Needing some coral help on immature tank

[BigBundee69]

So starting out, my tank is a little under a year old now and i feel that given the circumstances and learning curve, i feel i am doing fairly well for my first tank. I am to the point now where i have been through a few fish, inverts and corals and am getting a better understanding of everything. I am slowly getting a few corals in my tank which right now my main one is a neon green candy cane which has bleached a little bit due to stress and is kind of stuck. The color itself on one of the polyps is getting better however it is not thriving like it should be and i feel the tank is moving on the slower side of maturity.
Parameters are:
ALK: 8
PH: 8
Phos:0
Cal: 460
MG:1082
Ammo:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:2
Temp:78.2

My question is i am thinking about getting BRS 2 part kalk to try and increase mag a little bit and supplement with my water changes. Does anyone else have any other tips to help increase the growth of both corals and tank maturity through biodiversity?

Thank you everyone.

 

[Dbichler]

Your problem is most likely 0 phosphate. You need some and a little higher nitrates as well as mag.

 

[Lavey29]

So starting out, my tank is a little under a year old now and i feel that given the circumstances and learning curve, i feel i am doing fairly well for my first tank. I am to the point now where i have been through a few fish, inverts and corals and am getting a better understanding of everything. I am slowly getting a few corals in my tank which right now my main one is a neon green candy cane which has bleached a little bit due to stress and is kind of stuck. The color itself on one of the polyps is getting better however it is not thriving like it should be and i feel the tank is moving on the slower side of maturity.
Parameters are:
ALK: 8
PH: 8
Phos:0
Cal: 460
MG:1082
Ammo:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:2
Temp:78.2

My question is i am thinking about getting BRS 2 part kalk to try and increase mag a little bit and supplement with my water changes. Does anyone else have any other tips to help increase the growth of both corals and tank maturity through biodiversity?

Thank you everyone.

Your magnesium is significantly low which causes alk and cal instability too. Get Kent magnesium solution to dose and bring up slowly. Good weekly water changes will help also. Your phosphate and nitrate are bottomed out which means corals are starving to death from the inside out. Phosphate should be .05 to .1. Nitrates should be 10. Feed more and consider dosing neophos and neonitro. Don't add more corals until these areas are corrected.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So starting out, my tank is a little under a year old now and i feel that given the circumstances and learning curve, i feel i am doing fairly well for my first tank. I am to the point now where i have been through a few fish, inverts and corals and am getting a better understanding of everything. I am slowly getting a few corals in my tank which right now my main one is a neon green candy cane which has bleached a little bit due to stress and is kind of stuck. The color itself on one of the polyps is getting better however it is not thriving like it should be and i feel the tank is moving on the slower side of maturity.
Parameters are:
ALK: 8
PH: 8
Phos:0
Cal: 460
MG:1082
Ammo:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:2
Temp:78.2

My question is i am thinking about getting BRS 2 part kalk to try and increase mag a little bit and supplement with my water changes. Does anyone else have any other tips to help increase the growth of both corals and tank maturity through biodiversity?

Thank you everyone.

What test kits are you using? Trying to determine deficiencies or false readings.
Phos should be .04 -.06 and mag 1300-1350
Moderate light and moderate to medium flow.

 

[BigBundee69]

What test kits are you using? Trying to determine deficiencies or false readings.
Phos should be .04 -.06 and mag 1300-1350
Moderate light and moderate to medium flow.

Lamotte waterlink

 

[BigBundee69]

Your magnesium is significantly low which causes alk and cal instability too. Get Kent magnesium solution to dose and bring up slowly. Good weekly water changes will help also. Your phosphate and nitrate are bottomed out which means corals are starving to death from the inside out. Phosphate should be .05 to .1. Nitrates should be 10. Feed more and consider dosing neophos and neonitro. Don't add more corals until these areas are corrected.

So there is something as to clean a tank in this situation. I have a decent sized CUC and just a few fish so i was hoping a few extra days between water changes would work. Would shutting off my skimmer for a day or every other day help?

 

[Lavey29]

So there is something as to clean a tank in this situation. I have a decent sized CUC and just a few fish so i was hoping a few extra days between water changes would work. Would shutting off my skimmer for a day or every other day help?

Yes there are various methods you can use to increase nutrients but they have trade offs. Shutting skimmer off means no aeration for your tank via the sump and it will not make a big difference in nutrients. Feeding corals more with roids once a week and AB plus can help bring things up but ideally dosing neophos and neonitro was my method on a new tank because I could get exact measurements. Feeding more can do it but then you leave a lot of organic waste on the sandbed which may stimulate nuisance algae to. Skipping water changes can help but then you lose trace replenish.

 

[vetteguy53081]

So there is something as to clean a tank in this situation. I have a decent sized CUC and just a few fish so i was hoping a few extra days between water changes would work. Would shutting off my skimmer for a day or every other day help?

You dont want to necessarily shut off skimmer while doing so may increase export slightly but no need to chase nutrient numbers either and end up with algae and cyano. Feed as normal and assure youre not getting false readings (Take a good size water sample to a trusted LFS that does not use Api kits and see what readings they come up with and to compare with yours) that youre reacting to false numbers.
For bleaching, may things can cause it such as listed for you and assure none of them are ocuuring:
- Alkalinity spike
- Temperature spike
- Salinity spike
- Low dissolved oxygen
- Poor water quality related with phosphate levels up to 5 ppm
- Change in water flow
- Additions of sand
- Changes in brand of salt
- Bad test kits giving faulty results
- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium
- Light intensity
- - Changes in water flow
- Addition of new corals
- - Pesticides
- Airborne Contaminants or sprays

 

[Udest]

Pretty much take things slow , also some easy corals like mushrooms and blue ridge are super forgiving of mistakes to get your feet wet.

