Won't open!!!

[cluanar]

Hi

fairly new to reefing and although many things are doing well it seems these corals are dying. I tried more/less flow, higher/lower light to no avail.

I am now using reef roids i make in to a paste with no flow to feed.

90 gal 24x48x18
2x 40mph vortechs
4 puck AI Vega lighting ( 18% WH 60% of the 3 blues, 5% red& green.
30 total gal sump with refugium and skimmer.

Numbers seem good except nitrates around 20 and cant get to budge.

Let me know if you need more info.

Thanks

 

[IslandLifeReef]

You probably need to provide more parameters such as Alk, Calcium, Sg, Mag, temp, Phosphates. Do you dose anything and what. Do you do water changes and how much/often. How old is the tank? What fish or other livestock do you have?

 

[cluanar]

Okay I will get that all together. I use a tunzel ATO which i also use to does kalkwasser and a 2 cartridge GFO which I have on sparingly.

I will test what i have the ability to test and list inhabitants soon.

Thanks

 

[cluanar]

2 clowns ( small )
1 yellow tang ( medium )
1 regal tang ( small )
1 damsel ( small )
1 six line wrasse ( small )
1 diamond goby ( small )
all my corals are smaller size frags
1 mushroom coral
1 green hammer
several zoa's but im kind of new to name them. here are some horrible pics, my phone sucks at taking blue out.

Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
ammonia 0
PH 8.4
Salinity ? I have a floater that just says get in green area
Temperature 82° F
Alkalinity 9 dKH
Calcium 400 ppm
Magnesium no tester
Phosphate no tester
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate20 ppm

I just bought a hydrometer and maybe found the problem. Salinity 1.031?

 

[Dennis McGrath]

2 clowns ( small )
1 yellow tang ( medium )
1 regal tang ( small )
1 damsel ( small )
1 six line wrasse ( small )
1 diamond goby ( small )
all my corals are smaller size frags
1 mushroom coral
1 green hammer
several zoa's but im kind of new to name them. here are some horrible pics, my phone sucks at taking blue out.

Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
ammonia 0
PH 8.4
Salinity ? I have a floater that just says get in green area
Temperature 82° F
Alkalinity 9 dKH
Calcium 400 ppm
Magnesium no tester
Phosphate no tester
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate20 ppm

I just bought a hydrometer and maybe found the problem. Salinity 1.031?

Bingo!!! Should be MUCH lower.

 

[mike werner]

I would not do anything till I got that sg down.

 

[thejuice24]

First of all welcome to reefing. Definitely get that salinity down, also from experience ditch the hydrometer and get a refractometer and some calibration fluid. Sometimes zoas will just melt for no apparent reason.

 

[cluanar]

Yes i bought the only thing i could find at this hour and ordered one on amazon.

Thanks

 

[thejuice24]

Yes i bought the only thing i could find at this hour and ordered one on amazon.

Thanks

Got cha.

Have you checked for any unwanted pest?

 

[cluanar]

Okay swapped out 5 gal and went to 1.021 so adding a little bit of salt back in sump. Hopefully soon ZOA's feel better.

Thanks all.

 

[cluanar]

Got cha.

Have you checked for any unwanted pest?

I did turkey baste a bit of brown dusting off 2 of them. I am concerned that the snails and crabs seem to like riding them.

 

[cluanar]

Is there any chance my lighting is also not optimum for corals.

I have them go totally dark at night ( 10 pm - 8 am ) otherwise 18% wh 70% blues 5% green and red.

 

[Dennis McGrath]

Okay swapped out 5 gal and went to 1.021 so adding a little bit of salt back in sump. Hopefully soon ZOA's feel better.

Thanks all.

That's a big swing to go from 1.031 to 1.021, gradual is better so it's not a shock to the tank inhabitants. Should be closer to 1.025 or 1.026
Also, don't put salt directly in the sump, mix it with water first.

 

[thejuice24]

Brown stuff could be Alagar or Dino’s. Crabs and snails could be going after that and not actually the coral

 

[cluanar]

I am told that it could take 6-9 months after resetting up a tank with new water to clear that brown dusting stage. Sound right?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Yeah, I agree that the salinity was to high, but don't do drastic changes any more. I would try to get it back to about 1.028 until you get your refractometer. That big of a change will do more harm than good. I don't know what that brown dusting stage is. Also, can you get your temp down a little. You are on the higher end of the recommended range. I would shoot for 79-80 degrees if you can.

 

[cluanar]

Ya i turned the ceramic heater down though it was at 77. On the good side I am not sure if its coincidence or quick responses but I see some opening up already. I did get the salinity back up to 25 within 20 min of that quick drop.

 

[cluanar]

Didnt take long for this guy to wake up. See a before and after.

 

[Swoody]

I am here to help you and nothing more...not insulting you in any way, please understand that. I cannot imagine setting up a tank without having the tools to check and make sure I was not harming the stuff that I hope to make flourish so that I may enjoy the beauty that will come. That being said, please get the proper testing equip. so that you may ensure that your water parameters are such that the inhabitants you place within get a chance at some sort of long lived life. I am sure that is the reason you set up a tank in the first place....your nitrates are a bit high for a tank with coral within, I am certain that your phosphates are also a bit on the high side and likely that owes to the algae you are showing..Also a temperature of 82 is a bit on the high side and you should try to get that down to around 79-80*. your calcium is kind of ok...420 -440 is where you want to be, magnesium...that can wait. Alk is a bit high but with your No3 and almost assuredly Po4 levels a bit high that is not so terrible....you do not really need to feed your corals as they attain their food from the bacteria that lives within them and thrives from the lighting you provide. Do not think that adding reef roids will take care of your corals needs...water and lighting quality will do it. I wish you and your tank inhabitants the very best of luck! Read read read..there is a wealth of information on this site and you can have a fantastic slice of ocean very soon taking in the information and real life experiences of the members here..... Best of luck to you....

 

[cluanar]

Ya I agree and the person I purchased this set up from ( at a very cheap price ) said the testers in place would be all i need. I have been replacing items as needed. I added another mp40 to make 2, I removed the deep sand bed and crushed coral for fiji sand in main and just live rock in refuge. He did not have a refuge in the sump i added that.

And I came here just for this reason, to learn and expand my skills.

Thanks for all your help.

complete tester and refractometer due in today. I do have a GFO but read it was NOT a good idea to run 24/7. My phosphates were nil according to LFS and told me not to run the GFO. Should I?