i cant keep corals living long in my 120g tank can you please help me

[Guest justin ragland]

I have a 120g.aga.it has 2 overflows.I have a model 4 aga sump with a mag 24 as a return pump.for flow i have 2 6100watt tunze powerheads.I have hamilton 250watt mh with 2 48 acintic's. I have had the tank up for about 6 months and i cant keep corals long for some reason.The only corals i have that lived the whole time is a cabbage coral some mushrooms and 1 yellow finger leather.I have had about 1000 dollars worth of corals die.Im to the point now that i love the hobby but im about to sell everything and i really dont want to but i want a beautiful tank like all you wamas members.SO AS A WAMAS MEMBER CAN YOU HELP ME PLEASE.

[Gatortailale]

Welcome to the club

 

start by posting all your water quality stats - salinity, calcium, alk, ph, ... Then tell us what device you use to test - swing-arm or refractometer; brand of test kits; brand of salt

 

Now tell us where you been buying / getting corals from.

 

what brand of skimmer are you using?

 

Do you use RO/DI water?

 

Did you buy lights new or used?

 

this should be a start for members to help you

[Guest justin ragland]

all my tests come back fine.Im testing with api master test kit.I have been buying my corals at fins and feathers and ricks in fredrick.I am using a deltec rated for a 150g.I am not using ro water but my friend dont use ro water and his tank is doing wonderful.I purchased my lights brand new.I just dont understand it cause i have spent alot of money on this problem.

[emissary]

Sounds like you're moving too fast. You've put $1000 worth of corals into a tank that's only now reached 6 months old? Starting from scratch material, I think you're asking for trouble. Starting from a previously established tank -- you can do that. "They" say tank *establishment* comes after 1 year. So you may want to stick with softies/LPS for a little while and ensure you can care for those before moving on.

 

Can you elaborate on "fine"? What are the values you get for the various parameters? What corals have died, and what behavior did they exhibit before dying? What fish do you have? How much LR/substrate? Got pictures?

 

 

 

Also... where do you live?

[rsarvis]

And also what are you testing for?

 

I have a 180g and I've been in the hobby for about the same amount of time. I have about a dozen or so corals, but they're all fairly small frags, and I got them over several months, so it's been easier to make sure I'm doing things to keep them growing okay. but even with a smaller amount of corals, I found when I started testing for calcium recently that my calcium was rather depleted; I started dosing recently and things seem to be growing better. I imagine if you're putting that much coral into the tank in a short amount of time, there may be problems in that regard.

 

Anyway, I'll let the more knowledgeable folks here help you trouble-shoot, but in my short amount of time in the hobby, I have to say I agree with emissary that patience is the rule. It can definitely be frustrating when you don't know why things are happening, but going slowly lets you get on the boards and ask questions before, rather after, things go drastically wrong.

 

Sounds like you're moving too fast. You've put $1000 worth of corals into a tank that's only now reached 6 months old? Starting from scratch material, I think you're asking for trouble. Starting from a previously established tank -- you can do that. "They" say tank *establishment* comes after 1 year. So you may want to stick with softies/LPS for a little while and ensure you can care for those before moving on.

 

Can you elaborate on "fine"? What are the values you get for the various parameters? What corals have died, and what behavior did they exhibit before dying? What fish do you have? How much LR/substrate? Got pictures?

Also... where do you live?

[Gatortailale]

Saying stuff is "fine" doesn't cut it here - we like to see real numbers. Also, what is you salanity level - all you said was fine - and what are you using to test it? Swing-arms are always wrong 99+% of time. Were here to help, but we need more details.

 

Below is quote from Copps TOTM - one of most successful members in hobby - read what he says about testing.

 

http://www.wamas.org/totm_previous.php?pre...tm-2007-02.html

 

Q What is your testing routine and maintenance schedule like?

A Alkalinity is really the only thing I test on a regular basis. I try and keep it between 8 and 10dkh and the calcium wherever it falls into place at

[lanman]

To really help, we need a full history, and ALL of your current water parameters.

 

Did you start with fresh, store-bought sand? Experienced sand?

 

Live rock - from the store, or from someone else's tank? When you first set up the tank, did you follow the numbers through the nitrogen cycle?? High Ammonia, high Nitrites, high Nitrates - and then all of them dropping to near zero?

 

How does the tank LOOK? Nice, clear water? Does the sand bed indicate that you have a few bristleworms in the tank? Any algae problems?? Clean-up crew - hermits and snails? How many?

 

How many hours per day do you have your lights on? What kind of fish do you have? How many? What do you feed them. How much?

