Wheres the complaint department?

[Silverdot1211]

Side note The big orange/red Bowerbanki was chewed on real bad by a File fish that has since been moved on and is recovering nicely but now is a little ugly...

 

[The Farmer]

My advise would be to cut back on everything, light intensity, photo period, feeding, dosing. Try to cut everything in half start doing your testing and start a fresh record. Consider the loses as a learning example. Keep your head up and push through it. If you can raise 3 kids on your own kudos. Reefing should be a piece of cake. Keep it up brother

 

[The Farmer]

From the pictures it seems like you have some brown algae on your glass and pumps. If so your nitrates and or phosphate might be a little to high. Try not to over feed what is your fish stock?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

after seeing your pics, I think your being a little hard on yourself. Thats not bad at all, looks like it just needs a few minor tweeks. Your almost there, dont give up, Good luck

 

[DeniseAndy]

Pictures do not look bad at all. Young tank, so take it a bit slower. Make sure the flow is not directly on any corals. Most hate that. The zoas on the rock will want some lower light, while the sps will want higher. Sometimes tanks just cannot support a mixed reef.
Hold back, concentrate on stable tank and water changes. See what is thriving and what is not. Then, you can determine the system needs for the animals you want to keep.
Seriously, it looks pretty good in the pictures. Good growth on some of the corals. Derasa looks happy too.

 

[ReefRxSWFL]

what kind of corals are you losing From your post, it sounds like just acros, which the hardest of all. Do you have other corals besides acros, how are they doing? What about the easier ones like bali green slimer, how does that do in your tank?

Alk is most important for acros, but you did not say your alk level

And I'm sorry, I gotta point out that success in this hobby has little to do with how much you spend. It has everything to do with how much time you spend reading and learning.

Good source of education is Julian Sprungs Reef tank book. NOT BRStv or anything on YouTube. Except if Jake Adams is involved. Then its ok.

Technology is not a substitute for biology.

 

[ReefRxSWFL]

As usual thanks for all the replies....the salinity I know is slightly low and it has been measured with a calibrated meter. I dose because my my calcium and mag were being depleted at a rate that water changes were becoming a 2 week ordeal. I figured if I dose and automate it would be more stable.
As far as documenting I use a white board and test like every 2 to 3 weeks. My tests are done with API and salifert. I do have do some homework for some of your questions. Nitrates i can't honestly say right now (homework)

I understand spending money doesn't equate to success. Also as far as time commitment the tank gets 30 min to an 1hr a day aside from just gazing. Water change days are like 2 or 3hrs depending what I all have to do.
I know this hobby isn't easy and that's why I come here for help. I have generally have the mind set...always pay attention to the old guys that have been around a while. They usually know the short cuts they know what to look for.

I have not rented a par meter so I don't have measurements there. I am currently waiting on an ICP test.
Hardware I am running..

SC Aquarium 80 gallon cube
Bulk reef 300w ti heater tied to Ranco heater controller
Reef octopus 4 return pump
Reef octopus regal 150Int skimmer
GHL Profilux 4
Osmolator ATO
Marine depot elite 30in sump
2 noop lights 10 inches from the surface.

I think I answered everyone's questions with the exception of a few that I have to check on. The coral I have a variety. I attached pictures that I took this morning. I did turn the lights on prior the normal time. some of the corals are a little slow to wake up I am hoping pictures are are worth a thousand words. If an actual list us needed I can come up with it but some I can remember and will have to look in my binder when I get home.

First, throw away API kits and erase those values, because they are not remotely accurate.

You need to know your lighting intensity and spectrum are set appropriately, so i suggest getting a par meter on loan.

let us know when the ICPs are back.

 

[Silverdot1211]

I agree with the algea statement even though my API tests come back basically zero...something isnt right...I do have a refugium that I forgot to mention and it does go like gang busters. Feeding is minimal i think...the fish get one cube of frozen brine or marine frenzy and then they get selcon and neptune cross over diet (alternate back and forth) I do feed reef chilli once a week on Saturdays and I do feed some brine shrimp to some of the corals like once or twice a week when I feed my 2 BTA's

 

[Dburr1014]

I agree with the algea statement even though my API tests come back basically zero...something isnt right...I do have a refugium that I forgot to mention and it does go like gang busters. Feeding is minimal i think...the fish get one cube of frozen brine or marine frenzy and then they get selcon and neptune cross over diet (alternate back and forth) I do feed reef chilli once a week on Saturdays and I do feed some brine shrimp to some of the corals like once or twice a week when I feed my 2 BTA's

How do you test Magnesium or your lfs?
Just asking cuz you said it depletes fast and you also said you don't know what it is (no test kit)
Mg doesn't deplete fast at all. Not like cal or alk.
Tank looks great!
API test kits are good for trends not accuracy.
Invest in test kits to replace API.
Mg
Alk
Cal
PO4
NO3

Only dose what you can test.

