Need support and analysis

tigerlili · Apr 13, 2021

I am new to reefing and I already have committed mass murder. .

My anenome went thru chemo and lost all its tentacles (my pH got too low). I cannot grow chaeto either in my sump. I also lost a brittle
Starfish.

Now my aquarium is better.

120g
Aquamaxx FC skimmer
Triton Sump 44
CO2 skimmer (newly installed )
Current Loop Lighting with 2 current powerheads
Autodoser (kamoer F4 pro) for triton method
Hanna chem checkers now (aft

pH 8.2
Alk. 10.1 dKH
No ammonia
No nitrate
No nitrite

I have munnid isopods, pineapple sponges and that “wonderful” green algae on my glass.

I only have a pink skunk and a ocellaris, an urchin, sebae anenome surviving.

I have 2 QT going. One for corals and one for fish (fire Fish: 3 of 6 surviving)

my questions are:
Is my anenome going to survive and grow back it’s tentacles?

Why can’t I grow chaeto? (Tried several types of lights ). Is it because my nitrate load is minimal due to small bio load?

what am I doing wrong!!!

CMMorgan · Apr 13, 2021

tigerlili said:
I am new to reefing and I already have committed mass murder. .

My anenome went thru chemo and lost all its tentacles (my pH got too low). I cannot grow chaeto either in my sump. I also lost a brittle
Starfish.

Now my aquarium is better.

120g
Aquamaxx FC skimmer
Triton Sump 44
CO2 skimmer (newly installed )
Current Loop Lighting with 2 current powerheads
Autodoser (kamoer F4 pro) for triton method
Hanna chem checkers now (aft

pH 8.2
Alk. 10.1 dKH
No ammonia
No nitrate
No nitrite

I have munnid isopods, pineapple sponges and that “wonderful” green algae on my glass.

I only have a pink skunk and a ocellaris, an urchin, sebae anenome surviving.

I have 2 QT going. One for corals and one for fish (fire Fish: 3 of 6 surviving)

my questions are:
Is my anenome going to survive and grow back it’s tentacles?

Why can’t I grow chaeto? (Tried several types of lights ). Is it because my nitrate load is minimal due to small bio load?

what am I doing wrong!!!

What are your phosphates? Are you feeding the Chaeto?
Hang in there... nothing good happens fast in reefing.
I cannot answer the anemone question - hopefully someone can jump in here for that one.

mike550 · Apr 13, 2021

@tigerlili I'm with @CMMorgan rushing things never works out well. Two easy Qs.

1. Can you send a pic of your anemone? I've never seen one "drop" its tentacles. Maybe they are simply pulled in?
2. How old is your tank? Some things just take time and the tank needs to mature before certain things can flourish.

tigerlili · Apr 13, 2021

mike550 said:
@tigerlili I'm with @CMMorgan rushing things never works out well. Two easy Qs.

1. Can you send a pic of your anemone? I've never seen one "drop" its tentacles. Maybe they are simply pulled in?
2. How old is your tank? Some things just take time and the tank needs to mature before certain things can flourish.

My tank is 7 month old. I cycled it for 6months with Marco, turbo and Tim’s ammonia. I just bought some coralline algae boost to add to my aquarium.

tigerlili · Apr 13, 2021

CMMorgan said:
What are your phosphates? Are you feeding the Chaeto?
Hang in there... nothing good happens fast in reefing.
I cannot answer the anemone question - hopefully someone can jump in here for that one.

My phosphate is 0.015ppm. Ca 519 ppm.
I feed chaetogrow. But it ain’t growing. I wonder if is the the low bipolar right now.

tigerlili · Apr 13, 2021

tigerlili said:
My phosphate is 0.015ppm. Ca 519 ppm.
I feed chaetogrow. But it ain’t growing. I wonder if is the the low bipolar right now.

Bioload

Pistondog · Apr 13, 2021

Chaeto requires food and good light.
It is pretty efficient at pulling nutrients out of the water. The algae on the glass might suggest your nutrients are above zero, but being consumed by algae.
For the chaeto, get a cheap horticulture light and raise the chaeto to the surface to maximize par.

Been running triton for 2 years, very few water changes, but working fuge is a must!

luvinreefer · Apr 13, 2021

tigerlili said:
I am new to reefing and I already have committed mass murder. .

My anenome went thru chemo and lost all its tentacles (my pH got too low). I cannot grow chaeto either in my sump. I also lost a brittle
Starfish.

Now my aquarium is better.

120g
Aquamaxx FC skimmer
Triton Sump 44
CO2 skimmer (newly installed )
Current Loop Lighting with 2 current powerheads
Autodoser (kamoer F4 pro) for triton method
Hanna chem checkers now (aft

pH 8.2
Alk. 10.1 dKH
No ammonia
No nitrate
No nitrite

I have munnid isopods, pineapple sponges and that “wonderful” green algae on my glass.

I only have a pink skunk and a ocellaris, an urchin, sebae anenome surviving.

I have 2 QT going. One for corals and one for fish (fire Fish: 3 of 6 surviving)

my questions are:
Is my anenome going to survive and grow back it’s tentacles?

Why can’t I grow chaeto? (Tried several types of lights ). Is it because my nitrate load is minimal due to small bio load?

what am I doing wrong!!!

Curious as to how low your PH got? I've got a new tank as well and my PH is 7.65. So far everything looks happy.... As far as the Chaeto the low Nitrates are probably the reason. What are your phosphates?

tigerlili · Apr 13, 2021

luvinreefer said:
Curious as to how low your PH got? I've got a new tank as well and my PH is 7.65. So far everything looks happy.... As far as the Chaeto the low Nitrates are probably the reason. What are your phosphates?

pH got down to 7.8. My Phosphate is 0.015ppm.

tigerlili · Apr 13, 2021

Pistondog said:
Chaeto requires food and good light.
It is pretty efficient at pulling nutrients out of the water. The algae on the glass might suggest your nutrients are above zero, but being consumed by algae.
For the chaeto, get a cheap horticulture light and raise the chaeto to the surface to maximize par.

Been running triton for 2 years, very few water changes, but working fuge is a must!

I may try that light. My bio load is very small right now, but I overfeed my tank to compensate.