Corals not looking so great, all guidance is appreciated…

[ReeferNas2001]

This tank has been set up since June 12th, however it’s been restarted multiple times. My corals aren’t looking so great, especially my Acans, and my new Goniopora frag which won’t open almost at all. My parameters are decent, however I am using API test kits due to affordability and so I know that accuracy could be off.

August 23rd, 2024

Parameters

PH - 8.0

Calcium - 460 ppm

Alkalinity - 9dkh

Nitrate - 0

Phosphate - Between 0 and .25 ppm

My Duncan keeps closing randomly throughout the day and then reopening, and I am suffering from dinos. Please help, I don’t want to lose my acans and I really want my Goniopora to thrive. There is a 10 gallon Refugium with a nice size ball of chaeto, but I’ve turned the lights down to raise nutrients. Thank you for all your help

 

[Timfish]

It looks to me like you used sterile rock and sand or maybe just rock and sand with nitryfying bacteria added. Your comment that you've restarted your system is also very troublesome. I would recommend rehoming your corals for now, Get some maricultured live rock to add organisms that can't be stuck in a bottle but are essential for healthy reefs. Add EASY corals to begin with. BE PATIENT! It takes months for a reef system to mature.

Here's an article on establishing a healthy microbiome

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

Her'e some videos you might find useful and you might find pretty complex but may help your understanding of what's happening as you get more experience.

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas " This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title. Used copies are available on line and it may be free to read on Internet Archive. both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC (carbon dosing) in reef ecosystems and how it can alter coral microbiomes. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems and are an excellent starting point to understand the conflicting roles of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC, aka "carbon dosing") in reef ecosystems.

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Microbial view of Coral Decline

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

 

[Spare time]

Unfortunatley, you do need a more precise phosphate test. 0 nitrate is also an issue.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

You will need better than API test kit for keeping corals, Salifert or Hanna are the best IMO.

But I do agree, the tank is just too new, algae will outcompete the corals at this stage.

What type of lighting are you using?

 

[rc8t6353]

I would add that you need to get those nitrates up. I aim for between 10-20 for nitrates and .08-.15 for phosphate.

 

[Lavey29]

I agree with the above posts. Basically a 2 month tank is going to have difficulty sustaining corals. Experienced reefers can manage to work through with a newcset up but the majority of us will typically see a lot of coral struggles and die off the first 6 months.

 

[ReeferNas2001]

It looks to me like you used sterile rock and sand or maybe just rock and sand with nitryfying bacteria added. Your comment that you've restarted your system is also very troublesome. I would recommend rehoming your corals for now, Get some maricultured live rock to add organisms that can't be stuck in a bottle but are essential for healthy reefs. Add EASY corals to begin with. BE PATIENT! It takes months for a reef system to mature.

Here's an article on establishing a healthy microbiome

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

Her'e some videos you might find useful and you might find pretty complex but may help your understanding of what's happening as you get more experience.

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas " This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title. Used copies are available on line and it may be free to read on Internet Archive. both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC (carbon dosing) in reef ecosystems and how it can alter coral microbiomes. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems and are an excellent starting point to understand the conflicting roles of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC, aka "carbon dosing") in reef ecosystems.

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Microbial view of Coral Decline

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

I will use all of these resources, thank you, I was unaware that it was not viable to use sterile rock and substrate, thank you for this lesson. Just to clarify my system has been restarted due to leaving the hobby before due to time and other life factors, no animals were harmed and I previous only had fowlr tanks. I will obtain live rock from my local fish store to seed my tank, I will try to find a local reefer to give my corals a home until my system is ready for them. I will keep my softies as they’re doing well and are “easy” corals. Would you say this is a viable course of action?

 

[ReeferNas2001]

You will need better than API test kit for keeping corals, Salifert or Hanna are the best IMO.

But I do agree, the tank is just too new, algae will outcompete the corals at this stage.

What type of lighting are you using?

I will save for a salifert test kit. im using a viparspectra 165W light fixture for this tank.

 

[Dragen Fiend]

At this point if everything is dialed in as far as flow and and light. All other parameters have been stable. I'd guess they want nitrates. I use Reef Energy AB+ for my spot feeding. Then off and on some reef riods. My corals really enjoy this stuff. Especially when my nitrates bottom out.

Your corals are competing for nutrients between algae and chaeto.

Spot feed your corals and see what sort of feeding response they give.

 

[Spare time]

I will use all of these resources, thank you, I was unaware that it was not viable to use sterile rock and substrate, thank you for this lesson. Just to clarify my system has been restarted due to leaving the hobby before due to time and other life factors, no animals were harmed and I previous only had fowlr tanks. I will obtain live rock from my local fish store to seed my tank, I will try to find a local reefer to give my corals a home until my system is ready for them. I will keep my softies as they’re doing well and are “easy” corals. Would you say this is a viable course of action?

You can start with dry rock. I've done it.

 

[Cali Reef Life]

Go slow and don't change to much. Sometimes coral wont do good till your tank gets more established.

You can chase numbers and do a bunch but just try and keep the ones that you have got alive.
I lost a few frags at That stage. Youll get a hundred ways to do it but keep parameters stable and change one thing at a time.

