I need help with my water chemistry for the sake of my mostly stagnant SPS.

[evan127]

So, I have run out of patience and need some advice on how to get my mostly stagnant SPS to grow again. My SPS are stagnant. Some are colorful, but most are slightly dull. Dull meaning either brown or too pale. My growth, when there is some present, is base growth. It's rarely any vertical growth. For example my stags are not growing vertically whatsoever. Before I go into feeding habits, chemistry values, husbandry regiments and food/coral additives, I will list out my general specs of my system first.

Tank: 120
Sump: Trigger 36
Skimmer: Vertex Omega 150
Return: Vectra M1 (almost at 75/80%)
Lighting: ATI 6 bulb, 2 actinic, 2 coral+, 2 blue+ (10hrs actinic, 8hrs full)
Flow: 2 MP40QD (almost exclusively in Reef Crest 100%)

Chemistry targets:
dKH - 8
Ca - 420
Mg - 1300
PO4 - 0.03
NO3 - 2
Temp - 76
Salinity - 35
Salt: HWMarine
All of my testing results can be seen on Aquatic Log for a better understanding of how the reef fluctuates.

Now, I will write a little more detail on the matter. This reef has been set up since October of 2016. Most of the rock, excluding the addition of two larger than a football dry size pieces, came from my old 48 gallon. To compensate for my minimal aquascape I have a Marine Pure block in my sump with more live rock.

Lighting:
When I set up the 120 I moved from LEDs back to T5s. As you can see above, my photoperiod is 10 hours total with 8 hours of full spectrum. The fixture itself is maybe 6 inches above the water line, but my aquascape is very low. I would guess the fixture is about 18 inches above coral.

Feeding:
I feed my coral more than I feed the few fish I have. I had been feeding Reef Chili (maybe 1/16th of a teaspoon) every night after the lights go off with the return shut off for 1 hour. I would also add 5 drops of Pohls Coral Vitalizer and amino acids during the nightly feeding. Fish get fed a mix and variation of Reef Frenzy, flakes, pellets, nori, etc. etc.

Husbandry:
I try to test for alkalinity every few days, calcium and magnesium weekly. Lately as things have been looking sad I am testing more frequently. Again, you can check my results on Aquatic Log. I was doing water changes of 10 gallons per week, but was seeing little improvement by doing them. Nitrogen was the same and phosphorus was nonexistent. I use two filter socks and change them out every third day. The skimmer is emptied daily and the neck is cleaned every week.

Dosing:
I use BRS two part on the BRS dosers. I am currently dosing 20ml of both alkalinity and calcium every hour but each part is separated by half an hour. Alkalinity is dosed on the hour and calcium is dosed on the half hour. I dose amino acids, Pohl's Coral Vitalizer as well as vodka and vinegar. Vinegar is 20ml and vodka is about 1/8th of that, so 2.5ml daily. I dose 5ml of Pohls Xtra Special Concentrate, 1ml of Flatworm Stop and 1ml of Coral Booster.

Flow:
I have my MP40s cranked up to 100% in anti sync in Reef Crest mode. I'll sometimes switch to Lagoonal or Tidal Swell to keep detritus aloft more. They are positioned about 4 inches below the water surface. There is lots of surface agitation and sometimes when the Vortech hits 100% it might suck a little air. Lots of gas exchange happening in my opinion.

I can't think of anything else to elaborate on in this initial post. But I am hoping to get some good advice and learn more. Any contribute would help me greatly and make me happy again to get my reef back in the right direction.

Evan

 

[jwshiver]

Our tanks are very similar. I have a 120 with 2 MP40's @ 80% mainly reef crest for 11 hours and nutrient transport for 6 hours. The remaning time at night is on tidal. My return pump is a Vectra L1 @100 %. No joke, I added 2 Maxpect XF 230's to the back of the tank at a max of 60% on one of the pre-programmed modes and the SPS growth took off. I have more than doubled my 2 part dosing in the last 7 weeks to keep up with demand. The additional water flow with the gyre's is the only change to my system. Some of the few LPS that I have are not happy. I'm trying to find a happy spot for them. However, every tank is different. This seems to have been the missing part for mine.

 

[evan127]

Thanks for the response. So in your case, flow was limited and once you supplemented more flow you saw an increase in SPS growth?

