System Checkup (Advise Sought)

[JSB]

Ok, so I need a checkup from someone knowledgable, so thanks in advance for sticking with this long post. I am struggling with a few issues:

1. NO3 wont go down
2. monti caps are pale (as is one clam)
3. apparent growth has slowed
4. heat is 2-3 degrees higher than I want

The tank is a 60g cube, mixed, with Radion LED lighting, plenty of flow (2xMP10), a good skimmer (ASM-G1X), carbon reactor, bio pellet reactor, auto-dosing CA and ALK. The parameters remain pretty stable as indicated from my log file below:

Date Time Temp pH Orp Salinity Alk Calc PO4 N03 Mag
8/18/2012 900 79.7 8.02 426 1.025 8.12 500 0 3 1420
8/25/2012 730 79.8 8.08 423 1.025 8.06 500 0 3
9/6/2012 1030 79.5 8.07 426 1.025 7.3 503
9/8/2012 1020 80.2 8.08 438 1.026 8.08 449 0 4 1320
9/15/2012 1200 80.5 8.13 438 1.025 7.7 457 0 4

and current and historical data is at http://www.reeftronics.net/scott-b/apex-status

I do 10% water changes weekly with Reef Crystals, and swap my filter sock at the same time. I change the carbon out monthly. I probably overfeed, but have backed off of that in the last week.

Now on to the issues. First, I would have thought with the bio pellets, and PO4 @ 0, with the regular water changes I could get the nitrates way down, but this is just not happening. What I am doing wrong here?

Second, I have two 6" monti caps that appear to be growing, although less recently, but are consistently pale. Both have better color towards the edges, but the centers seem to be pale. The have been in the tank for months. Along with this, growth in the last couple of month has slowed, somewhat coincidentally with the temp of the tank going up 3 degrees when I replaced a pump with a MAG3. What might be causing the growth retardation and poor coloration?

I will be replacing the MAG 3 soon with something that runs cooler, and removing another pump which should get me back into the 78 degree range. Could the extra 3 degrees cause any of the growth/color issues?

Is there something I am just not considering? I am conscience of the stable parameters school of thought, and mine are pretty stable, I think.
My Zs&Ps are growing, I am getting good polyp extension on my birdsnest and milliporas, and my frogspawn (aka water quality indicator) is usually full and open. Even my previously ailing wellso is looking good. Yet all the other issues remain.

I appreciate you staying with this for this long. Any feedback is appreciated.

 

[scooterc268]

To drop your heat, add a small fan or two. As far as the NO3, there is a couple of things. Over feeding, poor skimmer performance, and filter socks. I see that you change your filter socks weekly, however, they can still hold debris that will start to decompose and raise the NO3, but I can not say for certain that would be the main culprit. For your biopellet reactor, make sure the outflow is close to the skimmer intake.

What do you feed/add to your tank? This includes fish and coral food. List your fish also. This may help with other people answering


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[JSB]

I have thought about the fan, and have been looking for a 5" clip-on that will clip to the sump. I was feeding apiece of Rod's Food everyday, but have backed down to every other with a smaller piece, with a little flake/pellet in between. I am redesigning my sump to put in necessary baffles so that I can remove the sock completely and not suffer micro bubbles in the display. The outflow of the BP reactor is immediately adjacent to the skimmer intake.

As for fish, 2 Ocellaris, Yellow Watchman Goby, 2 Chromis, 6-line wrasse, bartlett's anthias, and a smaller scopas.

Thanks.

 

[JSB]

This is what I mean by the center of the montis being pale:

 

[Dave3112]

That seems like a lot of food for the amount of fish you have. I feed about 1 tsp of pellets to my fish once a day and I have 3 large tangs, 2 chromis, 2 clowns, 3 cardinals and a six line. That may be the nitrate issue. But I'm not sure. I Change my filter sock twice a week because it gets nasty. Do you dose/check magnesium?

 

[JSB]

i was feeding a single piece of Rod's about the size of a quarter and 3/16th thick. I started doing just about a nickel size every other day. On the other days, the pellet/flake amount is about a 1/2 teaspoon. I know the sock has to go. It is too difficult to change twice a week (lazy), and I do think it contributes.