 

[Shirak]

I agree with the algea statement even though my API tests come back basically zero...something isnt right...I do have a refugium that I forgot to mention and it does go like gang busters. Feeding is minimal i think...the fish get one cube of frozen brine or marine frenzy and then they get selcon and neptune cross over diet (alternate back and forth) I do feed reef chilli once a week on Saturdays and I do feed some brine shrimp to some of the corals like once or twice a week when I feed my 2 BTA's

Lots of good replies. Acros suddenly going RTN after growing well for months/years happens to even the best of them.. They are touchy and a parameter swing or nutrient swing or just looking at them funny and boom.. Don't beat yourself up over it. Maybe just stick with other sps like you have. If you are looking for sticks maybe Monti digitata or something.

Will echo. Salinity around 1.026 and make sure it's calibrated properly with reference solution not RODI.
NYOS nitrate test kit is a good go too and inexpensive. I think you need to get a handle on your nutrient levels and feeding. Testing at least weekly or a couple times a week. Personally I would dump the brine shrimp and go with mysis. If they are large you can chop up the cube while frozen. Much better nutrition in mysis. Frozen brine shrimp has very little nutrients.

Not sure what you have for CUC but maybe could use a few more snails or something to help keep the glass and rock clean.

 

[Unitylover]

API is fine for an approximate value, and the reason you have zero phos is either 1: api is acting up or 2: the algae is taking up all the phos

 

[Silverdot1211]

The salt I run is instant ocean....don't quote me on this but feel like it mixed at like 380? on the calcium the tank was at like 300 and after like 2 weeks the tank would be at like 220

 

[Unitylover]

standard IO mixes to 440 ppm calcium. With weekly 30% WC it should be stable around that amount.

 

[Unitylover]

Reef crystals is better for routine WC, even though it mixes high, because you aren't changing all the water

 

[Shirak]

The salt I run is instant ocean....don't quote me on this but feel like it mixed at like 380? on the calcium the tank was at like 300 and after like 2 weeks the tank would be at like 220

How much AFR are you dosing? If you are dosing only AFR and it's dropping noticeably between testing, you may need to bump up your dose. AFR should be able to keep your Ca stable.

 

[Silverdot1211]

@Shirak I should clarify...my calcium was dropping before I was dosing. Now it's stable with dosing and I'm doing 35ml broken up across 6 times per day I am using a kamoer x1 pump

 

[Shirak]

@Shirak I should clarify...my calcium was dropping before I was dosing. Now it's stable with dosing and I'm doing 35ml broken up across 6 times per day I am using a kamoer x1 pump

I use AFR and dose about the same amount on a couple different systems. With my Ca stable in the 480-500 range I find my Alk slowly drops about .5dkh over a 7 day period on one system so I bump it with a little baking soda each week. Other than your salinity if you are keeping the tank parameters stable I would be looking at nutrient swings. Sounds like they are low and your feeding is light. Especially with a refugium going which can suck lots of nutrients up, it can be a challenge to balance feeding, nutrient levels and refugium growth. One system runs a refugium and I have to harvest regularly or the algae will get overgrown and pull all sorts of nutrients and trace elements out. I try and compensate with heavy regular feedings 5 times a day with the autofeeder. It has a blend of very fine particles for sps and larger pellets for lps and the few fish etc. I figure the corals can catch more of what they need in food if they are not getting it dissolved in the water.

 

[vtecintegra]

Instead of guessing, I would do a couple of things.
1) Get an ICP test done.
2) Track down a par meter and check par.

I would also get a Hanna alk, phosphate, and nitrate meter.

 

[rhdoug]

Exactly why I avoid acros -- I simply cannot keep my reef that way. I "stick" with softies and LPS for the most part and that seems to fit my style of reefkeeping.

 

[DeniseAndy]

True, you have to know your style of reef keeping. I have dogs that love to lay around with me and my tank that can care for itself for longish periods.