Please help my mediocre reef tank

[Wen]

Hiya,
It is obvious you are a dedicated reefer and with your determination, an amazing tank is in process!
You may check out David Saxby’s hydra light schedule. I’ve been using it for 2 years and happy with it. You can tweak it to your particulars, but it’s a great format.
I agree with Reefcowboy that you should check out the RODI. Mine was an excellent investment, you may consider making your own in the near future.
Looking at your photos, to me, it seems the tank is missing more life forms. And what I mean by that is, maybe consider adding miracle mud to your fuge, planting some pretty macro algae in your display, adding live pods for a couple months, adding live rock to your fuge, feeding LRS, try Paul B’s idea of feeding live clams, feed small amounts more often, consider a few drops of phytoplankton each week and if you have access to fresh, clean ocean water add a gallon once a month.
(All these things made a big difference for my tank.)
Hope this helps.

 

[firedancer414]

Hiya,
It is obvious you are a dedicated reefer and with your determination, an amazing tank is in process!
You may check out David Saxby’s hydra light schedule. I’ve been using it for 2 years and happy with it. You can tweak it to your particulars, but it’s a great format.
I agree with Reefcowboy that you should check out the RODI. Mine was an excellent investment, you may consider making your own in the near future.
Looking at your photos, to me, it seems the tank is missing more life forms. And what I mean by that is, maybe consider adding miracle mud to your fuge, planting some pretty macro algae in your display, adding live pods for a couple months, adding live rock to your fuge, feeding LRS, try Paul B’s idea of feeding live clams, feed small amounts more often, consider a few drops of phytoplankton each week and if you have access to fresh, clean ocean water add a gallon once a month.
(All these things made a big difference for my tank.)
Hope this helps.

Thanks, just pulled it up. I switched to a 4hr peak intensity schedule down from 8hr, with 4 hr ramp down/up and some blues in the morning/evening because I sort of love the blue look.

I re-watched the BRS / WWC recently lighting videos and am going to rent a PAR meter from BRS too.

I did order the TDS meter, as well.

I think everything else - I'm going to hold off while I fix my lights which are clearly an issue, per previous suggestions, for at least 3 weeks. I am planning on paying closer attention to metering the food intake / nutrient levels more closely to get them > 0.

Brian

 

[Victoria M]

Thanks, just pulled it up. I switched to a 4hr peak intensity schedule down from 8hr, with 4 hr ramp down/up and some blues in the morning/evening because I sort of love the blue look.

I re-watched the BRS / WWC recently lighting videos and am going to rent a PAR meter from BRS too.

I did order the TDS meter, as well.

I think everything else - I'm going to hold off while I fix my lights which are clearly an issue, per previous suggestions, for at least 3 weeks. I am planning on paying closer attention to metering the food intake / nutrient levels more closely to get them > 0.

Brian

Great place to start Brian. The PAR meter rental is a great idea. I think you will find the 100% on those channels is too much but data collecting is way better than us all giving educated guesses on the AI website there are several schedules you can download. I have 2 AI HYDRA 26 HDs over a 30 inch high tank, and I was pretty happy with my PAR readings.

 

[samnaz]

Another idea, if you want to rule out the shrimp and coral beauty, invest $25 in a Zmodo cam. You can have alerts sent to your phone whenever it detects movement, and that’s free.

 

[Spanky05]

Whatever lighting change you make, I would think you would want to be gradual about it.

Also, regarding the water from local water shop: Trust but verify. You would be incredibly frustrated if you made alllll these changes and the root cause of your problem was your water source.

 

[Nhltc99]

If you think low nutrients are contributing to poor coral health, easy change would be to cut back photo period of fuge light, and/or keep the chaeto trimmed smaller. This should help limit the nutrient consumption by the chaeto and potentially leave more nutrients for the corals.

 

[AdamB]

I agree with you on your lighting being high. I don’t run my hydas that high from your snapshot.
I also noticed you calcium and alk having some swings for a and being pretty low at times . That could be the issue without seeing much growth ?

