Wanted to give everybody an update. I tested my water tonight and have the following values. NO3 0.0, KH 9.9, Ca+ 470. I only tested those three as those are the only important ones right now. I'd test po4, but I run GFO and it's going to be zero. I slowly brought my sg to 1.024. I also did two fifteen percent water changes since my last post.
I wanted to give you guys some further facts. My corals are still receding and I've lost a few more frags unfortunately. My cheato has been growing hand over fist. My pH has been stabilized better than it ever has. My temp has been very stable too. My fish are pretty healthy and I have 12 of them in a 120. I feed twice a day and I feed them pretty liberally but not excessively. I run my skimmer 24/7 and the photo period on my sump is from 6pm to 11am. I run my top off through a kalk stirrer which I am replenishing with 1 tbsp of kalk every week which is pathetic especially considering replenishment rates of the past.
Here is what I think is going on at this point. I know some of you are thinking "DUH", but hear me out so you can follow my logic. I've been convinced that there is a limiting factor in this tank. Something was either munching on my corals (which there is no evidence of) or the limiting factor was the cause of the recession of tissue. I never thought the limiting factor was going to be nitrate. It's the only thing that makes sense at this point. If there is no fertilizer to make the corals grow, then KH is going to be high and Ca+ is going to be high especially since my input of kalk has been so minuscule. There's no uptake because the corals aren't growing . I've got to get my nitrate up.... now how do I do it without overdoing it.
My plan is to cut that photo period back on the sump. Clearly that cheato is out competing the corals for nitrate and immediately locks it up. That's why its growing so much and the corals are not.
I plan to feed more. I am going to feed three times a day. I am also going to feed the corals, but they never extend their polyps anymore, so I'm not sure how effective that is going to be.
I'm not planning on cutting the skimmer back yet, but I may if the other methods don't work. It is oversized for the tank.
I am going to cut my light intensity back to 55% from the 65%.
Until I get the nitrate issue under control (ironic since when someone makes that statement it's usually because they are too high...not too low) I'm not going to easily get the KH stability under control and the recession issue to end.
In the past, I always had high nitrate and my corals grew like gang busters. It was always algae growth I feared would kill the corals. Oh how this drips with irony!
Any other suggestions?
