SPS problems

[Brandon McHenry]

Yea thats true its always something new to learn in this hobby :-D but what does the probiotic bacteria do? What iv understood is that many that run zeovit and such then this aquaforest salt should be great, but i ran with the red sea salt ultra low nutrients with out zeovit method. I just cant get a grip on what the bacterias do thats so good besides giving nutrients back if i dont missumderstood what i have been reading

Bacteria in the reef tank are there to cycle nutrients (take up organic carbon and inorganic nitrate and phosphate). They are already present in the sand and rock. When one doses carbon, like vodka, sugar, vinegar, or methods like zeovit or prodibio, they accelerate the growth rate of the bacteria in order to drive the nutrients in the tank lower. The goal of bacteria/carbon dosing is usually to take up nitrate and phosphate in order to have levels closer to natural seawater. The bacteria are then skimmed out and with them, the nutrients that they have turned into biomass. This is the basis for many brands like the ones I stated above, Aquaforest and MB7 are also centered around bacterial filtration. Probiotics are good strains of bacteria that one adds to the tank in order to try to outcompete the harmful pathogenic ones. For example, if the good bacteria are using all of the available nutrients, certain organism like cyano can't grow. There are also beliefs about benefits to corals and fish like enhanced slime coat, better digestion etc. Those claims do make some sense but not everyone believes it. I won't be starting a debate Im just giving you the info .

P.S. The bacteria aren't giving back nutrients they are there to remove them. In your case though I think you added too much in the water change and your system wasn't ready and they died, raising your nitrates. Its like putting 10 tangs in a 20 gallon tank and feeding only enough food for one. They will eventually die and foul the water.

 

[Nordic Reef]

Here are some pictures

 

[Nordic Reef]

I have some aussie greens and reds and a bali magic

 

[Nordic Reef]

Top view

 

[Nordic Reef]

Acro

 

[Nordic Reef]

Acan

 

[Nordic Reef]

Red colors are more orange/brownish in color now and i dont know why, maby because i have a little to much nitrates

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Cool rock work. I like it. Couple of friendly suggestions: First off get those aiptasia out of there ASAP!! They will dominate your tank in no time! They are one of the reef tank plagues in my opinion. Secondly, those frags are going to be colonies one day. Just make sure you give them enough room to grow.

 

[Nordic Reef]

Aha i see now i get it :-D thanks again brandon but if i want this salt with bacteria to work proper how and what should i do?

 

[Nordic Reef]

Yea im looking for som peppermint shrimps to remov those pesky aptasia. And yes the corals got plenty of room to grow, i just hope they dont die first XD haha. Im also thinking about raising my light intensity to 75%

 

[Nordic Reef]

Like the sign on my tank says, maby i have to whoop my on butt for massing up my tank

 

[Nordic Reef]

This is ny wifes 135 liters tank, and it is also not doing well. Zoas are shrinking and looking like crap

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Aha i see now i get it :-D thanks again brandon but if i want this salt with bacteria to work proper how and what should i do?

No problem! If you are deciding to continue using the probiotic reef salt Id look into more of the Aquaforest product line. If you are looking into dosing bacteria to reduce nutrients than you will probably need to get the bacterial supplement as well as the carbon source. Without these two there is no reason for you to be using the probiotics reef salt. They have an entire guide on how to use their program and how you should dose. It is similar to zeovit except a little less expensive and a little more user friendly if you are not looking to go very in depth into a program. I have just started using the whole Aquaforest product line two weeks ago (except the salt and balling elements). I have spent countless hours researching and studying what Im adding and why. I am very involved in my tank and Ive started a notebook just for this transition to ULNS with Aquaforest. Id say if you are looking to bacteria dose you need to take it slow and do your homework. There is no magic potion or recipe to keeping a successful tank, especially with SPS. I can help with my limited experience but it is just that, limited.

Red colors are more orange/brownish in color now and i dont know why, maby because i have a little to much nitrates

More than possible. How long have your nitrates been high?

Yea im looking for som peppermint shrimps to remov those pesky aptasia. And yes the corals got plenty of room to grow, i just hope they dont die first XD haha. Im also thinking about raising my light intensity to 75%

Just keep an eye because peppermint shrimp are hit and miss. Some will eat them and some will not. Just don't let it get out of hand. Be careful changing light intensity, especially with LED's. They can cook your corals if you aren't careful. Any and all changes need to be made slowly and preferable one at a time. Don't go ramping up your light at the same time you are trying to reduce your nutrients, it may not end well. What % are your lights at now?

