So confused

MapleLeafReefer · Feb 11, 2022

Hello....

I'm a bit confused. I have several softies that thrive in my tank. I have bubble tip anemone that reproduce like crazy....over 20 in the tank. I have the appropriate number of fish, cuc, sump with skimmer, good flow and tank turn over rate. I use crummy lights - current led, but otherwise it's a half decent set up for a newbie. My ammonia is 0 my nitrite is 0 my ph is 8ish my nitrate is a bit high 25-35ppm, my calcium is 470ish, my alkalinity is 8.6, my magnesium is 1450ish....all okay values I think. Do you think I can keep a candycane alive? Nope. An acan? Nope. A zooanthid...haven't tried in awhile but last time...nope. They are all in appropriate flow and light ranges. They are fed with reef roids, but not too much. My clam is happy....
It's such a paradox and I can not figure out what gives. I dont want tonkeep dropping hundreds on corals that die on me and I also do t want to concede. Please help. What am I missing?

Pistondog · Feb 11, 2022

Fish list please

Uncle99 · Feb 11, 2022

Same for me.
Acans and tracs. Just can’t keep them.
SPS, no problem?
Have never figured out why.
Everything happy always, except those two.
So now I just keep everything but.

Rmckoy · Feb 11, 2022

MapleLeafReefer said:
Hello....

I'm a bit confused. I have several softies that thrive in my tank. I have bubble tip anemone that reproduce like crazy....over 20 in the tank. I have the appropriate number of fish, cuc, sump with skimmer, good flow and tank turn over rate. I use crummy lights - current led, but otherwise it's a half decent set up for a newbie. My ammonia is 0 my nitrite is 0 my ph is 8ish my nitrate is a bit high 25-35ppm, my calcium is 470ish, my alkalinity is 8.6, my magnesium is 1450ish....all okay values I think. Do you think I can keep a candycane alive? Nope. An acan? Nope. A zooanthid...haven't tried in awhile but last time...nope. They are all in appropriate flow and light ranges. They are fed with reef roids, but not too much. My clam is happy....
It's such a paradox and I can not figure out what gives. I dont want tonkeep dropping hundreds on corals that die on me and I also do t want to concede. Please help. What am I missing?

For what it’s worth ….
for many years I couldn’t keep a torch alive but hammers grew like weeds. candy cane , zoas , and even elegance all died fast .
but could keep any sps , and anemones

all I can think of is let it mature
Now …. It’s the other way around .
possibly the large upgrade , water changes not as frequent as they once were in the smaller system , I’m not 100% sure

MapleLeafReefer · Feb 11, 2022

Pistondog said:
Fish list please

2 bengai cardinals
3 clowns (one 3 inch one 2 inch and one baby 1 inch)
2 damsels (both small 1 inch)
1 lemonpeel angel (small 1.5 inch tops)
1 orchid dottyback (1 to 1.5 inch)
1 algea eating blend

Snails, hermit crabs...

MapleLeafReefer · Feb 11, 2022

Rmckoy said:
For what it’s worth ….
for many years I couldn’t keep a torch alive but hammers grew like weeds. candy cane , zoas , and even elegance all died fast .
but could keep any sps , and anemones

all I can think of is let it mature
Now …. It’s the other way around .
possibly the large upgrade , water changes not as frequent as they once were in the smaller system , I’m not 100% sure

The tank is mature. It's new to me and I'm new to it but the sand, rock, sump all 6-7 years old. It's a mystery. But hey...so is life and I accept that

Rmckoy · Feb 11, 2022

MapleLeafReefer said:
The tank is mature. It's new to me and I'm new to it but the sand, rock, sump all 6-7 years old. It's a mystery. But hey...so is life and I accept that

Could try upgrading lights or playing around with timers , levels .
I’ve always been strictly t5’s but just increasing or decreasing photo period can change everything

lay off on the reef roids
Use a good test kit to test phosphates .
too much phosphates isn’t always a good thing

MapleLeafReefer · Feb 11, 2022

Rmckoy said:
Could try upgrading lights or playing around with timers , levels .
I’ve always been strictly t5’s but just increasing or decreasing photo period can change everything

lay off on the reef roids
Use a good test kit to test phosphates .
too much phosphates isn’t always a good thing

Thanks...I have another set of lights I might try. I don't know anything about phosphates but I will investigate. I don't dose the whole tank with reefeoids...just the occasional spot feeding.
Appreciate the feedback

MapleLeafReefer · Feb 11, 2022

Rmckoy said:
For what it’s worth ….
for many years I couldn’t keep a torch alive but hammers grew like weeds. candy cane , zoas , and even elegance all died fast .
but could keep any sps , and anemones

all I can think of is let it mature
Now …. It’s the other way around .
possibly the large upgrade , water changes not as frequent as they once were in the smaller system , I’m not 100% sure

Thank you. Maybe I should buy an sps for giggles and see if it lives. I'd be okay with that!! Lol

workhz · Feb 11, 2022

Curious what phosphate levels are.

