This hobby is just impossible!

[d2mini]

10g is tough. 40g would be easier.
But Reef tanks are relatively easy if you do not overthink it.

Start the tank with live sand and live rock.
Cycle it. You can have lights on really low or for short periods. Once ammonia is down and nitrates are registering, add a fish or two and see how it goes. If it goes well, add a coral.

That's it. Just keep parameters in check with proper testing equipment. Have good lighting.
Just feed the fish. Most corals don't NEED to be fed. They'll will pull what they need from the water column and lighting.

Your current nitrates are wayyyyy too high. Shoot for 5 or under for a new tank.
Phosphate is also a bit high.
Do some water changes.
Don't dose nutrients.

 

[Orito]

you know sometimes I come by people that ask for help, but is difficult to help because they are doing everything perfectly.
why listen to other when your way of doing things is the right way?
oh the corals are dying right?

 

[Fishy888]

The smaller the tank, the more challenging it is to keep stable parameters. Nano reefs are very unforgiving.

I agree. When starting out it's actually best to buy as big a tank as you can because a larger volume of water is far more stable than a small one.

 

[Steven Garland]

I don't believe the whole 10g is hard thing. I have never kept anything bigger than a 10g. I had a 2g pico JAMMED PACKED with about 20-30 acro's for over a year and NEVER had problems these reefers these days are having.

All I ran was a airstone skimmer and carbon. 1g water changed every weekend and never had an issue.

If a 10g is so hard,explain my buddy from NR who had a 10g for years,PACKED TO THE GILLS with coral and fish.. https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/385437-blenwoods-reef-1st-attempts-at-focus-stacking/

It boils down to knowledge and skill,nothing more nothing less. Not if you are willing to use equipment to combat simple things. But knowledge of how to fix them without the equipment.

Lets stop beating a dead horse here..

 

[killer2001]

Get another way of checking salinity. I could not get my Hanna unit to cooperate after calibrating a handful of times (and with different solutions). Over time it would always report a lower salinity.

 

[d2mini]

I don't believe the whole 10g is hard thing. I have never kept anything bigger than a 10g. I had a 2g pico JAMMED PACKED with about 20-30 acro's for over a year and NEVER had problems these reefers these days are having.

All I ran was a airstone skimmer and carbon. 1g water changed every weekend and never had an issue.

If a 10g is so hard,explain my buddy from NR who had a 10g for years,PACKED TO THE GILLS with coral and fish.. https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/385437-blenwoods-reef-1st-attempts-at-focus-stacking/

It boils down to knowledge and skill,nothing more nothing less. Not if you are willing to use equipment to combat simple things. But knowledge of how to fix them without the equipment.

Lets stop beating a dead horse here..

It's "harder" because as everyone has said, parameters can get out of whack in an instant. If you have never had anything over a 10g how can you say bigger tanks aren't easier? Anyone who HAS had a variety of tanks will attest to the fact that the more water volume you have, the easier it is to keep the tank stable. No one said you can't have a successful 10g, it's just not as easy. It is always recommended that a newb go for a bit larger of a tank to start, so they can BUILD that knowledge and skill.

 

[GHOSTLY]

Phosphate and nitrate are high. I wouldn't dose for the first 6 months. Your coral won't use all of it up and assuming you do water changes it should replenish the lost minerals. It happened to me on my test tank so I did a 100% wc and just started fresh. Kept acros 9 months later

Edit: your tank is also extremely unstable. You could probably raise the intensity of the light higher but id stop dosing and to stop using the scrubber.

 

[Yehuda Dana]

I just can't figure out what's wrong with my tank. I tried keeping coral 10 years ago and they all died without me ever figuring out the problem. I figured I'd try again this year, but my coral are dying and I can't figure it out again.

I got a 10 gallon tank and cycled it for 2 months in the dark. No diatoms or cyano ever broke out. It went perfectly. Ammonia converted to nitrate within hours.

Set Up:

AI Prime HD: 25% for UV, Royal Blue, Violet, and Blue for 7 hours with 1 hour for ramp up and another hour for ramp down; 10% whites for 2 hours with 30 min ramp up and down time.
Algae turf scrubber: For nutrient export. Since I'm not keeping any fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, etc., I'm dosing Red Sea AB+ and Brightwell Nitrate and phosphate to keep nutrients up.


Parameters:

Temp: 78F (using Inkbird temp controller)
Nitrates: 30-40 ppm (using Hanna Checker)
Phosphate: 0.10-0.20 ppm (using Hanna Checker)
dKH: ~8
SG: 1.023 (increasing this slowly to 1.024)

Livestock:

GSP: Almost dead within a few months
Zoas: Some open, other frags closed, and 2 frags completely died
Ricordea Florida: 1 bleached and didn't survive, another bleached but hanging in there. All other ricordea lost some bubbles and became smooth and dark blue (see photos)
Rhodactis Mushroom: 1 bleached, one doing very well, and one lost it's texture and became smooth (see before and after photo below).
Candy Crush mushroom: died within a month
St. Thomas Mushroom: Doing very well.

Before:

After:

I would suggest you to lower you Nitrates to around 7-10, and much important to slowly increase your SG to 1.025.

I think that the low SG might be the cause for your corals death

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

Is this your first tank? As in recently?

