Turtle's 14g SPS Nano Build.

[SashimiTurtle]

If and when u do get an ato which one do u think u will get?

I haven't 100% decided yet. An AGO must have three things for me. It must have a pump included, I don't want to guess around and try and match a pump to a timer. It must have an emergency cut off switch, to prevent floods of the first switch fails. And the third is really for my nano, but it must be compact. My tank is a whopping 12" side to side, and that is divided into 3 chambers in the sump area. The pump chamber currently holds my Cobalt Neotherm heater, which horns to be my top off gauge. Just fill to the top of the heater and I know I'm good. When I get an ATO I'll move this into the second chamber. The magnet for the Tunze is sorta large for that chamber. If the Tunze 3155 will fit in my pump chamber, I'll get another one. If not, I've considered the Smart ATO Nano, but I do not believe it has an emergency shut off.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

No more damage today. Acro still has is neon green color with a little skeleton showing on 3 tips. Birds nest is pale. Barely any green, but the tissue damage didn't look to have progressed. Birds nest is like the kudzu of SPS so it should pull thru.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Well, after trying to "just feed more," like everyone suggested, I managed to turn my sand brown and my PO4 went nowhere, I decided to take a more calculated approach. I got online and started looking at phosphate suppliments and ended up buying a bottle of Seachem Flourish Phosphorus.

They have two seperate dosing instructions on the bottle. The "beginner" dose is half a cap for every 20g. That's not going to work on my 14g tank... not accurate enough. So the "expert dose has a formula that looks like this...

0.8vp=m
v=total water volume
p=desired phosphate level
m=dose amount

Using that formula and a rough estimate of 12 gallons of water, I came up with 1.2ml and dosed the tank.
0.8×12×0.125=1.2

Hopefully, this will raise my phosphates to a safe level and not cause a spike like the potassium nitrate did.

My green acro is hanging in there, if I get PO4 under control I expect a full recovery. Tissue recession has stopped and it is still holding the bright green color.

The ASL Purple Nurple acro is a dark green, the base has always been that color, but the tip has slowly lost the little bit of purple it had. My LFS, Aquarium Specialty, said that came from a wild colony they got that completely bleached colored back up, got AEFW, bleached from the dip and then colored back up again. It's evidently hard to kill... Once I get some nutrients in the tank I'm hoping I can increase the light and draw more color out.


My forest fire digi didn't completely die, just lost a bunch of tissue. I'm thinking of relocating it lower in the tank but I'm but sure how much it'll help, it's about 7" off the sand. Shallow tank problems.

The duncans are doing wonderful as they always have. I put a second colony in here from my 75g, something is going on in there, I'm not sure what but corals are receding but my BTA looks great. Tested everything and water is good, a litte high on nutrients but it's a LPS softy tank... anyway, duncans.

My two stylos are doing well, the blue more so than the rose. The rose seems to be more temperamental, and will pull it's polyps back if I do anything to the tank...

My pocillopora hasn't had very good OR for a few weeks. It's hanging in there but I think my lack of PO4 is the issue.

Still have 2 weeks of fallow before I can add fish. My 40b QT is full from my 75g being fallow also, they just finished copper treatment today. I also just set up my 10g QT for my birthday fish. I love my fiancee. She got me a small lieutenant tang from the divers den. It arrives tomorrow, then 30 days in QT for him and after that I'll look at getting fish for this tank. Im still thinking a sapphire damsel and a rainford goby, maybe one more fish.

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

So I must've missed something, the stump Remover didn't work?

 

[SashimiTurtle]

So I must've missed something, the stump Remover didn't work?

Stump remover worked very well. Nitrates are at 2-4ppm and have stayed there with no dosing for 3 weeks, but I CANNOT get any phosphates in the tank. Red Sea reef energy would turn the water yellow for 30 minutes after dosing, but I don't think it was doing much other then growing brown film algae on the glass and sand. I was dosing 2ml/day of each part. If I get it again I'll probably cut that in half and dose every other day.

I'm saving now for an ATO. Looking at the Smart ATO Micro. I think I'm gong to run kalk in it instead of trying to manually dose 2 part. Getting Alk stable has been a chore. It bounces around between 7-8 and my Ca and Mg don't really move, without me dosing them. I think once I can obtain better stability I'll see a growth explosion, especially since I've been seeing growth with everything swinging like it has been.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

5/24/17-7/31/17

Good growth, now if I can just get some color back... it used to be almost purple it was so blue.

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

Why are you wanting phosphates in your tank?

I mean, I'm no pro, but if you're getting diatoms then your phosphate is definitely detectable. What test kit are you using? I don't even test for phosphates so I couldn't tell you what mine read. I've learned what my sticks look like when they are happy, and also when something is wrong.

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

My nitrates are pretty high , they stay between 5-10ppm. Did you get a lux meter or a way to read your lights?

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Why are you wanting phosphates in your tank?

http://www.reefedition.com/phosphate-in-the-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley/

You can read that until your eyes are blue, but cliff notes version... pale, sickly looking corals(see blue stylo above) are a result of low PO4. Phosphorus is a food that corals need and it's best kept in the 0.01-0.03ppm range. From what I've seen, 0ppm PO4 causes slow bleaching and eventually STN of stony corals. My tank is 0.00ppm with the Hanna Low Range Phosphate and Red Sea Pro Phosphate test. Both of my Montis, digi and cap, have bleached and STNed and now my birds nest is doing it. I have ghost fed PE pellets, added the Red Sea Reef Energy, taken out all chemical filtration and the only piece of filtration I have left is the filter pad. Still can't get any phosphates. Corals keep fading out.

