Too Clean

[CastAway]

My 150g tank, my first, has been running for 103 days now. I think things are going generally well, and I'm having a blast. I have some concerns though; I think it may be too clean.

Current parameters:
Temp:79.0
Sg: 1.025
pH: 8.2
Ca: 425
Mg:1320
dKH:12.9
PO4: 0.0
NO3: 0.0

I'm running a Ca reactor, and GFO. I skim continually. I use filter socks. I have a refugium full of caulerpa serrulata. I have nine small fish and four frags of SPS, and a couple LPS. I feed very liberally. Usually twice a day, frozen, flake and pellet. I've just started feeding Azox as well.

I have lost eight of my Mexican Turbo snails; there's just no algae to eat in the display. I have also lost two emerald crabs, one for sure, the other I have not seen in over a month. My Monti cap has turned from green to brown, and the caulerpa has decreased in mass by a third, and appears to be a mass of runners or stems, not too many leaves. What leaves there are are under the surface of the mass.

So my thought is that the system may too sterile, and that I need to let the NO3 increase. Thus, today, I've decided to start shutting the skimmer down, at least every other day, maybe just running every third day. Going to keep feeding liberally, and perhaps add some more fish.

Any advice, comments, suggestions? Be gentle.

 

[CastAway]

...I should add, I have havested a couple handfuls of macro from the system, hoping to decrease the overall NO3 uptake, and plan to harvest more.

 

[Pete polyp]

More nutrient import! Try to keep up with that massive export by feeding more and more. Try some oyster feast, reef roids, coral frenzy and rods original reef food.

 

[always reefin]

12.9 DKH too high Imo

 

[CastAway]

What's the "natural" trend with dKH? Should it trend up, or down, and what do I do to lower it and/or keep it stable? In my ignorance, I thought running the Ca reactor would keep Ca, Mg and alk all in balance. Maybe I should ask what may be driving my dKH up?

 

[saltyhog]

I had the same problem till about the 8 month mark. My PO4 is still low with GFO running but my nitrates are stuck at 2.5-5. Corals are all doing fine. Weird thing is macroalgae wont grew for squat in my refugium.

 

[CastAway]

...I was reading on high dKH, and several other threads talk about decreasing the output from the Ca reactor. I'm using this cheap roller clamp, like from a hospital IV, to control the effluent flow from my reactor. Thing is, it's so touchy; continually clogging and slowing. I have a complete lack of control on effluent flow. How is it done right? I know I should probably be measuring flow, perhaps timed capture of the effluent to calculate overall flow. Is it Alk in the DT I should use to base my flow on, or Ca? So confused all-of-a-sudden.

 

[CastAway]

I also read that adding Ca and/or Mg will lower ones dKH. This adds to my confusion in terms of which is the best option for me, to lower alk. Now, I'm wondering if the high dKH might not have contributed to my snail mortality. Who has the magic answer?

 

[Pete polyp]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

 

[Dalmatia]

12.9 DKH too high Imo

Just a bit, try to get it down to 12 or less

 

[Palting]

Unless your goal is to propagate turbo snails and other members of your clean up crew, I would resume your original continuous skimming. Your true goal is to grow coral. So long as your coral are doing well, your clean up crew will stabilize at a population that is proportional to your clean up need.

Eight Mexican turbo snails is too many to have in a 150, anyway. Most vendors will sell you way too many items for a clean up crew. As an example, I have maybe 2 snails, 4 hermits, and 2 urchins in my 150 gallon SPS dominated tank running over 4 years now. I started with a large clean u crew, and they slowly died off and stabilized over time. OTOH, the SPS just love the "clean" water conditions.

 

[StikHedRon]

1) why are you running a cal reactor? What's your daily consumption of alk and calcium? Water changes may be enough right now.
2) if your getting macro growth your system is not to clean
3) I would take your fuge offline if your having issues raising nitrates

 

[CastAway]

Thanks for the advice guys. I have no idea what my Ca/Alk consumption is, other than the consistent level of around 430. I have a piece of Monti cap that has doubled in size, and a frag of birdsnest that is branching and growing. I have two new frags with no discernible growth as yet. Although I've seeded the tank with large chips of coralline, I have yet to see it really start spontaneously anywhere. So, my guess, at almost a constant Ca level of around 430 for weeks now, things are where they need to be, or a little less. just can't understand why the alk is so high, but am convinced at this point it has to be the reactor.

No taking the fuge off line, as it's right in the middle of my sump. I'll harvest it aggressively, so as to reduce the nutrient export.

After two days of not skimming, I still have no measurable NO3. I'll start it back up after my next NO3 test tomorrow. I have reduced the flow of Ca reactor effluent by half, but am considering either a water change or seltzer, just to reduce it a little, to 11 or so. I figure if I add the seltzer slowly to the skimmer, and gas off the CO2, my pH will remain stable and alk will come down.

I have a new two headed frag of frogspawn, and one head has deflated for the last day or so. Chalking that up to the alk.

 

[StikHedRon]

The reason your alk is so high is your dumping supplement into your tank that isn't consuming it.

 

[Dalmatia]

1) why are you running a cal reactor? What's your daily consumption of alk and calcium? Water changes may be enough right now.
2) if your getting macro growth your system is not to clean
3) I would take your fuge offline if your having issues raising nitrates

All makes seance 100%
And agreed 100%

 

[reef lobster]

honestly the best tanks have some algae growth and feed good phytoplankton