MapleLeafReefer · Feb 11, 2022

Rmckoy said:
For what it’s worth ….
for many years I couldn’t keep a torch alive but hammers grew like weeds. candy cane , zoas , and even elegance all died fast .
but could keep any sps , and anemones

all I can think of is let it mature
Now …. It’s the other way around .
possibly the large upgrade , water changes not as frequent as they once were in the smaller system , I’m not 100% sure

Thank you. Maybe I should buy an sps for giggles and see if it lives. I'd be okay with that!! Lol

jassermd · Feb 11, 2022

Welcome to the club... There are certain corals that thrive in my tank, and others, I can't keep regardless...
My hypothesis is that these corals come from different places, and in the wild, they grew because the environment was perfect for them to mature from spawning (or otherwise). Then someone comes by years later, plucks them from their natural environment, and they end up in our tank... which is, in reality, only marginally similar to their natural environment. And then we sit there and ponder why they died after several months in an environment that wasn't what they grew up in.
The interesting thing is how some tanks grow certain corals quite well and others don't, when parameters, etc are similar. I think it has to do with the bacteria and algae... the things we can't control.

Rmckoy · Feb 11, 2022

If you have never tested phosphates it wouldn’t hurt to get a tester . Hanna makes a decent ulr test kit that measures phosphorus .
convert it to phosphates with their conversion chart .
I’d bet your levels are high . ( 1.0 ppm or higher)

and dosing even small amounts or reef roids . Once broken down to phosphates . They don’t go anywhere .
water changes have little effect on removing them .

Rmckoy · Feb 11, 2022

jassermd said:
Welcome to the club... There are certain corals that thrive in my tank, and others, I can't keep regardless...
My hypothesis is that these corals come from different places, and in the wild, they grew because the environment was perfect for them to mature from spawning (or otherwise). Then someone comes by years later, plucks them from their natural environment, and they end up in our tank... which is, in reality, only marginally similar to their natural environment. And then we sit there and ponder why they died after several months in an environment that wasn't what they grew up in.
The interesting thing is how some tanks grow certain corals quite well and others don't, when parameters, etc are similar. I think it has to do with the bacteria and algae... the things we can't control.

Even better mystery .
2 tanks both set up the same time , use the same salt that’s been mixed together in a large volume for both . Same lights , shared sump
one can grow anything . The other The only thing that lives is palys

monkeyCmonkeyDo · Feb 11, 2022

How big your display? Whats your filtration and flow?
I'm gonna say your lemon peel is a picker.
Hths
D

jassermd · Feb 11, 2022

Rmckoy said:
Even better mystery .
2 tanks both set up the same time , use the same salt that’s been mixed together in a large volume for both . Same lights , shared sump
one can grow anything . The other The only thing that lives is palys

I'm so with you! I have a 40g next to my DT. Same water, same lights, same sump... The corals that don't grow in my DT, I move to the 40g and they grow like weeds. Only thing different between the 2 is the fish that occupy said tank. Just doesn't make any sense! Oh well... that's the fun (interpret frustrating!) part of the hobby.

Rmckoy · Feb 11, 2022

monkeyCmonkeyDo said:
How big your display? Whats your filtration and flow?
I'm gonna say your lemon peel is a picker.
Hths
D

And we all know angels love the taste of acan

Lavey29 · Feb 11, 2022

Have you done an ICP test to view all your parameters and your RODI ?

Pistondog · Feb 11, 2022

MapleLeafReefer said:
Thank you. Maybe I should buy an sps for giggles and see if it lives. I'd be okay with that!! Lol

Get something like this or one made of acrylic to hang on the inside of your tank. Put some zoas in there, out of reach of fish. If they do OK, you know your water is good, it's the critters.
COMOK Fish Hatchery Breeder Box Aquarium Separation Net Nylon Incubator Mesh Fish Breeding Tanks Isolation Box White Rectangle