What would you do differently?

[ndz98]

Hey guys. Let me start off by giving details about the tank first.

Equipment:
-29g DT
-10g Sump
= about 34-35 gallons since I only use half of the sump space to account for back flow.
-CPR back pack HOB skimmer
-chaeto (although I think it may have died)
-chemi pure elite in the sump
-sb reef light elite
-some filter material stuff to catch big pieces of junk (I forget what the right name is for it. Mind went blank. You'll see in the pictures below)

As for livestock:
-Sailfin Tang (please do not mention the size of the tank being an issue. I am more than aware)
-2 clownfish
-cleaner shrimp
-3-4 hermit crabs
-2-3 snails (I believe they are cerith snails)
-GSP
-zoas
-acan
-ricordea mushroom
There's a few others in there or have been in my tank that have either died or look like they are on there way out the door.

I have had this tank running for about a year now. I've had all the same fish since the start and don't really have many issues with them. I did have to treat the tang for fin rot but he recovered quite nicely. Besides that, everything to do with fish is alright. When it comes to coral on the other hand, I can't figure out why it doesn't seem to be working out too well for me. It's a little disheartening to see coral die after putting so much money into everything to try and have a successful reef tank. Luckily momma didn't raise a quitter. Many times I have felt like it though. I do everything that most people tell you do do. I always keep up on testing water parameters. I typically test for alk, mag, and calcium. I do test for N03 and P04 occasionally and levels always seem to be in check. I do water changes quite often. As of recent though I have been doing them about every 5-7 days because I was unsure if my nitrates or phosphates may have risen because I had a few corals die recently all of a sudden and a emerald crab. I tested both and neither were out of check. I use the Red Sea test kits for all my tests. I also experienced an algae bloom. So that's why I did water changes as a precaution. Still seems to be happening and I've been watching the levels and testing for the past 2-3 weeks. Aside from that, I typically don't see much growth from any coral that I've ever put in my tank except for the gsp and zoas which have probably got to be the easiest to grow. I was feeding coral the coral frenzy food a few times a week but since I didn't really see much difference and it possibly contributes to algae growth, I have lessened the amount per week I do now. I feed the fish flakes in the morning and sometimes mysis shrimp at night. The one thing I always didn't understand either in my tank was why it took so long just for coralline to grow. It's weird because it only really started showing up within the past few months and it's mostly on the rocks on the sides of my tank, hardly anywhere else. I guess my question is, what am I doing that I could improve on? What am I not doing? What would you do to make it better? Ill put some pictures of when I first got the coral and when I thought the tank looked its best to now. Sorry if I was kind of all over the place describing things about the tank and what not.

The time between the first picture and the second is probably about 5 months? I think that's how long ago the ETRC frag swap was.

You can see some Dinos that are present on the overflow. They were all on the back of the glass until I cleaned it recently.

Also let me add that I took out the sump, return, heater, and skimmer a week ago and deep cleaned it with vinegar. And that's what it looked like. One week later it's got algae everywhere.

 

[brandon429]

great tank that doesn't look like invasive dinos to me it looks like golden strain cyano.

that is a nice tank, more target feeding of diverse frozen feeds and more export w help w coral mass

 

[brandon429]

I noticed it was more pronounced down low in the whiter lights, up top there are grazers that handle that

UV light is exceptionally indicated for your type of issue/invader as a cheat. if you wanted, its indicated but not required.

 

[ndz98]

Maybe if I throw the #reef

great tank that doesn't look like invasive dinos to me it looks like golden strain cyano.

that is a nice tank, more target feeding of diverse frozen feeds and more export w help w coral mass

Well I wiped the glass last night and when I came home earlier there was already strings of algae across the front glass. It didn't have bubbles on it but it did look like the start of what looks like is on the overflow box.

When you say export do you mean more water changes or better skimmer?

 

[ndz98]

I noticed it was more pronounced down low in the whiter lights, up top there are grazers that handle that

UV light is exceptionally indicated for your type of issue/invader as a cheat. if you wanted, its indicated but not required.

Is that what is going to make the difference with coral surviving/growing? Or is that going to help with algae issues?

