I was in the same boat I lost 90% of corals due to stupid mistakes , I thought of tossing the towel aswell but I knew I'd regret it and start up again and that would have been more work then just waiting it out , buy a few tester corals to see how they go wait another month then go to town (if everything ends up being fine) good luck and never give up !
Cliff's In Wall Reef
- Thread starter Cliff
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teebone110
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That sucks, be resilient and plan for a better tank, look at it as a new opportunity for a fresh start
ColbytheClown
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That's very sad to hear, please don't give up yet! I know how discouraging it can be. You feel like all of your hard work has gone to waste. My tank will be 1 year old as of September. So far, I've had 2 tank crashes, each with all my fish and most of my corals dying. The fourth happened on Friday night when a bunch of little kids poured a whole bottle of Coral RX into my 32 gal. All fish died, and I was so done, ready to give up. I did a bunch of water changes, cleaned the whole tank and ran some activated carbon, and most of the corals are recovering. I will let the tank sit before adding anymore livestock. Keep doing it man, it will pay off. I've learned a lot from these crashes, and I hope you learned as well, as hard as frustrating it may be. All the best, Colby 
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Cliff
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OK so over the last month or so I've been slowly getting my phosphates and nitrates down they are both down to excellent levels now but; for some reason my tests tonight show very low alkalinity and high magnesium. The magnesium does not concern me. I know it was high as I was dozing extreme amounts because of the idip Reading too low. ( I have only been testing nitrate and phosphate the last couple months as there have been very little corals left in my tank)
I will post my test results in the attachment but my DHK is 6.5. How long should I take to raise that level to approximately 8? Or should I get it up to seven or so right away? My remaining LPS are doing poorly. I imagine it's because of the low alkalinity?
I will post my test results in the attachment but my DHK is 6.5. How long should I take to raise that level to approximately 8? Or should I get it up to seven or so right away? My remaining LPS are doing poorly. I imagine it's because of the low alkalinity?
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Your PH is pretty low, what are you using to test that?
Cliff
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Salifert kit (really sucks at accurate reading) so I was doubtful so I recalibrate my ph probe on my apex and it is in line with the apex tests. I even ran a line outside for fresh air and got minimal increase. I did get a big jump when I just put two squirts of bionic alc in the tank
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Cliff
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Ignore my conductivity probe on my apex it has never worked right since I got it
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My apex probe was showing low PH for a while, I took it out and put it in vinegar for about an hour then took a toothbrush to the tip, then a rinse and back in sump. Jumped from 7.7 to 8.2 immediately.
High mag can definitely affect both Calc and alk (just as low mag can affect it). Get that in check and likely your numbers will balance out (as long as you are dosing to your tank's requirements)
High mag can definitely affect both Calc and alk (just as low mag can affect it). Get that in check and likely your numbers will balance out (as long as you are dosing to your tank's requirements)
Cliff
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So with no real coral bioload to use up mag what is the best way to lower it? Huge water changes?
pH is irrelevant and I wouldn't worry about that. Higher mag can affect calc and alk but not very much. I wouldn't do anything to lower your mag, just let it come down through consumption and water changes. I would raise my alk up 1dkh in 24h that's about as much as a rise as you would want to do. 6.5 isn't that bad, we have had our tanks at that for months with no issues as well.
Your parameters look fine, besides the lowish alk. Your corals just need time to get there shit together after all the changes that have happened.
Only thing I would do is raise the alk but at 6.5 you are not hurting your corals. I alawys find that with a low alk your corals are more forgiving with higher nutrients. The higher your alk number the less forgiving they are with higher nutrient levels
Dave
Your parameters look fine, besides the lowish alk. Your corals just need time to get there shit together after all the changes that have happened.
Only thing I would do is raise the alk but at 6.5 you are not hurting your corals. I alawys find that with a low alk your corals are more forgiving with higher nutrients. The higher your alk number the less forgiving they are with higher nutrient levels
Dave
Cliff
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OK thanks. I was sort of hoping the low DHK was my issue. I don't know what the heck is going on now.
Cliff
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OK so I have slowly release my DHK to seven and everything else looks pretty good. I will post my levels in the picture. My LPS are still not responding well. Even my nuclear green Pallys our receding slowly. Do you think this is still a result of the parameter swings I have had? The tank levels have been fairly stable for the last couple of months?