As for the mag, I dosed for a long time, and was keeping it in the 1400-1500 range, but found out a few months back that my water changes alone kept it between 1300 and 1400, which is thought to be optimum by some. I can start dosing again by hitting a single radio button, if you believe that is too low.

 

[Dave3112]

I just saw the Mg levels above. sorry I don't run a controller and had to decipher the numbers. LOL If your Mg is staying between 1300-1400 I would say thats fine. I like mine higher but there is no particular reason for it to be. I don't run bio pellets either so I can't tell you why it's not bringing down the nitrates like it should. Maybe someone that does will chime in and give you their opinion on it. Sorry I'm not much help on this one...

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Nitrate level of 3 is still relatively low. Some of the most beautiful SPS dominant reef tanks that I've seen including the TOTM tanks have their nitrate levels maintained to anywhere from undetectable by a hobby grade test kit to less than 5 ppm. If your coral looks okay, I would not worry about it. You mentioned about pale color of your monti. Pale colors are not indicative of a high nitrate level normally.

Your nitrate is most probably coming from overfeeding. As you know, nitrate is a end product of nitrogen cycling. It starts out from ammonia. Where does ammonia come? Decaying proteins. If your livestock is not dead, then their food is left uneaten and decaying into ammonia and then eventually into nitrate.

I don't use Rod's food because it brings cyano outbreak in my tank every time I use it (especially in my15G nano). It's just too rich for my nano tank with just a few tiny fish.

I would not worry about the 3 or so temperature variation between 78 and 81 or 82. My 180 goes through a bigger temp veriation and the livestock does not seem to mind that at all. The corals that are used to a gradual temperature variation throughout a day is thought to be much more tolerant of a sudden temperature fluctuation than those that are pumpered to very little fluctuation with the use of a chiller.

Magnesium range of 1300 to 1400 is optimum. We maintain our magnesium to that range to keep calcium from getting depleted too fast. Keeping it higher does not offer any benefit.

Carbon dosing, bio pellets or vodka, often causes pale colors and slowed growth. When I dose my tank with vodka, I watch paling and slowing growth as indicators for the stopping point. If I continue to dose at the same rate or even at a reduced rate, some corals (not all) often look anemic. Some people say feeding the tank more will bring the color back, but I usually end up stopping carbon dosing.

 

[JSB]

Tomoko, thanks. My temp swings are usually within a degree, i am only concerned that it hangs at about 80. I originally added the BP reactor to combat phosphate that would not go away, only to find it was a test kit failure. Should I back the pellets out and go back to GFO? I keep thinking that may be the path to go. Lighter feeding, GFO, and maintain the water change schedule? Can I just quit the pellets? or back them out slowly?

 

[JSB]

Or maybe cut the pellet dose in half?

 

[H@rry]

I have never run pellets so I can't comment on that. I run calcium reactors with the pH internally maintained by controllers. That keeps, the Alk, Ca, and Mg in acceptable ranges. Those two things are the biggest difference between your setup and mine except for your lighting and you have the same lighting that you're had for a while so I don't suspect that.

One thing nobody has mentioned is stray voltage. I have ground probes in all my tanks and on two occasions the ground faults have kicked off. In both cases I found the culprit to be the new style MaxiJet powerheads.

 

[JSB]

I have never run pellets so I can't comment on that. I run calcium reactors with the pH internally maintained by controllers. That keeps, the Alk, Ca, and Mg in acceptable ranges. Those two things are the biggest difference between your setup and mine except for your lighting and you have the same lighting that you're had for a while so I don't suspect that.

One thing nobody has mentioned is stray voltage. I have ground probes in all my tanks and on two occasions the ground faults have kicked off. In both cases I found the culprit to be the new style MaxiJet powerheads.

Thanks, H@rry. I have a ground probe installed, so I don't suspect that.

As I said earlier, I modified my feeding routine last week, so I hope that helps with the nitrate. I built and installed a bubble trap this morning, and removed the filter sock, hoping that also helps with he nitrates.

I am addressing that worrisome 2-degrees with a clip on fan I ordered from Amazon, and removing one of the pumps addressed in my other post, yesterday.

For coloring, I am going with Tomoko and have reduced the BP dose by half this morning. Now, I am just going to wait a bit and see where things go.

I certainly appreciate the input from all of "ya'll". You make me a better reefer.