Tank Trouble

[Kygo]

Had this same discussion on another thread not long ago. People underestimate the influence of lights. Even the smallest change to us, can have a HUGE impact on creatures that have evolved for millennia under the constant value of the sun! Imagine the sun suddenly became 10% stronger in an instant.. What would happen to the plants and animals that rely on the sun to survive? Dial back your lights to what you had before. If your tank was thriving then, why change it?

Very good point, I know I've read corals are much more adaptive then we think as long as the changes aren't made too rapidly, which I guess in my case was too rapid. I believe I tried to increase the light intensity because I had a chalice not doing well and that inadvertently killed my digis. The chalice still ended up going off a cliff but I never had any luck with that frag from the beginning. Over about a year of having it I had tried moving it up to the light, away, in the shade, in lower flow areas, and higher ones but nothing seemed to work. Any tips for chalices? Haha. It was a rajas rampage, eventually I just set it in the lower part of the tank in low-medium flow. All those changes were made about 2 months apart. I didn't see it thrive in any of the areas I put it, but in retrospect I guess 2 months is about how long a coral needs to settle in and get comfortable before it grows, also chalice are notoriously slow growers so I guess I was looking for results too fast. One of my favorite corals and I'd like to keep more chalices in the future if I can straighten things out.

 

[Jedi1199]

Too much change, WAYYYYYYY too fast. These creatures have no concept of time as we understand it. They do what they do on their own schedule. I would say that 2 months is a minimum time to begin seeing results for 1 change. To do several changes that fast is a recipe for disaster.

 

[ReefdudeAdam]

Hmm, well said. I've seen plenty of great looking tanks with these kinds of lights anyway. I'll be on the look out for a par meter, its also the cheaper option as far as solutions goes. I think BRS is renting them out again too so that's good. But like I said before, I was just kind of disheartened with things and I guess just wanting to point the finger at some piece of equipment. Do you always measure par when setting up a tank?

I’ve got a seneye which isn’t the MOST accurate but I know it gives me a rough idea of where my numbers are at. Pretty cheap for a par meter. I don’t use it for anything else just for par

 

[Kygo]

So I got my salifert phosphate kit and it turns out my levels are at a flat 0. I ran the test a few times and came out at 0 each time. Should I start dosing po4? Or increase my fish and coral feeding, Or even both?

 

[Kygo]

I rented a par meter and I saw that my light settings i set them too before the meter were actually nearly perfect for my tank. The average par was about 80, dropping to 40 on the outer edges, and about 120 in the center near the top of my rocks. I'm guessing phosphates bottoming out was my issue at this point.

 

[ReefdudeAdam]

I rented a par meter and I saw that my light settings i set them too before the meter were actually nearly perfect for my tank. The average par was about 80, dropping to 40 on the outer edges, and about 120 in the center near the top of my rocks. I'm guessing phosphates bottoming out was my issue at this point.

I’d say so. How is the tank looking now? Have you managed to get your nutrients back up?

 

[Kygo]

I’d say so. How is the tank looking now? Have you managed to get your nutrients back up?

Everything seems stable. I added a tailspot blenny to try and up the phosphates and I've been trying to feed my corals every couple of days. I think that's where everything took a turn was the lack of feeding in such a low nutrient environment. The light intensity doesn't seem to have ever been excessively intense.