What to Focus on First?

MT_is_a_Pisces · May 21, 2020

90 Gallons Mixed Reef to be has been wet for about 16 months. There has been good days and so-so days. Which issue should I address first?
1) Algae. Various types. Loosing substrate when removing.
2) Coral Decay. Softies, LPS and all SPS

Current parameters:
Sal - 35
CA - 448
dKh - 6.8
Mag - 1500
NO3 - 0
PO4 - 0.05
Ph - 8.5
Ai Hydra26 in acclimation mode for past 4-5 weeks ; WWC live sales.

muzikalmatt · May 21, 2020

What type of algae? Green hair algae? Bryopsis? Ulva? Turf algae? Bubble algae? There are many types, some worse than others. If it's just a bit of GHA, I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it's overtaking the tank. You can manually remove it during water changes. Pictures would help identify what type you're dealing with and how bad the outbreak is.

Regarding coral decay, I would guess first that your low alkalinity and low nutrients are starving the corals. Phosphate seems to be where it should be but you want a little bit of nitrates available (3-5ppm), not zero, and your alkalinity should at least be above 7 dkH.

Tuan’s Reef · May 21, 2020

Agreed with above. The corals you got from WWC probably had nutrients and higher Alk levels. Algae won’t hurt corals but Dino’s can.

Post some pics of the algae

MT_is_a_Pisces · May 26, 2020

I thought it was GHA. But I'm not sure, Algae has a hold on substrate. When removing algae, sand goes with it. To heavy to siphon.

Will post pics later this evening.

Uncle99 · May 26, 2020

Seek stability in all parameters.
Raise alk to 8-8.5, raise nitrate to 2-10ppm, lower magnesium to 1300-1350.
With 0 nitrates, corals will starve, and with phosphate at 0.05, there’s an imbalance in nutrient levels, this can lead to algae issues.