No luck keeping corals alive

[TCfishie]

System details:

Reefer 250 system is 1 year old.

Ammonia 0.2
calcium 333
alky 9.3
temp 77.8
ph 8.15
salinity 24
ORP 353
copper 0.2
nitrate 0.0
nitrite 0.0

RODI 7 stage, double DI 0.00 TDS


I have ordered Seachem cupisorb which I will run in a reactor. Hopefully that will take care of the copper. Don’t really understand how it got there.

Just had a Devils Hand die, so I am guessing that’s the source of the Ammonia. Just started the carbon reactor after the test.

Other than the Ammonia the water parameters are fairly stable.

I Have tried to add several corals over the last 10 months with little success. I had a toadstool that made it 4 months. Most of the other adds died within a month.

next plan is to add a manifold, algea scrubber and connect the UV.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[WisReef]

have you always had detectable ammonia levels? Seems off for a tank that is a year old and property cycled. Also how are your phosphate levels? Nitrates being 0 isn’t helping…coral need food.

 

[Tamberav]

My guess is some of these tests are not accurate.

Also 0 Nitrate?
Do you know PO4?

Why would you add an algae scrubber with 0 nitrate? I don't see algae issues.

What is in the reactor?

Corals need nutrients, softies more so.

 

[dedragon]

333 calcium is low as well

 

[vetteguy53081]

Calcium low and agree , , , , not impossible but unusual readings which suggest false reading results

 

[Oldreefer44]

Agree with above. Always verify test results either with ICP test, secondary test kit or take to LFS. For a year old system it almost looks too clean. Also don't see any coraline algae which is a bad sign.

 

[Karen00]

Is that a typo on your salinity? That is really low as well. That's 1.018sg. Was that supposed to be 34ppt?

 

[Lavey29]

As others have already mentioned your parameters are off. I have a red sea XL300 so basically the same tank and sump. You need calcium at 400 to 450, nitrates at 10ppm and phosphate. 05 to .1. Salinity needs to be 1.025 or 26. Consistency is critical. How often do you water change? What lights are you using?

 

[TCfishie]

have you always had detectable ammonia levels? Seems off for a tank that is a year old and property cycled. Also how are your phosphate levels? Nitrates being 0 isn’t helping…coral need food.

Ammonia seems to be after any deaths of fish / coral. Usually it’s zero, the picture is of the Ammonia but it’s hard to read correctly with the color scale.

 

[TCfishie]

As others have already mentioned your parameters are off. I have a red sea XL300 so basically the same tank and sump. You need calcium at 400 to 450, nitrates at 10ppm and phosphate. 05 to .1. Salinity needs to be 1.025 or 26. Consistency is critical. How often do you water change? What lights are you using?

Water change of 20 gallons per week. Lights are HD 26’s the blue spectrum is off now since I don’t have any coral.

 

[TCfishie]

Agree with above. Always verify test results either with ICP test, secondary test kit or take to LFS. For a year old system it almost looks too clean. Also don't see any coraline algae which is a bad sign.

 

[TCfishie]

Salt is 24.1.

 

[TCfishie]

My guess is some of these tests are not accurate.

Also 0 Nitrate?
Do you know PO4?

Why would you add an algae scrubber with 0 nitrate? I don't see algae issues.

What is in the reactor?

Corals need nutrients, softies more so.i have had problems in the past with GHA

have you always had detectable ammonia levels? Seems off for a tank that is a year old and property cycled. Also how are your phosphate levels? Nitrates being 0 isn’t helping…coral need food.

I had problems off and on with red slime and then GHA more recently. The algae scrubber is for nutrient export.

 

[TCfishie]

My guess is some of these tests are not accurate.

Also 0 Nitrate?
Do you know PO4?

Why would you add an algae scrubber with 0 nitrate? I don't see algae issues.

What is in the reactor?

Corals need nutrients, softies more so.

Carbon in the reactor, started up after the high ammonia reading

 

[TCfishie]

Agreed no coralline which is one of my concerns

 

[Woodyman]

Salt is 24.1.

I'm assuming this is in ppt and as @Karen00 pointed out. Way to low! You need to get that in the 34-35ppt range.

Do you check your water change water for SpG? Or the tank ever? Calibrate the apex probe?

 

[TCfishie]

Calcium low and agree , , , , not impossible but unusual readings which suggest false reading results

I can dose the calcium back up, I turned off the DOS a few months ago .

 

[Woodyman]

I can dose the calcium back up, I turned off the DOS a few months ag.

Don't dose for anything until you get your SpG correct. Raising your salinity to the proper range will increase your values for everything else. Ca included.

 

[TCfishie]

My guess is some of these tests are not accurate.

Also 0 Nitrate?
Do you know PO4?

Why would you add an algae scrubber with 0 nitrate? I don't see algae issues.

What is in the reactor?

Corals need nutrients, softies more so.

Most of the kits are Hana: Nitrate, Nitrite, calcium, alky, ammonia (used Red Sea too), phosphat.

 

[TCfishie]

As others have already mentioned your parameters are off. I have a red sea XL300 so basically the same tank and sump. You need calcium at 400 to 450, nitrates at 10ppm and phosphate. 05 to .1. Salinity needs to be 1.025 or 26. Consistency is critical. How often do you water change? What lights are you using?

Have an ATO so the salt stay close to 1.024