 

[Steven Garland]

First off I never said bigger tanks aren't easy so don't put words in my mouth.

Things get out of whack because people add too much to a small tank,feed too much in a small tank,add too many fish to a small tank,don't keep up on a small tank. Those are the reason. If you test and do water changes,which any normal person would do then a small tank is as easy as a big tank there is no other way to put it. Husbandry is keep,plain and simple.

 

[KrisReef]

I was keeping my mom's orchids alive until my wife decided to help. Having too much help and advice didn't work out for me. She has her own orchids now, I don't touch them and they are doing ok. My mom's all died, and I got chewed out for that.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just can't figure out what's wrong with my tank. I tried keeping coral 10 years ago and they all died without me ever figuring out the problem. I figured I'd try again this year, but my coral are dying and I can't figure it out again.

I got a 10 gallon tank and cycled it for 2 months in the dark. No diatoms or cyano ever broke out. It went perfectly. Ammonia converted to nitrate within hours.

Set Up:

AI Prime HD: 25% for UV, Royal Blue, Violet, and Blue for 7 hours with 1 hour for ramp up and another hour for ramp down; 10% whites for 2 hours with 30 min ramp up and down time.
Algae turf scrubber: For nutrient export. Since I'm not keeping any fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, etc., I'm dosing Red Sea AB+ and Brightwell Nitrate and phosphate to keep nutrients up.


Parameters:

Temp: 78F (using Inkbird temp controller)
Nitrates: 30-40 ppm (using Hanna Checker)
Phosphate: 0.10-0.20 ppm (using Hanna Checker)
dKH: ~8
SG: 1.023 (increasing this slowly to 1.024)

Livestock:

GSP: Almost dead within a few months
Zoas: Some open, other frags closed, and 2 frags completely died
Ricordea Florida: 1 bleached and didn't survive, another bleached but hanging in there. All other ricordea lost some bubbles and became smooth and dark blue (see photos)
Rhodactis Mushroom: 1 bleached, one doing very well, and one lost it's texture and became smooth (see before and after photo below).
Candy Crush mushroom: died within a month
St. Thomas Mushroom: Doing very well.

Before:

After:

Salinity a bit low - 1.025
nitrates a little elevated - under 20
Phos elevated - .04-.06
CA - 400-440
Mag 1300-1350

 

[Fishy888]

When salinity is low chances are all the other elements in the salt mix are also low. That, the dosing, and small tank size are likely all to blame. Possibly the lighting too. I don't think any one thing is causing your corals to have issues. It's likely several small issues adding up to a larger issue. Don't give up though. It will get better with time.

 

[EugeneVan]

I think this is the best advice here.

Another question, why do u feel that there’s a need to feed your corals? Looking at your list of corals, they are softies (gsp and mushrooms). Others feel free to chip in, but personally I dont need to feed my mushrooms and gsp. Just give them a rock and dont over expose them to light (you’ll know when 1, they start shrivelling or start moving around). As for gsp in my experience, they love love flow. Lack of flow will cause them to die back.

I start with a patch of gsp like a quarter size, 6 months later it grow so far and cover 2 feet of my bare bottom 200 gal tank which I am so happy about it. I never feed the gsp and they just keep growing.

 

[GHOSTLY]

I start with a patch of gsp

Beautiful tank btw

 

[d2mini]

First off I never said bigger tanks aren't easy so don't put words in my mouth.

And I didn't say you did. You said they aren't easiER. And they are. You can test both tanks at the same time at the same frequency. The large tank's parameters may move by a hair. The tiny tank's parameters could have moved drastically in the same amount of time.

Listen man, you are obviously an experienced reef keeper like many of us, but you have to remember that someone new to the hobby is not. They don't have the skill set. It is far easier to learn on a big tank because all those inevitable mistakes that a new reefer makes will have a smaller effect on a larger water volume. I really don't know why you are trying to argue simple facts. None of this is helping the OP.

 

[d2mini]

I never feed the gsp and they just keep growing.

That's the problem with GSP.

 

[EugeneVan]

That's the problem with GSP.

It is the love and hate relationship with GSP. I love the look of green carpet ways better than sand. It is very easy to take care of and impossible to kill. From time to time I have to cut out pieces by pieces to keep them in check

 

[EugeneVan]

And I didn't say you did. You said they aren't easiER. And they are. You can test both tanks at the same time at the same frequency. The large tank's parameters may move by a hair. The tiny tank's parameters could have moved drastically in the same amount of time.

Listen man, you are obviously an experienced reef keeper like many of us, but you have to remember that someone new to the hobby is not. They don't have the skill set. It is far easier to learn on a big tank because all those inevitable mistakes that a new reefer makes will have a smaller effect on a larger water volume. I really don't know why you are trying to argue simple facts. None of this is helping the OP.

It is very true especailly if you have an open top reef tank. My first hand experience with my 200 gal. There is one time I am out of town and my ATO water pump kick the bucket. 48 hrs later when I rush back, I measure my SG and it only rise up from 1.025 to 1.026. If this is a 10 gal tank, I think my SG reading will reach the roof.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

This Tank 10g FijiCube, David Bixby AI prime 11" off the surface of the water. At the peak intensity during the day 100%
Personally I think Nano's can be easier in many ways.