hey everyone I was having some strange issues with water quality my nitrates are good phosphates are good mag is good calcium is fine and alk could be a little more it's about 7-8 so I have a 20 gal with proper skimmer filter etc im running a 25 w fluval led I read that the ligh should grow all easy corals I have mushrooms, bta, neon cabbage , what I think is a ellegance coral or fox coral I can't tell it's all stressed I have a sunnydee zoa that hasn't opend in 3 days and I just got it 3 days ago so it's a very weird situation would you guys sujest 10% water change a day for 10 days to almost start over other then my good bacteria in my tank , I use fluval salt but switching over in a few weeks to a better salt called omega sea premium reef salt . Can you help me out in therory will 10% a day for 10 days be like a fresh start over ?
Having An Issue
- Thread starter Luke.
- Start date
pulpfiction1
Reef Scavenger
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- Nov 16, 2010
- Location
- 42.418807, -82.174073
do your 25% water change and run some carbon,check your tests again with a different kit if possible
you dont mention if your ammonia is in check
you dont mention if your ammonia is in check
reeferkeeper420
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Location
- Ingersoll, Ontario
I dont think your lighting is sufficient. Maybe its just me but 25w seems a little low. How old is the tank?
Start with posting all your test results and what test kits you used. Also check the expiration dates on the test kits. Your lights are questionable for corals. The zoas and corals you have are a little on the touchy side when it comes to care and equipment.
It said on the box (lights) that they were fine and awesome reviews about it aparently it's like a t5 but in LEDs it was 200$ test kits I only have alk , nitrates and phosphates lucky my store I go do checked mag calcium and it's all fine there's something strange going on and I haven't used carbon in a while I just use phosphate bags maybe there's some in there ? The tank is 9 months old and my mushroom cabbage coral ( which likes high light) is doing amazing muc rooms are good but it's not as good as your guys coraks or other coral they are popping and my favia looks alite bleached ? Idk guys ... I want to say my lights are fine .. But you guys are the experts I looked up my fluval LEDs 25 wat and they have good reviews everyone said 4-5 stars nothing lower I know that good lights are 400+ but I'm on a budget and I couldn't afford these lights lol but I did , if you guys are worried I was fuming a cad led light you can't look them up but they are sort of like a jbj leds but it's rated for a 8-10 gallon tank and I was using that for 8 months and it kept a bubble tip anomone alive for over 6 months but I felt bad and upgraded to the fluval leds as far as test kits go they are far from expired I know I SHOULD have every test kit , but I'm broke lol and I only got the most important ones first , I'm sure you kind of understand so should I do 10% daily for 10 days ? Then maybe buy the 2 part calcium and alk to stable things ? If you guys want my lights turn on in 4 hours I can post pics of my other corals ? Because if something was wrong wouldnt it effect all corals
reef keeper
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2014
- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
First off, with softies you really don't need to be concerned with calk and alk too much. Second, 10% water changes are a bit small. I wouldn't do less than 20% and probably 25%. Soft corals are always having chemical battles, so you should always run carbon.
I think that 25 watts is really low. I don't know anything about your lights, but that's a watt a gallon.
Saying your levels are fine doesn't really help us much. A tank shot, and the actually test results will get more people chipping in.
I think that 25 watts is really low. I don't know anything about your lights, but that's a watt a gallon.
Saying your levels are fine doesn't really help us much. A tank shot, and the actually test results will get more people chipping in.
Would it help if I did all the test and tell you what they are then , and should I not use the phosphate bags ? Or can I mix carbon, what does carbon do? I use to run it but then my phosphates were all over so I bought a phosphate bag and I been using it for 6 months but replace every 3 so I haven't ran carbon in over 6 months but I was told to use phosphates and. I'm pissed because I was going to get 2 t5s but was told the fluval led is new tec and that it will be fine for soft corals .... So now what ? I wasted 200$ :/ I have a 8 gallon led light should I try running both lights ? See how that goes ?
kapelan
Member
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2015
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
It is always spending money trying to fix different kind of problem, that you already have and definitely will have in a future.
But this money can be spend wisely with understanding of root cause.
For example for the question: "Should carbon be used?" Yes/No answer does not exist.
Carbon is used to remove different elements from water like ammonia and other.
But ammonia will be removed by bacteria and oxygen much better. So good foam filter will do this job much better then carbon. I would say with my filter I'm not using carbon at all - it's just useless, but some people saying it must be.
So you can spend 100-200$ for filter and do not spend a penny for carbon.
The same for light 25W may be enough for soft corals but not be enough for SPS corals.
Phosphates - instead of buying phosphate remover you can just stop overfeeding your fish - you will be surprised how long they will survive without food. Would say one week is not a problem at all - fish will always find a food without you: bugs or algae - they are eating everything.
But this money can be spend wisely with understanding of root cause.
For example for the question: "Should carbon be used?" Yes/No answer does not exist.
Carbon is used to remove different elements from water like ammonia and other.
But ammonia will be removed by bacteria and oxygen much better. So good foam filter will do this job much better then carbon. I would say with my filter I'm not using carbon at all - it's just useless, but some people saying it must be.
