ctreptow April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 Hi All About 5 months ago I replaced my I replaced 1 of my 75 gallon glass tanks with an acrylic due to a leak. During this replacement I changed all the sand in that tank and replaced the 5 T5 lamps with Blue wave bulbs, 2 actinic, 1 daylight, 1 power blue and 1 purple. I replaced about 80 of my 200 gallons of water with fresh SW. I let the new setup stew for about 6 weeks before adding any new livestock. I went through a small algae bloom and diatom bloom but I have no algae now. During the fall meeting I picked up a bunch of frags for the new tank and they loved the setup. Color was great growth was the best I have ever seen. About 6 weeks ago this all stopped.. Colors faded and growth stopped almost immediately.. About the time it stopped I started using GFO so I stopped and removed that reactor about 3 weeks ago with no change. System 2 75 gallon tanks with a shared 100 gallon sump. Water parms Ammonia 0 Nitrate 0 Phos measures 0 and no algea so it must be low. Alk 9 Cal 430 Temp between 75 - 80 Salinity .28 At a loss here... Any thoughts?
Coral Hind April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 What types of corals are having issues? Have you checked for pests like AEFW or red bugs? Once corals are weakened it can take them time to recover, more then three weeks. What do you keep the SG at??? How do you check it?
flowerseller April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 Chris, No mention of Mg. I'm not a big proponent of GFO use but if then in small, slow flow situations. JMPO/E I'd do 25% w/c with good clean 24/48hr premixed water every 4-5 days.
Origami April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 Any issues with a skimmer? Has skimmate production or quality changed?
Coral Hind April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 Chris, No mention of Mg. I'm not a big proponent of GFO use but if then in small, slow flow situations. JMPO/E I'd do 25% w/c with good clean 24/48hr premixed water every 4-5 days. Yes, Mg is also important and often over looked. I agree with the small/slow use of GFO. I have seen systems shocked and bleached when it was added aggressively.
ctreptow April 30, 2010 Author April 30, 2010 the system is very lightly stocked with a couple of pink birdsnest, green slimer frag, red monti cap, and a couple other assorted sps frags. Softies include kenya tree, couple torch branches, and a small leather coral. others are LTA and Flowerpot nem with 2 clowns 2 damsels and an engineer gobi. I added a second skimmer a couple of months ago since my main skimmer was underpowered for the system. Skimate has not changed and I seem to be producing the same amount as usual.. I have not tested MG so I don't know were that is Chip.. GFO has beem removed and I will start the water changes I have 30 gallons that have been mixing for a week now... Thanks Chris
Novi April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 This might sound strange, but do you think your over skimming w/ 2 Skimmers and your water is too clean to the point where your robbing your tank of nutrients?
Jon Lazar April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 The first thing I would check for is AEFW. If you haven't had them yourself before, I would find a nearby reefer who has and get them to help you check. Also, I think 75F is pretty cold. Plenty of people run their tanks cold to provide a buffer and keep the tank from getting too hot, and they do fine. But if it's too cold, the chemical reactions inside the coral won't work right. This might well not be your problem, but I would think about it. Good luck, Jon
Sharkey18 April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 I had a similar situation in my tank. When I gave one of my ugly brown corals to Dave (CoralHind) he was kind enough to inform me that I had red bugs. Treated my system and things have colored back up and are growing again. Thanks again Dave! (and sorry for giving you red bugs!!) Laura
Coral Hind April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 (edited) Thanks again Dave! (and sorry for giving you red bugs!!)Laura No problem, that's why I inspect, triple dip, and Q-tank everything. Edited April 30, 2010 by Coral Hind
ctreptow April 30, 2010 Author April 30, 2010 How do you check for red bugs... Can they been seen on the corals if they are there? C
lanman April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 How do you check for red bugs... Can they been seen on the corals if they are there? C Use a magnifying glass - or a camera with a good macro lens. They are very small, and usually will be seen as yellow 'dots' on the coral. bob
Coral Hind April 30, 2010 April 30, 2010 (edited) Check out this link. http://www.melevsreef.com/redbugs.html http://www.melevsreef.com/aefw.html Edited April 30, 2010 by Coral Hind
ctreptow June 8, 2010 Author June 8, 2010 update Well it looks like there is a problem being tooooooo clean. I turned off my second skimmer and the growth that color have come back back on all the corals. Thanks all for your help again.. c
Coral Hind June 8, 2010 June 8, 2010 Glad it all is turning out well. Are you sure it was just the skimmer and the water being too clean? I would be tempted to turn the skimmer back on and see what happens after awhile.
ctreptow June 8, 2010 Author June 8, 2010 I have to assume thats what is was since that's the only change I made. The only other thing it could have been is temperature. The tanks were at about 78 degrees and now they are up to about 85, but the temp was 78 when they were doing well in the beginning. c
watson_barrett June 9, 2010 June 9, 2010 85 is getting a bit on the hight side, you may want to consider keeping it down around 80, especially during the summer months.
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