Like the sign on my tank says, maby i have to whoop my on *** for massing up my tank

Okay so I need one of those signs LOL. And don't feel bad, its not messed up. Its a hiccup. Ive messed up more times than I can count and its just an opportunity to learn.

This is ny wifes 135 liters tank, and it is also not doing well. Zoas are shrinking and looking like crap

This one is tough. I haven't kept many zoas before. But its hard to take a stab at it unless I know more about the tank, parameters and such.

 

[Nordic Reef]

Okey im going to think about if im going to stay with the aquaforest product line or not. As of now my Radion Led is on 60% as maximum.

I use the same aquaforest salt in my wifes tank and she doesent have any nitrate och phos that i can meassure at all, otherwise it has the same parameters as i have in my own sps tank. I actually dose nitrate and phos to make the zoas live. What kind of other shrimp or fish can i get to get rid off my aptasia? Dont want to use any chemicals or so

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Okey im going to think about if im going to stay with the aquaforest product line or not. As of now my Radion Led is on 60% as maximum.

I use the same aquaforest salt in my wifes tank and she doesent have any nitrate och phos that i can meassure at all, otherwise it has the same parameters as i have in my own sps tank. I actually dose nitrate and phos to make the zoas live. What kind of other shrimp or fish can i get to get rid off my aptasia? Dont want to use any chemicals or so

15% increase in lighting is too much at one time IMO. If you want to increase than you should do it slowly. So again here is my guess on the zoa tank. You probably had more nutrients in that tank if you were dosing nitrate and phosphate to keep the zoas happy. With the water changes the newly added bacteria probably began using up the nitrate and phosphate that you were dosing before the corals. There was enough nutrients to sustain the bacteria so no crash and no rise in nitrates like your SPS tank. The zoos may be unhappy because the nutrients that they were used to are now being consumed by the bacteria. This is course is all just my speculation. As for fish/shrimp, its really only peppermint shrimp or copper band butterflyfish that I am aware of. The copper band is a very finicky eater and could be hard to care for.

 

[Nordic Reef]

Yea i have had a chelmon rostratus before and it didnt live to long, how about i filefish then? Yes so maby i have to keep feeding my wifes tank more and dose some extra kno3 and po4, or just lift them over to my sps tank and make them happy again + then they will consume more of my high nitrates

 

[Nordic Reef]

My nitrates has been at 20-48 the last 2 months

 

[Nordic Reef]

Now iv been reading the Aquaforest Probiotic guide, sadly i cant buy all of the products needed to folllow the guide correct, so im changeing back ti Red Sea Coral pro salt and try to get my nitrates down and after that just dose or use other method to get acceptable colors of my corals.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Yea i have had a chelmon rostratus before and it didnt live to long, how about i filefish then? Yes so maby i have to keep feeding my wifes tank more and dose some extra kno3 and po4, or just lift them over to my sps tank and make them happy again + then they will consume more of my high nitrates

Filefish may eat aiptasia but they may also pick on SPS. Just start with the peppermint shrimp first and see how that goes. Feed the tank rather than move them to your SPS tank, SPS prefer cleaner water and the zoas are not going to consume all that nitrate. You are better off doing water changes and keeping up with your regular maintenance and make sure your skimmer is pulling out gunk.

My nitrates has been at 20-48 the last 2 months

When did you switch to the aqua forest salt? Have they come down at all since then?

Now iv been reading the Aquaforest Probiotic guide, sadly i cant buy all of the products needed to folllow the guide correct, so im changeing back ti Red Sea Coral pro salt and try to get my nitrates down and after that just dose or use other method to get acceptable colors of my corals.

You don't have to buy all of the products to use the program correctly. If you want just the bacteria you really only need ProBioS and -NP Pro to be successful. However, like I said before you could just use the regular reef salt by aqua forest if you like the aqua forest brand. Heres the link:
http://aquaforest.eu/en/product/reef-salt/
This contains no probiotic bacteria allowing you to use it by itself just like any other salt. The most important point is that once you choose your salt you try to keep your tanks parameters similar to the salt you choose. If you run 9dkh don't do a water change with a 7dkh salt (aqua forest probiotic) or a 12dkh salt (Red Sea Coral Pro) because it can be stressful to your corals. If you want to run 9dkh then you should find a salt that mixes close to that.

 

[Nordic Reef]

Yes, i looked on all swedish marine aquarium stores and they have most of the aquaforest products but not the most important for running with the salt yet. The skimmer in my tank produces much black stinky goo. My whife runs her tank without skimmer and still the zoas is dying off slowly.