 

[Tastee]

Your tank may not be looking the best but you have obviously put a lot of time and effort into your research and learning, so kudos there. You’re also keeping a bunch of fish and inverts alive and happy so you’re doing plenty right. I’m +1 for most of the advice in this thread, at least those areas I feel qualified to have an opinion on. Here is my 2c worth. My tank is 2 yrs old now, so I’m by no means an expert but have learnt a lot in that time.

Make any changes gradually. Reeeaaaalll sssllllooooowwwwww. I bumped my Mg dosing up from 0 to 30 ppm in one hit and my prize Acro turned white overnight. He came back thankfully and eventually preferred the new conditions but it was lesson learnt.

I would target measurable NO3 and PO4. Corals need these to survive and thrive. I have already killed a couple of corals learning that 0/0 is not a good level. I am currently at 0.75 ppm NO3 and 0.08 ppm PO4 and everyone is happy. I test weekly when I am changing anything, or levels change, otherwise every 3-4 weeks. I’m letting them rise naturally and keeping an eye on both the tank but also the ratio. When your tank is healthy and corals are growing they will consume these nutrients.

I note you said you dose in batches each night. I dose AF 3 part and changed from a cycle where I dosed each part over different 6-8 hour periods to dosing each part 24x7 (DOS heads). I saw definite improvements overall from this, both in animal health/happiness and water clarity. Stability is key even in a 24 hour cycle.

Here is my tank so you can see what I’m keeping, sorry, not the best photo, but current.


Good luck and I’ll be following!

 

[JRAD]

I think renting a par meter is a great idea. Too much par can be as bad as too little!

 

[firedancer414]

Your tank may not be looking the best but you have obviously put a lot of time and effort into your research and learning, so kudos there. You’re also keeping a bunch of fish and inverts alive and happy so you’re doing plenty right. I’m +1 for most of the advice in this thread, at least those areas I feel qualified to have an opinion on. Here is my 2c worth. My tank is 2 yrs old now, so I’m by no means an expert but have learnt a lot in that time.

Make any changes gradually. Reeeaaaalll sssllllooooowwwwww. I bumped my Mg dosing up from 0 to 30 ppm in one hit and my prize Acro turned white overnight. He came back thankfully and eventually preferred the new conditions but it was lesson learnt.

I would target measurable NO3 and PO4. Corals need these to survive and thrive. I have already killed a couple of corals learning that 0/0 is not a good level. I am currently at 0.75 ppm NO3 and 0.08 ppm PO4 and everyone is happy. I test weekly when I am changing anything, or levels change, otherwise every 3-4 weeks. I’m letting them rise naturally and keeping an eye on both the tank but also the ratio. When your tank is healthy and corals are growing they will consume these nutrients.

I note you said you dose in batches each night. I dose AF 3 part and changed from a cycle where I dosed each part over different 6-8 hour periods to dosing each part 24x7 (DOS heads). I saw definite improvements overall from this, both in animal health/happiness and water clarity. Stability is key even in a 24 hour cycle.

Here is my tank so you can see what I’m keeping, sorry, not the best photo, but current.


Good luck and I’ll be following!

Thanks for the thoughts much appreciated. Totally agreed on the 24x7 dosing - need to look into that. I have GHL 2.1, will do some Googling later tonight.

 

[BeejReef]

First off, congratulate yourself on setting up a nice system!

My 2c is that you did what I did... watched the BRS vids, heard all about the importance of light and flow, and followed their directions. Thing is, they're talking about SPS/acropora tanks. We're growing mostly lps and softies. MP10's are pretty stout. Running them at 90% in a smaller tank is pretty aggressive. Jekyl noted your robust lighting schedule.

Go easy on em bro!

 

[firedancer414]

First off, congratulate yourself on setting up a nice system!

My 2c is that you did what I did... watched the BRS vids, heard all about the importance of light and flow, and followed their directions. Thing is, they're talking about SPS/acropora tanks. We're growing mostly lps and softies. MP10's are pretty stout. Running them at 90% in a smaller tank is pretty aggressive. Jekyl noted your robust lighting schedule.

Go easy on em bro!