So you can spend 100-200$ for filter and do not spend a penny for carbon.
The same for light 25W may be enough for soft corals but not be enough for SPS corals.
Phosphates - instead of buying phosphate remover you can just stop overfeeding your fish - you will be surprised how long they will survive without food. Would say one week is not a problem at all - fish will always find a food without you: bugs or algae - they are eating everything.
Here is what I was told to check for thats most important ..
KH/DKH- 7.7
Nitrates - ppm- 2
Phosphates - ppm- 0.03
Magnesium - ppm - 1290 (recommended 1250-1300)
And I was told that my led lights would work fine for soft corals and Lps
This is what my leds say
6 unique led band waves for maximum growth and color. It's the fluval sea marine & reef full spectrum 312leds 25w and my tank is 15" high
KH/DKH- 7.7
Nitrates - ppm- 2
Phosphates - ppm- 0.03
Magnesium - ppm - 1290 (recommended 1250-1300)
And I was told that my led lights would work fine for soft corals and Lps
This is what my leds say
6 unique led band waves for maximum growth and color. It's the fluval sea marine & reef full spectrum 312leds 25w and my tank is 15" high
reeferkeeper420
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Location
- Ingersoll, Ontario
1290 is a little low for Mag IMO For a reef.
reeferkeeper420
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Location
- Ingersoll, Ontario
I run mine at 1350. And a mag supplement.
scubasteve
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2014
- Location
- Cambridge, Ontario
as far as softies go your params are good enough and since your tank is shallow those led will grow most softies but you might want your zoanthids around the middle just to be sure. More sensitive lps like favia or some chalice will struggle so you might want to avoid thos as they need pretty stable params and moderate lighting. you will want carbon tho to stop the chemical warfare FOR SURE and it helps trap other small impurities as well. Seems like your on the right track and if your zoas look healthy but stay closed for a while it could be making a baby lol 
Happy reefing
Happy reefing
I think I have read all your posts and may need more information with your equipment for anyone to give any proper advice. Sometimes we forget about the basics and are quick to jump without all the information. A nice size pic of the entire tank would be nice so that we can compare the condition of your other corals as well.
This is always the hard part to explain to people who are new to the hobby... having a budget means that you are going to have issues. Like saying you want to race cars, but can only afford a Ford Escort. It is also really hard to hear that the expensive equipment that you purchased actually will not do what you wanted. Some stores sell products that are listed as reef compatible, when in fact, the products are over rated for what they can be used with and sometimes are only rated according to their own standards. Some places will keep selling you products again and again to 'quick fix' the issue.
-Salt - fluval salt
- water source - are you using RO from a store or home, RO/DI from store or home, or conditioning tap water?
-Lighting - Before we go too far into everything. We need more information on the light. I have emailed Fluval to get info on the PAR/PUR ratings at different depths for the light. The information is not readily available to the public. They have created their own lighting standards when comparing lighting, however that is just comparing the "Look" compared to the sun. That 'look' is what they are considering reef capable and not necessarily the needs of coral to thrive. They also run 120 degree LEDs with no optics which will put next to no PAR to the sand bed. So although according to Fluval, it will make the coral Look like the sun, it may not deliver like sun. Most of the reviews that I have found are related to planted tanks, not reef tanks.
-Skimmer - What skimmer are you using?
That stuff you added to the tank today, ClearFX Pro, is basically GAC (granular activated carbon) and GFO (granular ferric oxide) premixed. Most of us just do this by buying the GAC and GFO controlling the amounts our selves. You will probably hear a lot about GFO reactors on this site as a lot of us use them.
This is always the hard part to explain to people who are new to the hobby... having a budget means that you are going to have issues. Like saying you want to race cars, but can only afford a Ford Escort. It is also really hard to hear that the expensive equipment that you purchased actually will not do what you wanted. Some stores sell products that are listed as reef compatible, when in fact, the products are over rated for what they can be used with and sometimes are only rated according to their own standards. Some places will keep selling you products again and again to 'quick fix' the issue.
-Salt - fluval salt
- water source - are you using RO from a store or home, RO/DI from store or home, or conditioning tap water?
-Lighting - Before we go too far into everything. We need more information on the light. I have emailed Fluval to get info on the PAR/PUR ratings at different depths for the light. The information is not readily available to the public. They have created their own lighting standards when comparing lighting, however that is just comparing the "Look" compared to the sun. That 'look' is what they are considering reef capable and not necessarily the needs of coral to thrive. They also run 120 degree LEDs with no optics which will put next to no PAR to the sand bed. So although according to Fluval, it will make the coral Look like the sun, it may not deliver like sun. Most of the reviews that I have found are related to planted tanks, not reef tanks.
-Skimmer - What skimmer are you using?
That stuff you added to the tank today, ClearFX Pro, is basically GAC (granular activated carbon) and GFO (granular ferric oxide) premixed. Most of us just do this by buying the GAC and GFO controlling the amounts our selves. You will probably hear a lot about GFO reactors on this site as a lot of us use them.
I hope this screenshot is large enough to see on the Web, I will try and attach the spreadsheet as well. But basically less the 50 par directly under the light.
