Triton after 8 months

[twilliard]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/here-it-is-my-now-5-year-old-tank.226103/

Here is my tank
Have to give my phone some leeway now lol

 

[DLuce510]

@twilliard Ive seen you on the threads for dosing Nitrogen Flourish and Stump Remover, do you think this sounds like starvation of nutrients, (slow growth and declining health coupled with high par levles)?

 

[twilliard]

We are in a triton forum so trying to keep it triton.
Pm sent

 

[twilliard]

@twilliard Ive seen you on the threads for dosing Nitrogen Flourish and Stump Remover, do you think this sounds like starvation of nutrients, (slow growth and declining health)?

Not yet as I dont have the full picture yet.
He is running some "serious" lighting so I have to eliminate factors

 

[d_adler]

ive been running triton for about a month now and i must say i couldnt be happier. i have noticed my lps is struggling but my sps has seen more growth then this entire past year of 2 part. while struggling to keep my parameters level on 2 part in just under a week i seemed to get my alk stable on triton. i would check that your parameters are stable, nutrients, and lighting before you knock that its tritons fault. as long as alk is stable look at all the other factors. im no pro but while triton is very unique, simply put its a 3 part part with all the essential elements necessary so you can step away from water changes and still have a thriving reef

 

[kv69]

The white are at 75% at peak.

I just got the USB PAR meter for xmas, so tomorrow when everything is in full, I'm going to check things out.

IMO you are running too much white. I run LED on my lagoon and t5 on my main. I run around 25% white and 100% blue. That 25% probably won't support Acropora(I have LPS and paly in the lagoon) but I think 75% white would burn the Acros up.

 

[djbetterly]

I don't seem to be getting any bleaching or burning, the biggest issue for me is the STN, bleaching from the bottom up. I've been told that's due to alk swings, but every time I measure my alk, the readings are incredibly close.

I am going to cut my whites though.

 

[slicko]

bacteria issue. you have a bad strain in the tank. can be triggered by higher temperatures and stressed corals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_band_disease

 

[djbetterly]

If that really is the case, how do I deal with it?

 

[Oceansize]

Your tank is nitrate- and phosphate-limited but you still have algae. Therefore my guess is you have a lot of excess iron. I don't know anything about Triton, but if the 3 part contains iron to spur chaeto growth, then that is probably where it's coming from. I'm assuming your chaeto is not eating up all the iron you're adding, leaving too much for the hair algae and whatever bacteria is killing your coral.

Since you don't have a phosphate problem, you can afford to reduce the efficiency of your chaeto. Perhaps the best thing then is to reduce the amount of 3 part you're adding.

The bacteria that is causing the STN is flourishing either because of the iron or the algae that the iron is feeding, so I'm guessing that fixing the iron/algae issue will also fix the STN issue.

 

[slicko]

If that really is the case, how do I deal with it?

no idea. i have this and there is no solution for me that i have tried? i am simulating the GBR in my fish tank....

 

[gpwdr]

Well I've been running triton for 8 months now, and I've been plagued with issues. I have what I believe is STN (whitening from bottom up on SPS), and loads of hair algae. Currently my nitrates are undetectable with the red sea kit, and my PO4 is at .04 (hanna ULR checker). My corals don't seem great, aside from the zoa's. Any thoughts?

Hi DJ

The rubble substrate doesn't benefit the nitrogen process. We usually have a 1 to 2 inch sand substrate or a bare bottom.
If it were my tank I would remove the crushed coral substrate and install a 1.5 inch fiji pink arag-alive reef sand.

It's been proven the coral rubble does not benefit the nitrogen cycle. The rubble won't denitrify and just collects detritus creating a bigger problem. You can use sand 1 inch or more and any type of sand works.

Gene

 

[djbetterly]

Hi Gene,

Given this is one of the first responses to really catch my interest. I need to do some research on which sand I have, I don't recall to be honest, but I'm will to change it out. However I've never changed sand out. Obviously my concern is the sand bed is about 2inches deep and has been in place for the past year and a half. Is it safe to remove it, or a majority of it?

Thank you,
Dustin

 

[djbetterly]

@gpwdr the sand I have is a mix of Tropic Eden Reeflakes Aragonite Sand and Caribesea [HASHTAG]#796[/HASHTAG] Arag-Alive Bimini Pink Sand.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Your tank is nitrate- and phosphate-limited but you still have algae. Therefore my guess is you have a lot of excess iron. I don't know anything about Triton, but if the 3 part contains iron to spur chaeto growth, then that is probably where it's coming from. I'm assuming your chaeto is not eating up all the iron you're adding, leaving too much for the hair algae and whatever bacteria is killing your coral.