Totally - although the objective is to have a full mixed reef and to be able to care for acros! This is my wishlist. For another thread I guess =)

ORA Pearlberry
Green slimer
Oregon Blue Tort
Red Planet
Strawberry shortcake
Pink Lemonade
Garf Bonsai
Hawkins Echinata
Red Dragon
PC Rainbow
Purple Monster

 

[BeejReef]

Good vid to watch. He speaks to the lighting differences between sps and lps/softies at about the 4 min mark.
It's a balance w a mixed reef. I think I just started out a little too far towards SPSville, particularly as I barely have any yet.

I'm with you. I've got an establishing LPS w a few softies, but am looking to bulk up on some entry-level acros. The top of my scape is bare.

 

[firedancer414]

Ah, forgot to mention I did re-test nutrients yesterday and nitrate/phosphate both undetectable as anticipated.

Putting a pin in that I want to experiment with multiple feedings (one in the morning before work / one at night).

 

[jurgenph]

Thanks, just pulled it up. I switched to a 4hr peak intensity schedule down from 8hr, with 4 hr ramp down/up and some blues in the morning/evening because I sort of love the blue look.

can you post the actual intensity values for the different channels?

how high off the water is your light?

those little hd26's are quite strong.


J.

 

[firedancer414]

can you post the actual intensity values for the different channels?

how high off the water is your light?

those little hd26's are quite strong.


J.

It's 12 inches above the water. I rented the PAR meter from BRS so will have the real numbers probably by next week, targeting that 250 recommended PAR at the top of the tank. The spectrum is just emulating the Radion AB+ spectrum.

As an aside - I'd prefer to move the light higher than reduce intensity of the light for the added benefit of making the light more uniform. I also ordered a diffuser for the light (unrelated to the issues I'm facing) https://3dreefing.com/products/26-diffuser which should reduce PAR by an additional 10-15%.

 

[CherryStReef]

In a 40g breeder, I dump in ten pellets of fish food plus a 1/2 scoop of Reef Chili 3x per day. About twice per week I also put in a cube of frozen. I vastly prefer the issues of overfeeding to the pain of letting the nutrients dip too low just one time... LOL. So my suggestion would be to feed more.

 

[DHill6]

You have a nice setup, been there did that now I’m on less is best mode. Gone are the dosers, reactors, Pax Bellum, chaeto fuge, Triton, back to basics...water, flow, then light. Also a reefer 170 using TMPro salt, weekly 4 g wc. Radion 4 Pro, turned intensity down and used a par meter. It’s set at max 40%, AB schedule with whites, reds greens turned down. Fought a battle with gha, that is over. Acan was almost dead, beautiful within 3 months. Feeding LRF a small piece a day for clown and TDO pellets for both clown and mandarin. Whatever is floating around tank after the LRF is a boost. . Acans, scolies, anemone get Reef Frenzy pellets once per week usually. Flow is random using 2 mp40s not more than 45% using reefcrest and lagoon modes. I make my own ro/di water. The only thing being dosed is alk, it was 7.2, slowly raising it to 8. Recently I’ve been adding Oceanmagic live phytoplankton and tisbe pods. I’ve accidentally dumped a lot of phyto, I’m guessing 35ml, it was supposed to be 5ml, I took off the wrong cap, no negatives as of yet, I did a 4 g wc that night. Sps testers, 3 of them are looking good. Last week I cut a scoly or hybrid scoly, it’s a strange one,in half and also separated the second mouth. They are all doing good, they all ate pellets on day 2, I think the water quality is the number one factor in turning things around. My opinion, not fighting algae or corals in distress anymore, one white Wyoming clown, one male mandarin eats TDO pellets, one red urchin, 16 trochius snails, 8 astrea snails. Not over stocked, going slowly this time around. Hope this helped.

 

[DHill6]

I forgot to add the gorgorian and mimosa clam. I’m not baking this tank with light, the sps and clam are fine, BB with coralline. The light was running higher, it’s 9 inches off tank with a diffuser. Once I turned it down the corals looked better. Was at 54% max, now 40 % max. Flow was also turned down from 65% to 45% max. I changed things one at a time not all at once. It’s hard with the 170, overflow inside but it’s workable. Just keep at it, you’ll find the pattern that works for you.

 

[firedancer414]

It's been 48 hrs of turning the lights down significantly (-25%) and feeding ~20% more. Acan is already looking a lot more puffy. Think I'm on the right track.