Poor coral extension - IPC test results, what to do with them?

[Pastronomer]

I've been struggling with LPS in my tank. Softies are exploding with growth (apart from you, stubborn Rasta Zoa.....), but I've lost a few nice LPS specimens and my Acan is showing some recession, plus my Goni's poyp extension can be measured as just a few mm, rather than those beautiful flowing examples we all know and love. My BTA also seems small compared to when I bought it in the shop. I decided to do an ICP test of both my tank water and RO which I purchase from a company called Spotless Water here in the UK, as I'm suspicious their claims of 0 TDS might be false.

For reference, the tank is a Waterbox 20 gallon cube, stocked with a pair of clowns and a Coral Goby. Light is an AI prime with unknown PAR numbers (I've got a PAR meter arriving tomorrow but eyeballed the light "looks good"), extra flow with an AI Nero 3. I've got an external fluidised reactor with carbon and ROWA Phos. Corals include a mixture of soft corals and LPS, with one Montipora as an experiment (which amusingly has wonderful polyp extension). I have been dosing with All4reef and using Red Sea Coral Pro salt to 1.024 sg with a 20% water change every 2 weeks.

ICP of my tank water came back as follows:

My RO water reports as:

The way I read this is my RO isn't exactly very pure, so I will find a new source of RO. I'm not sure how this compares to other peoples RO but it's disappointing to find my levels are out with advertised "0 TDS" water.

I have already started to fix my Magnesium levels by dosing some mag and can happily report they are at 1420ppm this morning measured with a Salifert test kit. KH was also 10.5, NO3 was 5, pH 8.2

Any thoughts if my tanks water is what is causing the polyp issues? If so, where do I start with trying to fix the chemistry to get that lovely dream tank with the flowing gonis and hammers?

It's only a small tank so I really don't want to buy 100 different bottles to dose 0.05ug of boron etc, just get it all close enough to have a good tank.

 

[jda]

Get your tank up to 1.026 and some of these low levels will go up.

I see nothing in that ICP to worry about. Water changes are probably the best way to keep up with all of that in a small tank.

Are you feeding your fish well? If so, then keep it up.

 

[Pastronomer]

Get your tank up to 1.026 and some of these low levels will go up.

I see nothing in that ICP to worry about. Water changes are probably the best way to keep up with all of that in a small tank.

Are you feeding your fish well? If so, then keep it up.

Interesting, so the low figures should be bumped up by just more salt in the tank? Thankfully this ICP confirms the accuracy of my Hannah salinity checker so this will be a quick and easy fix.

What's your thoughts on the RO? I realise the impurities are showing in the ug region, but things like phosphates at 0.02 will add up over time during RO top ups. My currently source is both cheap and really easy for me to get, so finding a new source will be an annoyance.

Feed the fish a few times a day on an auto feeder using Reef Nutrition TDO Chroma Boost, with occasional pellets thrown in and frozen brine shrimp once a week. The clowns barely touch the brine shrimp but the corals really go for it. I do feed AB+ daily and once a week I'll throw some reef roids in the tank, though I've paused that right now as I've discovered some Vermantids on a Hammer's skeleton, which got the plier treatment this morning, so I'll back off broadcast feeding for a month or so to ensure they limit their population if I missed any

 

[jda]

More salt mix means more traces.

If you have your own TDS meter, I would trust that. I have a healthy disdain for most ICP testing companies and their ability to measure things in low quantity, so I am not the best person to ask about this. 4 ppm of sulfur, magnesium and 2 ppm of calcium seems unlikey to me if you are showing 0 TDS on your own. If you trust the RO company, then all bets are off, right? IMO, you likely don't know whom to trust. TDS meters are not expensive or you can likely borrow one - London is a plenty big city. Are you a member of any local clubs?

 

[Pastronomer]

More salt mix means more traces.

If you have your own TDS meter, I would trust that. I have a healthy disdain for most ICP testing companies and their ability to measure things in low quantity, so I am not the best person to ask about this. 4 ppm of sulfur, magnesium and 2 ppm of calcium seems unlikey to me if you are showing 0 TDS on your own. If you trust the RO company, then all bets are off, right? IMO, you likely don't know whom to trust. TDS meters are not expensive or you can likely borrow one - London is a plenty big city. Are you a member of any local clubs?

Apologies, edited my reply whilst you were typing your own so there is more detail in there about the fish feeding.

Funnily enough I do have a TDS meter from my freshwater aquascaping days, turns out my TDS in my ATO tank is 27ppm. I'll have to get some fresh RO tomorrow and see if my Amazon special TDS meter is broken or my water is indeed bad quality.

The plot thickens!

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Yea, don't see much wrong with the results. Though if you're concerned with trace elements you can dose those

 

[kevgib67]

What is preventing you from getting your own ro/di unit? It gives you complete control over what you put in your tank and saves you money in the long run.

 

[Pastronomer]

What is preventing you from getting your own ro/di unit? It gives you complete control over what you put in your tank and saves you money in the long run.

Oh I'd love to do this, save myself money and run it to my own quality standards. However, I rent a flat/apartment so touching the plumbing to run an RO unit is out of the question sadly. I also don't have a location I can set it all up to have it running, realistically it'd have to be in my kitchen and I'm not sure I want barrels of water in my living space permanently

My current source of RO is around £1.25 per 25L barrel, where as my LFS is around £4.00. In reality with a small tank it's a tiny extra amount to pay if I can get the tank healthier, but it's considerably more inconvenient with an hours round trip vs 10 minutes from a 24hr self service kiosk! Plus we all know we can't walk into the LFS to get RO without having a browse of the corals.....