 

[jwshiver]

Yes. After reading several articles and watching this video, http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video...light-water-motion-by-dana-riddle-macna-2016/ I decided, "what the heck, give it a try." It has made a big difference for me. By the way I'm using the O.G.C. program on the Maxspect.

 

[evan127]

I saw that talk by Riddle. Maybe I should revisit it again and take more notes this time. My water flow is pretty high as it is. Close to that 4 inches per second suggestion from Riddle, but that's not very consistent in Reef Crest. Would Long Pulse maybe be a better bet?

 

[jwshiver]

The inconsistencies with reef crest mode is one of the reasons I added the two gyres. I forgot to mention that I have a Sea Swirl for the return, http://www.marinedepot.com/Sea_Swir...for_Aquariums-Sea_Swirl-AU1113-FIWMEW-vi.html, and has really helped create a random flow in my tank. Another benefit that I have seen with this setup is the cleanliness of my sand and rock.

 

[evan127]

I changed my flow from Reef Crest to Long Pulse anti sync. So now my flow is at 100%, one Vortech is on for about 30 seconds, then the other. It's really blowing some stuff around now.

I'm hoping the reefing god on this forum will chime in soon CoughRandyHelpMeCoughCough

 

[jwshiver]

I changed my flow from Reef Crest to Long Pulse anti sync. So now my flow is at 100%, one Vortech is on for about 30 seconds, then the other. It's really blowing some stuff around now.

I have to rearrange my sand bed during each weekly water change.

 

[evan127]

No sand here

 

[re76]

Am I understanding correctly that you are dosing 480mL of 2-part a day? 20mL per hour * 24 hours?

That seems incredibly high for a 120 gallon. Is your tank extremely heavily stocked in terms of coral? Are you seeing any CaCO3 precipitate on your heaters or the walls of your sump, or pumps near where you dose?

 

[evan127]

Sorry, I guess I didn't word that properly. heck no I'm not dosing 480ml of two part per day! Haha. 20ml per day for each, 40ml total in 24 hours.

 

[evan127]

So I've been doing a lot of thinking this afternoon about my reef. I came to the realization that I need to keep things simple. My reef always looks better when I come home from a vacation. And its not because I have been away and I am seeing my reef with new eyes. It's because my significant other takes care of my reef in a far drastically different way than I do. And for the better. I have a reefing goddess who isn't interested in the hobby whatsoever. I think I chase numbers or follow theories too religiously. My significant other feeds with a heavy hand and doesn't do the maintenance I usually do, but totally does

So here is my plan and I think I am on to something. I am not going to chase numbers, except alkalinity. Again, I am not going to chase numbers except alkalinity. I won't check nitrates, phosphates, potassium, etc. anymore. I think I am too obsessed with the discovery of that balance. My other feeds heavy and doesn't do the same maintenance I do. Logically, that means she is adding lots of nutrients into the system and lets them stay in there. Me on the other, I add nutrients in very specific amounts and exports a very specific amount. So here is my 6 steps onto recovery, if you will:

1. Stop chasing numbers
2. Feed a lot. Coral and fish food. Maybe more than is needed
3. Skim only 12 hours a day
4. Change filter socks only when they overflow (I am only keeping them to prevent micro bubbles. Otherwise, they'd be out of the sump totally)
5. Don't test for nitrogen or phosphorus. Period. Unless **** hits the fan, don't test for it.
6. Stop water changes. I'm the only on who does them in the house even when fresh saltwater is available

Any thoughts?

 

[re76]

So I've been doing a lot of thinking this afternoon about my reef. I came to the realization that I need to keep things simple. My reef always looks better when I come home from a vacation. And its not because I have been away and I am seeing my reef with new eyes. It's because my significant other takes care of my reef in a far drastically different way than I do. And for the better. I have a reefing goddess who isn't interested in the hobby whatsoever. I think I chase numbers or follow theories too religiously. My significant other feeds with a heavy hand and doesn't do the maintenance I usually do, but totally does

So here is my plan and I think I am on to something. I am not going to chase numbers, except alkalinity. Again, I am not going to chase numbers except alkalinity. I won't check nitrates, phosphates, potassium, etc. anymore. I think I am too obsessed with the discovery of that balance. My other feeds heavy and doesn't do the same maintenance I do. Logically, that means she is adding lots of nutrients into the system and lets them stay in there. Me on the other, I add nutrients in very specific amounts and exports a very specific amount. So here is my 6 steps onto recovery, if you will:

1. Stop chasing numbers
2. Feed a lot. Coral and fish food. Maybe more than is needed
3. Skim only 12 hours a day
4. Change filter socks only when they overflow (I am only keeping them to prevent micro bubbles. Otherwise, they'd be out of the sump totally)
5. Don't test for nitrogen or phosphorus. Period. Unless **** hits the fan, don't test for it.
6. Stop water changes. I'm the only on who does them in the house even when fresh saltwater is available

Any thoughts?