Dont over spend on too mucstuff f just be patient.

 

[Jasongtr]

Api tests are garbage, I understand they are cheap but cheap for a reason, just about ok to get through a cycle, this hobby isn't cheap so I suggest spending the money Initially on decent test kits rather than frags that will struggle

 

[Aquariumaddictuk]

I used API test kits for my initial reef endeavour as I'd always used them to measure KH/GH in freshwater.
The head scratching & double testing was a nightmare & investing in Hanna's was the best thing I did.
This isn't a cheap hobby but reliable, consistent information is worth it's weight in gold

 

[Timfish]

I will use all of these resources, thank you, I was unaware that it was not viable to use sterile rock and substrate, thank you for this lesson. Just to clarify my system has been restarted due to leaving the hobby before due to time and other life factors, no animals were harmed and I previous only had fowlr tanks. I will obtain live rock from my local fish store to seed my tank, I will try to find a local reefer to give my corals a home until my system is ready for them. I will keep my softies as they’re doing well and are “easy” corals. Would you say this is a viable course of action?

I'm sorry! I clearly misunderstood your post. Also, to be clear, it's ok to use dry rock and dry sand, just be aware there's essential stuff that is bets sourced with with either wild rock or maricultured rock. FWIW, I use aboput a 50/50 mix of maricultured live rock and local limestone. You'll want to QT maricultured rock for a month just like any fish or coral you add. If your LFS dosent have maricultured rock Gulfliverock.com or KPaquatics.com or TBSaltwater.com all have good reviews. Aquabiomics.com has live sand and reef rubble that they test and is certified pathogen free.

 

[Pod_01]

Lot of good advice.

Just some suggestions.
For corals to be happy they do require P and N.
If you measure PO4 I would try to keep the value above 0.1ppm and up to 0.5ppm. From my experience sinking PO4 tends to upset corals and PO4 below 0.1 and dropping tends to kill them.

If you measure NO3 I would aim for at least 1ppm. This ensures there is enough N in the system for corals. Since you have zero you can consider dosing ammonia, there are few threads on R2R on how to dose ammonia.

Refugium tend to compete with your corals for nutrients and trace elements. Having successfully refugium doesn’t mean success with corals.
For my system my filtration consists of GAC (2 tablespoons per 60gal, changed every 4 weeks) and a skimmer. I want the corals to be the main filtration and I only try to supplement them.

Some pictures of my corals:

Good luck,

 

[Dburr1014]

This tank has been set up since June 12th, however it’s been restarted multiple times. My corals aren’t looking so great, especially my Acans, and my new Goniopora frag which won’t open almost at all. My parameters are decent, however I am using API test kits due to affordability and so I know that accuracy could be off.

August 23rd, 2024

Parameters

PH - 8.0

Calcium - 460 ppm

Alkalinity - 9dkh

Nitrate - 0

Phosphate - Between 0 and .25 ppm

My Duncan keeps closing randomly throughout the day and then reopening, and I am suffering from dinos. Please help, I don’t want to lose my acans and I really want my Goniopora to thrive. There is a 10 gallon Refugium with a nice size ball of chaeto, but I’ve turned the lights down to raise nutrients. Thank you for all your help

There is Competition between the algae and coral for the little nutrients you have.
I love a refuge but not yet for this tank. Take half that ball and throw it away and set the timer for 6 hours opposite the display.

I don't see any fish in the pics.
Is this Fishless? List them if it's not.

I will save for a salifert test kit. im using a viparspectra 165W light fixture for this tank.

Do you know the par of lights or can you tell us the settings.

 

[ReeferNas2001]

There is Competition between the algae and coral for the little nutrients you have.
I love a refuge but not yet for this tank. Take half that ball and throw it away and set the timer for 6 hours opposite the display.

I don't see any fish in the pics.
Is this Fishless? List them if it's not.



Do you know the par of lights or can you tell us the settings.

Tank does have fish, clownfish, flametail blenny, fire fish goby, and citron goby. I have blues on 30 and whites on 1 right now. I am using a viparspectra 165w light box. This is a 55 gal with a 10 gal refugium.

 

[Dburr1014]

Tank does have fish, clownfish, flametail blenny, fire fish goby, and citron goby. I have blues on 30 and whites on 1 right now. I am using a viparspectra 165w light box. This is a 55 gal with a 10 gal refugium.

Thanks, I've never owned that light but 30% blue seems low.
Hopefully someone with that light chimes in with estimated par value.

 

[SuperReefNoob]

Like everyone else said, toss the API test kit and get a better one. when i first started out i used API and constantly tested zero nitrate when in reality it was well over 100 when tested with a Hanna...

 

[Dburr1014]

Like everyone else said, toss the API test kit and get a better one. when i first started out i used API and constantly tested zero nitrate when in reality it was well over 100 when tested with a Hanna...

So which is correct? That's a big difference. Maybe user error?

API are not the worst test kit. You are only testing trends anyway.
I'm not saying don't buy better tests but only when funds are availible.

For hanna;
Alk
Phosphate
Nitrate