 

[kevgib67]

Oh I'd love to do this, save myself money and run it to my own quality standards. However, I rent a flat/apartment so touching the plumbing to run an RO unit is out of the question sadly. I also don't have a location I can set it all up to have it running, realistically it'd have to be in my kitchen and I'm not sure I want barrels of water in my living space permanently

My current source of RO is around £1.25 per 25L barrel, where as my LFS is around £4.00. In reality with a small tank it's a tiny extra amount to pay if I can get the tank healthier, but it's considerably more inconvenient with an hours round trip vs 10 minutes from a 24hr self service kiosk! Plus we all know we can't walk into the LFS to get RO without having a browse of the corals.....

I understand. An alternative might be using distilled water and mixing your salt yourself and also using it for topping off. With a 20 gallon a 10% water change is just 2 gallons ( sorry I’ll let you convert to litters). I’ve seen a lot of reefers with smaller tanks use distilled water on this forum. Decades ago I used it until I got sick of running out to buy water and got my first ro/di unit.

 

[jda]

If you are using drinking water RO, then it likely does not have DI as well. RODI is not great to drink and often very bad. Even if it is RO alone, that is likely fine.

The larger ICP is not showing any issues, so just keep on keeping on, IMO.

 

[Pastronomer]

I understand. An alternative might be using distilled water and mixing your salt yourself and also using it for topping off. With a 20 gallon a 10% water change is just 2 gallons ( sorry I’ll let you convert to litters). I’ve seen a lot of reefers with smaller tanks use distilled water on this forum. Decades ago I used it until I got sick of running out to buy water and got my first ro/di unit.

I wouldn't even have a clue where to get distilled water, so RO from this place or RO from my LFS would be my best bet to carry on. So long as I'm not pouring anything awful in the tank I'll carry on as is.

If you are using drinking water RO, then it likely does not have DI as well. RODI is not great to drink and often very bad. Even if it is RO alone, that is likely fine.

The larger ICP is not showing any issues, so just keep on keeping on, IMO.

No, the main source for my RO is a company called Spotless Water, they advertise 0 TDS water for window cleaners and car detailers, along with fish keepers. I used them for years in my high-end freshwater aquascaping days where I wanted super soft water for some of the plants so I carried on as I moved over to the saltier side of the hobby. If you think the ICP for the RO is good then I'll carry on using it, it's just so convenient to get hold of, and great value at 5p/litre (that's $0.24/us.gal).

Any thoughts then why I am struggling with my LPS, specifically my Acan? Could it just be the 1.024 vs. 1.026?

Thanks!

 

[kevgib67]

I wouldn't even have a clue where to get distilled water, so RO from this place or RO from my LFS would be my best bet to carry on. So long as I'm not pouring anything awful in the tank I'll carry on as is.



No, the main source for my RO is a company called Spotless Water, they advertise 0 TDS water for window cleaners and car detailers, along with fish keepers. I used them for years in my high-end freshwater aquascaping days where I wanted super soft water for some of the plants so I carried on as I moved over to the saltier side of the hobby. If you think the ICP for the RO is good then I'll carry on using it, it's just so convenient to get hold of, and great value at 5p/litre (that's $0.24/us.gal).

Any thoughts then why I am struggling with my LPS, specifically my Acan? Could it just be the 1.024 vs. 1.026?

Thanks!

Hmm, things are different on your side of the pond. Gallons of distilled water are sold at our grocery and convenience stores. Just about anywhere. Let’s see if @Nman has an idea.

 

[rtparty]

I’m more curious how your RO water has 4500+ of magnesium and your tank is only 1280ish. That makes zero sense unless it’s all precipitating out with the salt addition or something

 

[Nano_Man]

I see your in London tap water won’t be the best . You should buy a rodi. How far is your closest sea ?

 

[Pastronomer]

I’m more curious how your RO water has 4500+ of magnesium and your tank is only 1280ish. That makes zero sense unless it’s all precipitating out with the salt addition or something

micrograms vs miligrams

I see your in London tap water won’t be the best . You should buy a rodi. How far is your closest sea ?

Tap water doesn't go anywhere near my tank, all RO. I live about as far from the sea as possible in this country sadly.

 

[rtparty]

micrograms vs miligrams


Tap water doesn't go anywhere near my tank, all RO. I live about as far from the sea as possible in this country sadly.

That they report them in different measurements like that makes me question the whole ICP test.

And it still doesn’t explain where all the magnesium is going

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree that raising the salinity is the only significant issue I see.

Note that these red thumbs down symbols are not necessarily an indication of any serious issue. They are one persons opinion. remarkably, they flag magnesium at higher than average 35 ppt natural ocean levels (which is 1280 ppm) (like yours at 1284 ppm, which is indistinguishable from natural levels) as being an issue, while a very high level of 1600 ppm is in their (not my) recommended range.

 

[jda]

No, the main source for my RO is a company called Spotless Water, they advertise 0 TDS water for window cleaners and car detailers, along with fish keepers. I used them for years in my high-end freshwater aquascaping days where I wanted super soft water for some of the plants so I carried on as I moved over to the saltier side of the hobby. If you think the ICP for the RO is good then I'll carry on using it, it's just so convenient to get hold of, and great value at 5p/litre (that's $0.24/us.gal).

Any thoughts then why I am struggling with my LPS, specifically my Acan? Could it just be the 1.024 vs. 1.026?

Thanks!

I get TDS over 20 in my RO reservoir and my unit makes between 0 and 3. Dust and other contaminants get in there - mine has an open top. If you get 27 TDS straight out of that water unit, then I would write the company but my guess is that with a super clean container and the meter on hand, it will be lower. I don't expect the TDS meter to be dead-on-balls accurate, but if it is under 5 or 10, I would use the water.

If you are feeding your fish well, then I would look to light. Specifically, not enough of it, or too much blue and not enough of the other spectrums.