 

What happens to the corals that die, and what kind are they? Do they just slowly fade away? Do they suddenly turn white all over?

 

etc... etc...

 

bob

['Ric]

all my tests come back fine.Im testing with api master test kit.I have been buying my corals at fins and feathers and ricks in fredrick.I am using a deltec rated for a 150g.I am not using ro water but my friend dont use ro water and his tank is doing wonderful.I purchased my lights brand new.I just dont understand it cause i have spent alot of money on this problem.

 

 

Those "Master Test Kits" usually don't come with a Phosphate test. Get a Salifert one. In this area, as especially with certain substrates sold in the stores, Phospates can get really high - possibly ok for fish, but really bad for growing corals.

 

#2: Compare what lived longest verses shortest in terms of the type of corals: "HigH Light" vs. "Moderate/Low Light" and the same with flow. Do you see any patterns, e.g. High light species don't last, but low light do?

 

'Ric

[Guest Bemmer]

I have to say Justin, you couldn't get much better advice that what folks that posted before me have written. When I first read your post, I like others, immediately I noticed 6 months old and $1000 worth of corals. It can take at least 10 corals (if you are buying colonies) to reach $1000 give or take on average. My guess if you are buy from F&F, whose coral prices are very reasonable, you have lots more than just 10 corals in your tank. I understand that you loss corals and then you buy more but as mentioned earlier, if you add too many corals at one time you are going to deplete your calcium and alkalinity rather quickly.

 

As we have all learned in this hobby...and continue to learn...PATIENCE is the key.

 

The best of luck as you continue to learn so you can be successful later. Keep asking the questions and provide detailed answer to the questions asked of you. That way we all benefit.

 

Rebecca

[Guest justin ragland]

Thank all of you very much i am gonna let the corals i have in there and not buy anymore for awhile.

[quazi]

Justin,

 

 

 

Where do you live (town/state)? Please update your location information on your account, and it will help us identify someone that lives near you. Perhaps someone would be OK with visiting your tank and providing you with some suggestions.

 

 

 

I would suggest an RO/DI filter, even if others near you are having great success without it. It is a wonderful cure all for a lot of problems. I cannot tell you you "must have one" because you do not know what the water parameters are for the water entering your house. I can tell you that It has made ALL the difference in my tanks.

 

 

 

The people in the club want to help. Providing a little more information will help us help you. Are you running a pH meter, like a pinpoint? If so, what the night/day swings? pH changes constantly, and stability really helps fish and corals.

 

 

 

Mike

[HowardofNOVA]

Justin,

I see from your membership bio, that your in personal info removed. We have several members with a ton of knowledge very close by. I would recommend taking a moment to possibly meet one of them at their place or invite to yours to see your setup.

 

So far, I'm sure you see that just spending money in this hobby will get you no where fast but broke. Kind of like READY - FIRE - AIM!

 

As some of the folks have asked, your "fine" readings can't give us the info we need to help. Test kits with reading (numbers) usually work better. Quit spending money for a while like you just mentioned and spend some quality time to understand what your doing and I'm sure you will be a world ahead of the game!

:wink:

[rrubberbandman]

Justin,

as simple and petty as it may seem....i fixed alot of problems when i got a refractometer...my swing arm hydro was saying i was @ 1.025....when in reality i was 1.030!!

API test kits are so off its pathetic.

KEEp us updated on your progress....

Bryan

[bigjames1300r]

Justin,

The single best investment you can make in this hobby IMHO is an RO/DI filter. I tried not getting one and had nothing but problems for years. Your tank can only ever be as good as the water you are putting in it. Different jurisdictions have very different tap water, just because your friend's water is OK does not mean that yours is. My tank is doing 10x better since I went to RO/DI water.

Good Luck,

James

[yauger]

where is Justin? so much for asking for help...

[treesprite]

where is Justin? so much for asking for help...

 

was thinking the same

[Guest justin ragland]

was thinking the same

thanks all of you for your info.well untill i can go get a ro unit and get some one to help me hook it up so i went to lfs and bought ro water from them and bought two big tubs to store extra ro water in them.I did a 85% water change in my 120g.I also had a 24g biocube that i started with ro water and both tanks are doing real good.My 120 is doing a lot better now the corals that i had left are all starting to get bigger and open like they are supposed to and also look better in color.I want to thank everyone that looked and took time to help me i really appreciate that.Im sorry my info was not up to date but i took the time to put my location and my info up to date.Thank you very much.

[yauger]

I'm glade to hear things are looking better... best of luck to you....

[treesprite]

congrats on getting things back into shape