I have a birds nest that I was happy to see growing pretty quickly but now I'm noticing its proximal branches are turning white with few polyps. Here are pics from October to December: it is larger but the skeleton is showing now. The October looks really plush, not as much now.
Tank parameters tonight (and have generally been pretty stable):
Tank: 165 gallon bowfront, 40 gallon sump
pH 8.28 (day/night range 8-8.3)
Alk 8.56 (Trident controlled dosing) (ranges 8.2-9.1)
Ca 407 (Trident controlled dosing) (ranges 405-420)
Mag 1340
Salinity 34.5
Temp 76 F
ORP 393
Nitrates are 0 (Hanna Nitrate high range)
Phosphates 0.03-0.09 (Hanna Phosphate ULR)
Under Sky lights, Coral Growth mode, PAR 230-250
Flow:
2 x Neptune Wavs (on sides of tank) at ~40% output ("Flo" 2.8-3 each)
1 x Maxspect Jump Gyre 4k (30% forward. 50% reverse) on back wall to blow front
2 x Jebao MLW-30's at 100% on back wall to front
No nuisance algae in the tank.
Is this happening because my nitrates are 0? I've been feeding more and it brought phosphates from 0.03 to 0.09 but nitrates are still 0.
I 'grew up" in the days of wanting low nitrates so it was a bit of an anathema to strive to raise nitrates! I do run a Reefmat roller filter, and skimmer (with CO2 scrubbing to keep the pH up but the skimmer is set to not remove much gunk - I have to empty the skimmer collection drain container (1.5L) about every 2.5 weeks). While there is a Reefmat, I do have filter foam in the sump before the return pump as a final bubble catch and I have intentionally left that unchanged for a couple weeks at a time to be a nitrate generator (and it rinses out quite brownish stuff).
Tank parameters tonight (and have generally been pretty stable):
Tank: 165 gallon bowfront, 40 gallon sump
pH 8.28 (day/night range 8-8.3)
Alk 8.56 (Trident controlled dosing) (ranges 8.2-9.1)
Ca 407 (Trident controlled dosing) (ranges 405-420)
Mag 1340
Salinity 34.5
Temp 76 F
ORP 393
Nitrates are 0 (Hanna Nitrate high range)
Phosphates 0.03-0.09 (Hanna Phosphate ULR)
Under Sky lights, Coral Growth mode, PAR 230-250
Flow:
2 x Neptune Wavs (on sides of tank) at ~40% output ("Flo" 2.8-3 each)
1 x Maxspect Jump Gyre 4k (30% forward. 50% reverse) on back wall to blow front
2 x Jebao MLW-30's at 100% on back wall to front
No nuisance algae in the tank.
Is this happening because my nitrates are 0? I've been feeding more and it brought phosphates from 0.03 to 0.09 but nitrates are still 0.
I 'grew up" in the days of wanting low nitrates so it was a bit of an anathema to strive to raise nitrates! I do run a Reefmat roller filter, and skimmer (with CO2 scrubbing to keep the pH up but the skimmer is set to not remove much gunk - I have to empty the skimmer collection drain container (1.5L) about every 2.5 weeks). While there is a Reefmat, I do have filter foam in the sump before the return pump as a final bubble catch and I have intentionally left that unchanged for a couple weeks at a time to be a nitrate generator (and it rinses out quite brownish stuff).
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