Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
Have any of you just wanted to give up the reef and go fowlr? I am thinking hard about giving up my pitiful reef..
Considering going fowlr
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BlueDevil
Valuable Member
No because getting into the hobby I knew there would be trying times and everything would require a lot of patience. Just got to keep the faith and plugging away. Then again if it really becomes more of a frustration and chore for you, it might be best that you go FOWLR.
We all have our ups and downs in the hobby that's for sure.
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
I'm undecided but it so painful watching coral after coral die.. lost all sps and all of my scolys are going now.. nothing appears to be wrong with the tank.. I just can't figure it out..
What do you store your rodi water in?
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
Oh absolutely. I know you all have tons of knowledge. That's why I wanted to host a meeting. So yall can see the corals and maybe advise me of things I need to try.
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
I store ato water in the plastic jugs from the aquarium.. I mix my salt in a brute trash can.. as of this morning
Ph 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Calcium 440
Mag 1440
Alk 9
Phosphate. 04
Salinity 1.023
I can understand your frustration there have been a few times I wanted to give it up. There are moments and times where it just takes determination and patience. My greatest previous mistake was not taking care of the sand bed and then doing it improperly when I tried to clean it up. I'd also suggest raising SG to 1.025-1.026 but also can't imagine a low salinity (that isn't that low) to be fatally detrimental to corals. Do you feed your scoly's?
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
Yes at least once a week.. even tried 2 times a week and they are still fading in color and shrinking with a lot of skeleton showing..
Freakyyfort
Active Member
I just change water dose a little of that squirt of this and not worry so much about the tank itself. I'm new still so learning curve is there. But.. I was told to enjoy my tank.. and only thing I lost was a coral from petco.... everything else is growing beyond what I've expected.. stop worrying and enjoy.
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
What's amazing to me is the big tank is the headache.. I have a small carpet anemone in the bio cube and it's doing great..
BlueDevil
Valuable Member
Steve - I hope you didn't take my previous post in the wrong sense. Trust me, I want you to be successful at keeping a true reef tank. However I also don't want you to get so frustrated that the hobby becomes a chore and makes you leave it entirely. Id rather you do FOWLR as opposed to not having a tank at all.
With that being said, I'm not sure how much you mess with/tinker (for lack of better words) with your tank daily. I would keep that to a minimum. The less you try to mess with it and chase numbers, the better it is.
All your numbers seem to be fine except for marginally low SG. But even that should not be a reason for things to die.
Are you adding anything else to the tank by way of supplements? How/what do you dose your tank to get to the levels they are at?
With that being said, I'm not sure how much you mess with/tinker (for lack of better words) with your tank daily. I would keep that to a minimum. The less you try to mess with it and chase numbers, the better it is.
All your numbers seem to be fine except for marginally low SG. But even that should not be a reason for things to die.
Are you adding anything else to the tank by way of supplements? How/what do you dose your tank to get to the levels they are at?
Freakyyfort
Active Member
Oh and my nitrates are well above 40+....... so.. I stopped testing it got the same results after WC. So I am to beileve it's lying to me. Corals tell otherwise. Only test alk once a week if I remember :/ just a little dose.. keeps it where it needs to be.. don't give up. Maybe it's beginners luck on my end but I knowe my doomsday is coming. It happens to everyone. What do we do!! Just keep swimming... keep at it. Can't progress without trial and error.
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
I using a dosing pump for Alk and cal.50ml Alk (brs 2 part) 28ml cal (also brs 2 part). Was adding ME amino ever other day by hand (5ml) but have stopped due to not seeing a change.. I change water and test on saturday.. that it unless I see something then it's just a test to check to make sure nothing has changed..
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
Should I try to bring the Phosphate down? .04 isn't danger but this is my first low nutrients system..
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Steve Dillon
Valuable Member
Removed the lids and it's down to 78 as long as I keep the house air on..
Mark75
Well-Known Member
Why is your CAl./Alk./Mag. slightly elevated compared to NSW but your salinity is reduced? I would stop dosing/adding anything, make up a bunch of saltwater at 1.025 and over the next two weeks do large water changes until you have changed 100% of the water.
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