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

Have you tried feeding frozen mysis? Or something like reef roids?
0.01-0.03 is dang near undetectable and very hard to achieve without some kind of nutrient export like phos guard or GFO, biopellets etc. and I would think if you're TRYING to achieve PO4 then you shouldn't have that much difficulty, feeding and not running any carbon, or skimming or phosguard or anything. I would triple check your levels maybe from a 3rd source. Reliable LFS or something.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

My nitrates are pretty high , they stay between 5-10ppm. Did you get a lux meter or a way to read your lights?

No way to measure lights, but 35% max intensity on an A160 7" over the water shouldn't be bleaching corals. Not when I see everyone else who are running Kessils are close to or at 100%. If anything I think I would be starving them, but I'm afraid to up the lights and kill everything in a day or two.

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

#reefsquad Zero PO4 and NO3-2-5ppm causing bleaching or paling sps. My friend seems to be having trouble adding PO4, and I also would like to learn more if you guys/gals can help! Thanks. Also if @Randy Holmes-Farley is available Thanks

 

[SashimiTurtle]

My problem with feeding frozen mysis is there is nothing to eat it. I ground the PE mysis pellets into a powder and added some of it. The crabs and duncans can eat that. The pom pom crab and squat lobster are pinky nail size... can't really eat mysis when mysis are their size. I'm trying to avoid a huge algae outbreak but get some food in the tank at the same time.

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

No way to measure lights, but 35% max intensity on an A160 7" over the water shouldn't be bleaching corals. Not when I see everyone else who are running Kessils are close to or at 100%. If anything I think I would be starving them, but I'm afraid to up the lights and kill everything in a day or two.

Buy that LUX meter on amazon, it's 15 bucs and then you'll know! It's worth it and an absolute must have for growing high light corals. I don't think they are bleaching per say, I think they are starving. hopefully the squad will rescue us both!

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

My problem with feeding frozen mysis is there is nothing to eat it. I ground the PE mysis pellets into a powder and added some of it. The crabs and duncans can eat that. The pom pom crab and squat lobster are pinky nail size... can't really eat mysis when mysis are their size. I'm trying to avoid a huge algae outbreak but get some food in the tank at the same time.

You don't have fish?
Look at my eyes, roll em! [emoji849]

 

[jsker]

Why are you wanting phosphates in your tank?

I mean, I'm no pro, but if you're getting diatoms then your phosphate is definitely detectable. What test kit are you using? I don't even test for phosphates so I couldn't tell you what mine read. I've learned what my sticks look like when they are happy, and also when something is wrong.

Every system needs a trace to .02 phosphates to successfully maintain corals. The real challenge is to balance the Po4 and No3's for good growth and that not being algae growth.

@Robin Haselden besides low nutrients have you looked and your trace elements? Red Sea also has the colors program that would help with the trace element that are most likely missing. I would also suggest instead of dosing stump remover just using natural products such as Reef nutrition's oyterfeast, and R.O.E mixed with a couple of drop of vitamin C to help bring back your corals.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I HAD a fish... I had an outbreak of velvet in both of my tanks and lost the 1" coral beauty in my nano, and almost lost my Atlantic blue tang in my 75g. (Tang police, he's only 3" and I'll have a bigger tank when he grows.) I have 2 more weeks of fallow period, then once that's over I'll buy and QT, 30 days in copper, some new fish. I think I've decided on a sapphire damsel and a rainford goby for now, maybe a sand sifting goby once the tank is a little older.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

@jsker I've thought about getting the red sea elements but shouldn't they already be in my red sea blue bucket? I try to do at least 1g a week. I missed this past weekend, but the weekend before I did a 5g because of high NO3. Also, I read that you dose them based on Calcium uptake, but I've noticed very little Ca usage compared to Alk. I might have to dose 1ml Part A a week based on testing where as I'm dosing 4-6ml of Part B daily.

Edit; forgot to mention that I haven't dosed any sump remover since the spike to 12ppm. NO3 has held between the 2 and 4 ppm shades of purple on my Red Sea pro test.

 

[Idal sarduy]

Following along, I have a nano 29g with a mixed tank. I definitely have my back and forth struggles and can't have a bigger tank atleast for another year (floors need remodel). So I'm transitioning my tank to sps dominant. I feel the same way, if I can I conquer this nano the next tank will be a breeze.

Have you considered any of the kz products? I'm thinking of trying pohls extra and coral vitalzer

 

[jsker]

@jsker I've thought about getting the red sea elements but shouldn't they already be in my red sea blue bucket? I try to do at least 1g a week. I missed this past weekend, but the weekend before I did a 5g because of high NO3. Also, I read that you dose them based on Calcium uptake, but I've noticed very little Ca usage compared to Alk. I might have to dose 1ml Part A a week based on testing where as I'm dosing 4-6ml of Part B daily.

Red sea salt tend to run high in alk and Ca and yes they have the elements, but maybe not enough. Once your alk is balance the system start up taking more Ca and Mg. I have made the mistake of trying to balance the Ca and Mg before the alk, and I was getting frustrated. Once my alk was set then everything pretty much fell in line. Granted I still dose a small amount of Mg fro time to time, for some reason my system use more Mg.

Your corals look hungry, and need real food