Since you don't have a phosphate problem, you can afford to reduce the efficiency of your chaeto. Perhaps the best thing then is to reduce the amount of 3 part you're adding.

The bacteria that is causing the STN is flourishing either because of the iron or the algae that the iron is feeding, so I'm guessing that fixing the iron/algae issue will also fix the STN issue.

I don't really follow what you are saying.

If the tank is nitrate or phosphate limited (which I don't believe is true for phosphate, anyway, but lets go with it), then the amount of iron is not important. 'Limiting" means it is the nutrient whose value is critical for growth. Usually, that is only one of nitrogen, phosphate, light, iron, other trace metals, etc.

At 0.04 ppm phosphate, I would not think that is limiting growth of most organisms.

I'm not sure why you think iron would be "causing" bacteria to flourish to the point they cause STN. Bacteria in our tanks are not, as best I can tell, usually iron limited (except perhaps cyanobacteria in some cases). I've never heard of a bacterial bloom from adding iron, while other things cause them, indicating those other things (such as organic carbon) are usually limiting.

Why do you think reducing the three part is useful? I don't recall seeing any values for calcium and alkalinity. I'd check those before altering dosing of them.

 

[gpwdr]

@gpwdr the sand I have is a mix of Tropic Eden Reeflakes Aragonite Sand and Caribesea [HASHTAG]#796[/HASHTAG] Arag-Alive Bimini Pink Sand.

Oh I'm sorry

The picture I saw was coral ruble, my mistake.

Gene

 

[djbetterly]

I definitely have some rubble in there, but it's a very very tiny amount, just for the jawfish.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

What is the proximity of the hair algae to the corals that appear to be affected? Is it possible that Allelopathy is to blame? Either from the algae or other corals? Is it only hair algae and no other species nuisance algae present in the main display? Something to consider.

 

[Oceansize]

I don't really follow what you are saying.

If the tank is nitrate or phosphate limited (which I don't believe is true for phosphate, anyway, but lets go with it), then the amount of iron is not important. 'Limiting" means it is the nutrient whose value is critical for growth. Usually, that is only one of nitrogen, phosphate, light, iron, other trace metals, etc.

At 0.04 ppm phosphate, I would not think that is limiting growth of most organisms.

I'm not sure why you think iron would be "causing" bacteria to flourish to the point they cause STN. Bacteria in our tanks are not, as best I can tell, usually iron limited (except perhaps cyanobacteria in some cases). I've never heard of a bacterial bloom from adding iron, while other things cause them, indicating those other things (such as organic carbon) are usually limiting.

Why do you think reducing the three part is useful? I don't recall seeing any values for calcium and alkalinity. I'd check those before altering dosing of them.

I haven't seen a bacterial bloom as the result of adding iron, but I have seen algae blooms as a result of adding iron. He's got a hair algae problem and he is dosing an additive that contains iron (from what I understand). Is it not possible that the additive is responsible for the algae bloom and this algae bloom is also benefiting certain bacteria that are creating the STN? To me it's not necessarily that the increased algae would cause a bacterial bloom per se, but more accurately that the algae bloom would encourage a different, more STN-prone strain of bacteria to make itself known. It's not that there's a lot more bacteria now necessarily, but perhaps just a different more destructive kind is being favored by the current balance of nutrients, one that leads to STN.

If that were so, and he has adequate chaeto growth, it would indicate to me that he's dosing iron more than he needs to.

I have no problem divulging that this is all just a guess.

 

[cope413]

If you have chaeto growth - or any algae growth - then it's safe to say you're not limited in either Nitrate or Phosphate. There's at least enough present to support the growth.

I've had tanks that show 0 nitrates and 0 phosphate, but still have algae growth. The algae in my tank wasn't magical and able to grow without N or P. It's just that my test methods weren't able to show the true numbers of the tank.

I don't believe there's been any research that's shown that algae blooms can/do "encourage different, more STN-prone strain of bacteria". First, it's not even clear that STN is always caused by bacteria. Many reefers report that unstable alk/cal cause STN and bringing stability back to the system "cures" it.

Furthermore, Vibrio is one of the bacteria believed to be responsible for RTN/STN. There's no evidence to suggest that Vibrio is has any connection to increased iron or algal blooms.

If the cause of RTN/STN is discovered to be a pathogenic bacteria, it's highly unlikely to be a bacteria that also attacks macro algae. Pathogens tend to be pretty specialized and there's a pretty big difference between single-celled protozoans (zooxanthella) and macroalgae and other autotrophic algae.