This sounds like a good plan, except maybe the water change part. I'm not sure what your current schedule is but I would recommend something like 10% every week or every other week. Not with the goal of reducing nutrients, rather to replenish magnesium and trace minerals.

 

[evan127]

I really appreciate all the replies!

I might do just 5 gallons a week to remove anything that may build up I can't test for. That's really the only benefit I can think of right now. I don't want to drive nutrients too low by preforming the water changes.

Anyone else have some advice to get my SPS back on track?

 

[TylerS]

This is only a general comment because I don't have experience with coral husbandry yet, just what I've read on the forums. You might not want to make all of those changes all at once. From your description it seems like you have a ton of meticulous dosing of supplements / amino acids, etc. going on and that might be unusual compared to a lot of other build threads I've read (and expensive?). I would stop the things that cost you the most money and time first... and see what happens from there. Maybe one thing per 2 weeks and judge by calcium and alkalinity uptake?

I also don't know if I would stop the testing as you're making all of these changes with the intent of not starting again until things look bad. That just seems like you're guranteeing yourself a tank that looks bad? I would continue testing and fight really hard to not act on the changes until some larger threshold. Have you tried a triton test ever? Also, I didn't see PH listed? Temperature is an easy thing to bump up to 78 or 80 for a month to see what happens as well.

 

[evan127]

I am going to take these changes very slowly. I don't want to shock the system even more than I have already. What I mean by "I am going to stop testing" is to stop chasing my parameters so much, with the exclusion of alkalinity. I don't want to obsess over where my nitrogen is and where my phosphorus is and chase that "perfect" balance. I think it will make me more in tune with my corals. If things start bleaching, browning, receding or not growing then I will test. I think a common theme for a lot of reefing gurus is when they are asking where the nutrient levels are the common response is, "I haven't tested for it in years and here is how much I feed per day." I think that's an ideology I want to strive to practice going forward. Just because I am not obsessively checking nutrient levels does not necessarily imply that things will look bad, at least to me.

Since it is getting warmer here in Utah, I am bumping up my tank temperature to spring temps. Instead of 76-77 range I am going to go to 78-79 until summer, then on up to 79-80. As far as pH goes, I have never checked pH ever in any of my reef tanks going on a decade+ now.

 

[evan127]

Any other thoughts?

 

[Rick.45cal]

I was dosing BRS two part and my tank was pretty stagnant, growth was slow and colors were pale. Even the coralline algae was a pale pink. I decided to switch to Tropic Marin Balling salts with the NaCL free sea salt third part. I've never experienced such a rapid change in growth and color in my tank. All of my corralline turned purple and started covering everything (I have a very high light tank, and always attributed the poor coralline coloration/growth of the intensity of the light). Within on a couple of days it had changed to a much darker pink and purple color. My frags have equally started taking off. My alkalinity consumption has doubled in the last month. I thought people who touted the original balling salts as the best stuff as just blowing smoke. I guess I am one of them now.

 

[evan127]

I might look into that. I just bought a bunch of the BRS supplement :/

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I was dosing BRS two part and my tank was pretty stagnant, growth was slow and colors were pale. Even the coralline algae was a pale pink. I decided to switch to Tropic Marin Balling salts with the NaCL free sea salt third part. I've never experienced such a rapid change in growth and color in my tank. All of my corralline turned purple and started covering everything (I have a very high light tank, and always attributed the poor coralline coloration/growth of the intensity of the light). Within on a couple of days it had changed to a much darker pink and purple color. My frags have equally started taking off. My alkalinity consumption has doubled in the last month. I thought people who touted the original balling salts as the best stuff as just blowing smoke. I guess I am one of them now.

Hey Rick. Do you have a link for info?