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Cliff
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Ok so tank is progressing back to health quickly.
But I have a question for u guys
I was fortunate enough to borrow a par meter from a member to test my lights. I know I have 4 leds burnt out on 3 of my 4 hydra leds. I was curious about the amount of light I am putting out and I have had a real eye opening. If I have my lights at the settings that are visually appealing to me I only get 90 par 3" below the surface of the water. If I crank up my hydras on all Chanel's I can get 290 right under a fixture 4" below the surface. 150 about 1/2 way down the tank. But I really do not like the spectrum of that light (way too white)
I also have two runs of t5 lights supplementing the hydras. What do u guys think? That par is way too low right? How do u guys recommend boosting par?
But I have a question for u guys
I was fortunate enough to borrow a par meter from a member to test my lights. I know I have 4 leds burnt out on 3 of my 4 hydra leds. I was curious about the amount of light I am putting out and I have had a real eye opening. If I have my lights at the settings that are visually appealing to me I only get 90 par 3" below the surface of the water. If I crank up my hydras on all Chanel's I can get 290 right under a fixture 4" below the surface. 150 about 1/2 way down the tank. But I really do not like the spectrum of that light (way too white)
I also have two runs of t5 lights supplementing the hydras. What do u guys think? That par is way too low right? How do u guys recommend boosting par?
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Cliff
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I wish they were hd lol they r gen 1 lights
AdInfinitum
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Trade in your Hydras for no name Chinese pizza box LED's they crank out the PAR...LOL
I agree with you. Your PAR is quite low, especially if you are looking to do some sps. That red spike has me a little concerned. Red spectrum is a favorite one in promoting algae growth.
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Cliff
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I have actually been thinking of this lo
Cliff
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OK hopefully I can get a hand with the problem I’m having with my tank. So here is some backstory of the tank it is a 250 gallon tank with a 50 gallon sump and 40 gallon Frag tank all plumbed together.
It all started over a year ago when I was running bio pellets. The pellets were working great to keep my nitrates down; but I had so many issues with biomass clogging up the screens and the pellets that I had to change to a different form of carbon dosing.
In my past thanks I have been using vinegar so I shut down the bio pellet reactor and started to dose vinegar about eight months ago. I had a problem with my idip not reading correctly and I lost a lot of SPS because my no3 was actually at 60 when the idip said it was at five (but that’s a rant for another time). I have been fighting to get my nitrate down and I have successfully dropped them to about 10. But I am still experiencing SPS loss! I don’t know what’s happening! I have ordered a triton test and the results should be back at the end of this week so hopefully that will give me some insight.
But my immediate problem is I am getting this huge biomass building up in my sump
And I mean huge and disgusting. 3 cups a day of this clear slimy guck. I am dosing 150 mL of vinegar a day just to get the nitrates down. Is this normal? Could this be a sign of what’s causing my other tank problems? How do I get rid of this biomass? Would red slime remover (it’s a anti-biotic no?) clear some of this up? I will post some pictures of the sludge I am picking up my tank
It all started over a year ago when I was running bio pellets. The pellets were working great to keep my nitrates down; but I had so many issues with biomass clogging up the screens and the pellets that I had to change to a different form of carbon dosing.
In my past thanks I have been using vinegar so I shut down the bio pellet reactor and started to dose vinegar about eight months ago. I had a problem with my idip not reading correctly and I lost a lot of SPS because my no3 was actually at 60 when the idip said it was at five (but that’s a rant for another time). I have been fighting to get my nitrate down and I have successfully dropped them to about 10. But I am still experiencing SPS loss! I don’t know what’s happening! I have ordered a triton test and the results should be back at the end of this week so hopefully that will give me some insight.
But my immediate problem is I am getting this huge biomass building up in my sump
And I mean huge and disgusting. 3 cups a day of this clear slimy guck. I am dosing 150 mL of vinegar a day just to get the nitrates down. Is this normal? Could this be a sign of what’s causing my other tank problems? How do I get rid of this biomass? Would red slime remover (it’s a anti-biotic no?) clear some of this up? I will post some pictures of the sludge I am picking up my tank
Cliff
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