 

[brandon429]

The algae

The increased feeding diversity helps the corals and the bubbles are still made by cyano, N fixation bubbles

Those don't look like dinos to me, nice tank for sure. Good coralline

 

[brandon429]

capture feeding is one of the neatest micro changeups in reefing, tiny but impactful

if you have X amount of grinded up feed/rods food/Mysis/cyclopeeze/chili et al, that you know your tank can handle with its current export and filtration, then we don't have to dump that right in the tank anymore. you can take a capturing cup, still your pumps for an hour, and shoot all that food down over just one frag (or use half of it ideally, lessen your loading that cyano enjoys) and that inverted bell cup thingy simply holds the food right over a given coral. its a clear plastic cup with an injection hole in the bottom so that its an inverted feeding bell in your tank. best for items on the sand, but can be fashioned to bell over rock areas as well, be creative

then when you release the cup 30 mins/hour later it all goes into the tank as normal. rotate often.

 

[walter.plucinski]

IMO there are 2 possible issues to address first, listed in order of likelihood.

1) water quality (nutrient import). Completely stop feeding corals until algae is under control. They photosynthesize and don't need it. IMO feeding is advanced for an already successful tank. Feed fish every other day, trust me, they find things to eat. Wet skim for a few weeks, and keep up your water changes. Last effort, do a black out period. I had cyano once and the black out along with water changes nuked it good.

2) inadequate lighting. What do you use? If what you have should be fine, change your bulbs, they could be old or defective. Old bulbs promote algae.

Wish you the best man!

 

[ndz98]

IMO there are 2 possible issues to address first, listed in order of likelihood.

1) water quality (nutrient import). Completely stop feeding corals until algae is under control. They photosynthesize and don't need it. IMO feeding is advanced for an already successful tank. Feed fish every other day, trust me, they find things to eat. Wet skim for a few weeks, and keep up your water changes. Last effort, do a black out period. I had cyano once and the black out along with water changes nuked it good.

2) inadequate lighting. What do you use? If what you have should be fine, change your bulbs, they could be old or defective. Old bulbs promote algae.

Wish you the best man!

I stopped feeding the corals for the past couple weeks since I have had a little algae issue. I will try out your suggestion though with the feeding fish and skimming.

The light is an led unit and less than a year old so I would assume I'm good on that part.

 

[ndz98]

What does the #reefsquad have to say about these problems?

 

[Sm51498]

I would be worried about insufficient light or insufficient spectrum. I dont know much about leds as when i got out last, they were only just getting started. However, i doubt it if you have a reputable fixture running a known program. So change that last. In insufficient light or spectrum your corals would brown more than they seem to be.

I think you may be feeding too much. Your nitrate and phosphate could look ok when you test because they are getting consumed by algae. Either reduce your feeding or increase the frequency of your water changes, or both. Either way if your source water is clean, water changes are wonderful. Skimming wetter may help too.

What benefit do you feel you get from using the chemipure vs just a refugium and skimming? It seems redundant to me and may limit the growth of your chaeto as it is pulling out exactly what your chaeto is supposed to be binding.

 

[ndz98]

I would be worried about insufficient light or insufficient spectrum. I dont know much about leds as when i got out last, they were only just getting started. However, i doubt it if you have a reputable fixture running a known program. So change that last. In insufficient light or spectrum your corals would brown more than they seem to be.

I think you may be feeding too much. Your nitrate and phosphate could look ok when you test because they are getting consumed by algae. Either reduce your feeding or increase the frequency of your water changes, or both. Either way if your source water is clean, water changes are wonderful. Skimming wetter may help too.

What benefit do you feel you get from using the chemipure vs just a refugium and skimming? It seems redundant to me and may limit the growth of your chaeto as it is pulling out exactly what your chaeto is supposed to be binding.

I've cut back on feeding just about as much as I can without starving the fish. I turn the circulation pump off so I can make sure the food I put in gets ate by the fish and it doesn't dirty up the water too much. I have also been doing water changes out the wazoo. Like sometimes twice a week.

As for the chemi pure and the chaeto, I guess it's kind of like double protection. Just trying to keep the water quality as good as possible. But, the chaeto was doing very well at one point with the chemi pure. The chaeto was doubling in size every day. I started with a golf ball size and within a few weeks I had a five gallon bucket full of that stuff. So I don't think the chemi pure causes it to not grow that much. I think mine just isn't doing well right now because I may have cut it too much or it might be because it's got junk in it that's causing it not to grow for some reason.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

What does the #reefsquad have to say about these problems?