 

[BigBundee69]

You dont want to necessarily shut off skimmer while doing so may increase export slightly but no need to chase nutrient numbers either and end up with algae and cyano. Feed as normal and assure youre not getting false readings (Take a good size water sample to a trusted LFS that does not use Api kits and see what readings they come up with and to compare with yours) that youre reacting to false numbers.
For bleaching, may things can cause it such as listed for you and assure none of them are ocuuring:
- Alkalinity spike
- Temperature spike
- Salinity spike
- Low dissolved oxygen
- Poor water quality related with phosphate levels up to 5 ppm
- Change in water flow
- Additions of sand
- Changes in brand of salt
- Bad test kits giving faulty results
- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium
- Light intensity
- - Changes in water flow
- Addition of new corals
- - Pesticides
- Airborne Contaminants or sprays

Parameters are listed a few replies ago and my LFS uses the lamotte waterlink which i believe to be more on the accurate side. I also like them to test the water whatever tank im getting my livestock so i can match it as best as possible and to make sure its not extremely inaccurate. Doing that actually helped my inaccurate salinity issue early on. What ive been hearing is because of my low phos and nitrate. Waht do you think???

 

[Udest]

Yeah don't fear a little algae as long as there's something to eat it you'll be fine. If you can get macro and Coraline algae to grow well you're on a good track.

Remember it's not all pure numbers look at what's growing in your tank.
Chasing stuff led to me over doing it and losing some stuff I collected.

 

[BigBundee69]

Yeah don't fear a little algae as long as there's something to eat it you'll be fine. If you can get macro and Coraline algae to grow well you're on a good track.

Remember it's not all pure numbers look at what's growing in your tank.
Chasing stuff led to me over doing it and losing some stuff I collected.

ive noticed 2 small spots of coraline starting on the glass and i have algae really starting to build up in the sump but i feel like everything is starving nutrient wise due to my CUC and tank maturity

 

[Udest]

If it's growing that's good that means you have some nutrients in the water most likely why it doesn't read when testing btw keep on track with feeding and maintaining water quality.

Also you could try some lps they do like being fed so you don't have to worry about them starving for nutrients from the water column.

 

[Charles Zinn]

So starting out, my tank is a little under a year old now and i feel that given the circumstances and learning curve, i feel i am doing fairly well for my first tank. I am to the point now where i have been through a few fish, inverts and corals and am getting a better understanding of everything. I am slowly getting a few corals in my tank which right now my main one is a neon green candy cane which has bleached a little bit due to stress and is kind of stuck. The color itself on one of the polyps is getting better however it is not thriving like it should be and i feel the tank is moving on the slower side of maturity.
Parameters are:
ALK: 8
PH: 8
Phos:0
Cal: 460
MG:1082
Ammo:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:2
Temp:78.2

My question is i am thinking about getting BRS 2 part kalk to try and increase mag a little bit and supplement with my water changes. Does anyone else have any other tips to help increase the growth of both corals and tank maturity through biodiversity?

Thank you everyone.

Do ypu have pods?

 

[BigBundee69]

Do ypu have pods?

Yes, i added a pod pack with some ocean magic awhile ago and pods still reproducing at a good rate

 

[mdb_talon]

If you haven't been dosing yet the magnesium number seems suspect to me. Seems highly unlikely to be that low and yet calc and all right in range. Usually Magnesium gets low when people dosing 2-part(but not the third...ie magnesium)

 

[Charles Zinn]

So starting out, my tank is a little under a year old now and i feel that given the circumstances and learning curve, i feel i am doing fairly well for my first tank. I am to the point now where i have been through a few fish, inverts and corals and am getting a better understanding of everything. I am slowly getting a few corals in my tank which right now my main one is a neon green candy cane which has bleached a little bit due to stress and is kind of stuck. The color itself on one of the polyps is getting better however it is not thriving like it should be and i feel the tank is moving on the slower side of maturity.
Parameters are:
ALK: 8
PH: 8
Phos:0
Cal: 460
MG:1082
Ammo:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:2
Temp:78.2

My question is i am thinking about getting BRS 2 part kalk to try and increase mag a little bit and supplement with my water changes. Does anyone else have any other tips to help increase the growth of both corals and tank maturity through biodiversity?

Thank you everyone.

I would do an ICP water test. There are trace elements that can keep your corals from growing stn rtn find a local store that handles captiv8/blue print trace elements test every 2 wks tol tank gets dialed in. Start with softies then LPS then SPS. Good luck!

 

[BigBundee69]

So as of right now ive been keeping track of parameters for the past few days and im feeling a little bit better about the growth of my tank. The question is, should i be? Is the tank growing like it should be? Ive been slowly dosing bicarb to achieve 10.5 alk for a little while to help growth. mag is 1500 on the 27th cal 442 alk 9.5. The 28th alk 9.2 and dosed back to 9.5. 29th dosed alk to 10.0 phos .07 nitrate 0.0 nitrate dosed with 2ml with nitrogen. Tonight alk 9.7, nitrate back to 0.0 and phos.07. Im really hoping that because the levels are slightly dropping im finally seeing progress with my gsp and candy cane chemistry wise or would it be something else making the levels drop???? Regarding this issue any and all insight is much appreciated. This is the only issue that has been plagueing me recently and its killing me