

Not knowing your salinity is a big problem.
This is something you need to know, and is most likely your problem.

My salinity since day one of the tank has been .025 with very little variance. I can confidently say that salinity is not the issue.

 

[Payne Train]

Looking for some more opinions - I just went back and looked at the pics that I posted with this and the corals don't look awful in the pics. But they have indeed continued to get worse by a lot since about 10 days ago. There's something definitely going on.
I had thought zero'd out NO3 and PO4 would have done it but with the amount of food that I have been putting through the tank, I have a hard time believing that is the sole cause.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Raising nutrients is always a good idea and I suggest saving up for a reliable test kit for phosphate/nitrate.

I would look more at flow and lighting if your fish are active and happy. Iodine based dip for zoas can open them up if they are stressed.

 

[HandofThanatos]

Not sure how much of an issue it could actually be, but i see a good amount of some decent size leather corals in there.

I have heard they just exude a chemical that irritates other corals a lot, so if you don't run activated carbon it can become an issue.

Like i said, not sure if it could cause this, but maybe it could be this plus some other small issue.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Not sure how much of an issue it could actually be, but i see a good amount of some decent size leather corals in there.

I have heard they just exude a chemical that irritates other corals a lot, so if you don't run activated carbon it can become an issue.

Like i said, not sure if it could cause this, but maybe it could be this plus some other small issue.

Fantastic point. Leathers and hammers can do chemical warefare.

 

[Payne Train]

Not sure how much of an issue it could actually be, but i see a good amount of some decent size leather corals in there.

I have heard they just exude a chemical that irritates other corals a lot, so if you don't run activated carbon it can become an issue.

Like i said, not sure if it could cause this, but maybe it could be this plus some other small issue.

You are correct - a mixed reef can have issues, but I do run carbon and purigen to take care of that. I try and keep my leathers away from any LPS.

 

[Payne Train]

Raising nutrients is always a good idea and I suggest saving up for a reliable test kit for phosphate/nitrate.

I would look more at flow and lighting if your fish are active and happy. Iodine based dip for zoas can open them up if they are stressed.

I keep my flow around the moderate level, nothing too strong. Nothing really gets hit with direct flow except a Kenyan tree that is in the cross fire of two power heads.

I run mostly blues with my Zetlight 6800's. At peak I run 55% whites and around 85% with my blues.
Most of the coral that I've had has been in the tank for 3 months and they are just now showing these issues.

 

[ichthyoid]

Take a water sample to your LFS & get a complete set of water tests (don’t trust API). Pay for it if you have to, or maybe an experienced reefer nearby can help?

Take the collection cup off your skimmer & keep running it until it settles down. Then remount the cup & tune it until foam barely goes to the top of the cup.

Do a 20% water change ASAP. Won’t hurt, sounds like it will probably help.

Report back what you find.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Pests? Do you dip?
Do you ground or use GFCI?
A million factors here haha