 

[rc8t6353]

One thing I got lax on was checking salinity. And it cost me two heads on my torch. Not saying that's what's going on with your tank, but I know it's one thing I simply forgot to keep in check.

 

[ndz98]

One thing I got lax on was checking salinity. And it cost me two heads on my torch. Not saying that's what's going on with your tank, but I know it's one thing I simply forgot to keep in check.

I usually check it a couple times a week and every time I do a water change.

 

[cameronh]

Reefsquad is here.......i see you killed my chaeto I sent you.......you have the same problem as Mike628 as far as the coral growing thing goes.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

One reefsquad vote.
Check your water source. double check the tds. dont trust any one. I have my reasons.
Def check salinity, an ato is part of the life support.

I guess it's kind of like double protection.

nope. it strips the water of nutrients. IMO IME. they are both nutrient export.

What are your no and po exactly. Different corals like different nutrient levels. so does the bacteria.
No and Po and algae take up nutrients. so do corals. no po no no, no food. slow down on the wc IMO.

So I don't think the chemi pure causes it to not grow that much.

see above.

I have that light. Did the corraline disappear? still grows in the shade? its too bright for some of the corals.
(ask me about lux meters to test intensity, I ramble about it all the time)

Have you checked your alk? its probably fine by the purple growing in the shade, lack of stony corals and frequent water changes.

Luckily momma didn't raise a quitter.

totally awesome!

Reefsquad is here.......i see you killed my chaeto I sent you.......you have the same problem as Mike628 as far as the coral growing thing goes.

lol.

your turn

 

[Mandrew]

What intensity do you run your lights? I know my corals started opening better when I tuned my black box LEDs down because I was running them too bright. That could be a coral killer for sure. As far as your filter floss or whatever it is you call it, I would remove it completely because if it traps stuff in the tank and doesn't let the skimmer or a water change remove it then it will just break down into the water and cause issues. So If you're not changing it every 2-3 days you may be better off without it. Just a thought. I've had the best luck keeping down algae by feeding my fish every other day as well. Less nutrients in the tank the less you have to find a way to remove. I'm definitely interested in what your light intensity is though.

 

[ndz98]

One reefsquad vote.
Check your water source. double check the tds. dont trust any one. I have my reasons.
Def check salinity, an ato is part of the life support.


nope. it strips the water of nutrients. IMO IME. they are both nutrient export.

What are your no and po exactly. Different corals like different nutrient levels. so does the bacteria.
No and Po and algae take up nutrients. so do corals. no po no no, no food. slow down on the wc IMO.


see above.

I have that light. Did the corraline disappear? still grows in the shade? its too bright for some of the corals.
(ask me about lux meters to test intensity, I ramble about it all the time)

Have you checked your alk? its probably fine by the purple growing in the shade, lack of stony corals and frequent water changes.


totally awesome!


lol.

your turn

I've been skeptical about the water I get from my lfs because I always thought about when the last time they changed there filters on there unit was. But they do use it in all of there tanks and there show reef tank looks very healthy. I would like to test the water just to rule it out but I don't have a tds meter or know anyone with one here. Is there any other ways to test?

When it comes to Phosphate and nitrates, those test kits are so dang hard to tell honestly. I know it's not high because it doesn't typically show much color. That's where the problem is because there's like three colors on the color wheel that are so very similar looking that it could either be 0 or .04 ppm or .16. When I tested today I got .04 ppm for phosphate and 0 nitrates.

Oh I know all about the lux meter. I only learned about it awhile back from the one and only @saltyfilmfolks haha. The coralline is there but it's odd then it grows in the shady area. I even dialed back the intensity on the lights to see if that would help it grow more in the center but nothing. I have also tried the opposite way and turned the light intensity up but still not much of anything happens. I don't change the light schedule often but I have been experimenting for awhile. I usually leave a setting on for a few weeks or a month and if I don't notice anything get better or worse, I adjust it a little. I haven't had much luck with it as you can tell which leads me to believe it may not be the lights.

Alk is at about 8.7 dkh right now.

 

[Mandrew]

One other thing I see that could cause an issue would be that it appears your rocks are up against the back glass, that can restrict flow behind the rocks and create a nutrient sink as well. So maybe slide them out away from the glass so some flow can get back there and kick up any detritus that's hiding from you.