zygote2k September 7, 2011 Share September 7, 2011 You dont need an expert, you need to leave it alone.. +1 Your tank has only been up for a relatively short time. When you change things rapidly, there's no way to establish a baseline to compare different methods. If your tank was growing just fine, why do you feel that you need to do something to make it grow faster? As far as the salt having enough Ca and Alk right out of the bucket, that simply means that you don't have a heavy enough coral load to notice. When your tank has a heavy demand for ca and alk, you'll find that you'll need to supplement it with 2 part. Don't believe all the hype surrounding those salt mixes. I/O will do just fine. Patience young grasshopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overklok September 7, 2011 Share September 7, 2011 This looks like an issue of tissue burning by the LEDs. The royal blue and actinic blue are very powerful on the AI fixture. Be careful ramping up the the intensity of the AI's. This could also be a Brightwell salt issue. I have been using Brightwell exclusively but I am finding the salt maybe lacking in some essential elements (just a hunch). It take 12 cups to make a 30 gallon trash can of 1.025 using brightwell, and it takes 14 cups to make the same 30 gallons of 1.025 using Instant Ocean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 September 7, 2011 Share September 7, 2011 you have gotten alot of good answer here. I would only say feeding had little to do with your problem in this case. Adjust you lighting and dont mess with the feeding. I find it hard to believe after a few days "My zoas are growing fast, so are the frog spawn and Duncan" I think it is more that you made adjustments to your new lights than any feeding. Keep up with your water and just relax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr September 7, 2011 Share September 7, 2011 This looks like an issue of tissue burning by the LEDs. The royal blue and actinic blue are very powerful on the AI fixture. Be careful ramping up the the intensity of the AI's. This could also be a Brightwell salt issue. I have been using Brightwell exclusively but I am finding the salt maybe lacking in some essential elements (just a hunch). It take 12 cups to make a 30 gallon trash can of 1.025 using brightwell, and it takes 14 cups to make the same 30 gallons of 1.025 using Instant Ocean. the difference in volume could be also to do with the fact that Marineland salts have sodium thiosulfate crystal, edta(anti caking agent) and something else to render any heavy metals inert. maybe those make up for the missing 2 cups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 9, 2011 Author Share September 9, 2011 Thanks everyone for their replies! I increased the intensity of my AI LEDs and things are looking better. i think I had miscalculated the photo-period before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer September 9, 2011 Share September 9, 2011 Keep cranking up those AIs. Don't believe the RC forums on AIs. Just lots of people convincing each other they got their money's worth. I spent plent of money on AI Sols and would do it again, but they are not magical no matter how much everybody wants to believe it. Contrary to what the forum would suggest you really can't grow SPS under 2 AIs hanging in your neighbor's house. Maintain a proper iodine levels and you are unlikely to burn anything. I have corals under sections that measure 600+ PAR and they are much happier than the spots with 200 PAR. I burned a few of my corals initially and they recovered completely. The ones I left to go brown in a dark spot are all in the trash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 9, 2011 Author Share September 9, 2011 Bill, I saw your tank with the AI Sols and saw the bleached out corals, like the pink bird's nest. I am starting to think that you are absolutely right. I believed the RC forums and started my lights from very low like 20s and 30s... now that I am running them like 80s everything is happier. BTW, the purple slimmer frag I got from you and the red monti are both doing amazing, I haven't got the true purple coral from the slimmer yet but getting there. Also, the tiny monti frag is encrusting nicely ever since. If you have any more frags in the SUMP, let me know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer September 10, 2011 Share September 10, 2011 Glad the frags are working. It took me too long to realize my corals were browning due to a lack of light even though I had scorched some of my montis. The color all came back on the burned corals. The same corals are now happy at 90 to 100 percent output. Corals really do like light! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 10, 2011 Author Share September 10, 2011 Glad the frags are working. It took me too long to realize my corals were browning due to a lack of light even though I had scorched some of my montis. The color all came back on the burned corals. The same corals are now happy at 90 to 100 percent output. Corals really do like light! What is your lighting schedule like? Can you share your settings with me please? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltarblue September 10, 2011 Share September 10, 2011 Yes settings would be great if you could Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 I have all of my lights based on the Apex seasonal table. I ramp the blues up over 30 minutes and the whites for 60 minutes. I take them to 80% for the blues and 90% for the whites. Then for the peak 4 hours of the cycle I run them at 90% and 100% for a noon-time blast of light. The afternoon period I run at 80 ad 90%. Then for sunset I take the whites down in 30 minutes and the blues ramp down for 60 minutes. I'd say my lighting cycle is about 11 to 11:30 per day (not including sunset and sunrise). Corals are looking better under this than before. Even my Monti caps (Leng Sy and Flowerpetal) that were burned are looking very good with nice growth. Nothing shows any evidence of over-compensation. There are a few odd spots with low PAR due to the spacing of the units and the tight optics on the 4 corners of the lights. I am still fiddling with that. Max PAR at the top is 600+ . The sand bed is 300 and there are a few dark spots running about 150 to 200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 11, 2011 Author Share September 11, 2011 Thanks Bill! I will post my settings soon too. If anyone wants to add theirs, please do so or we can start a new post. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDiver September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 Have you checked for pests?AEFW or redbugs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Ivers September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 Have you checked for pests?AEFW or redbugs? +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basser9 September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 Untill you get a par meter it is hard to understand how little par a white bright t5 tank has compared to a dim blue led tank. Ifried some of my stuff with a jump of 100 par with a optic change.......new leds without a meter can be bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 11, 2011 Author Share September 11, 2011 OldReefer offered to help me out with a PAR meter. I will post some PAR readings this week. Thanks! Have you checked for pests?AEFW or redbugs? No pests in sight so far. The corals that are directly under the LEDs are getting a nice color now and more polyp extension than before (when under T5s and MH). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 This one looks like there are some sort of worms on it. What are the white spots? I don't see any obvious signs of missing tissue, but those spots are sure looking suspicious to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypertech September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 It is strange. But as far as I know aefw are red. I once freaked out thinking I had aefw. Then I remembered I just fed cyclopeeze and calmed down. Could be something added to the tank too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotasreef September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 If they were aefw you would not see the worms, just their bite marks. One of the spots almost look like a nudibranch. But there are none known that consume acroporas that I am aware of. It honestly might be nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overklok September 11, 2011 Share September 11, 2011 Those white spots are mesenterial filaments on the corals. This is a sign of irritation, or a feeding response. In my experience this is a sign of trouble. You need to be careful ramping up the intensity of the AI LEDs. I would lower my light levels and slowly over a few weeks raise the intensity of the light level. A PAR meter is only good for determining the light levels in your aquarium, not a comparison between LEDs and HM or T-5 bulbs. The light is so different in each of the lighting types, it is very difficult to do a comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 12, 2011 Author Share September 12, 2011 This one looks like there are some sort of worms on it. What are the white spots? I don't see any obvious signs of missing tissue, but those spots are sure looking suspicious to me. I think I had had just fed the corals before taking this picture. I don't see those white spots on this staghorn any more. I have also been watching the tank for some bug or pest action at night. I haven't seen anything yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze September 13, 2011 Share September 13, 2011 you haven't posted your param's yet and i'm suspecting water quality and not your lighting. your sps look stressed. fish picking at them, electrical current, phosphates? who knows, but most likely had nothing to do with your lighting. then again, the sps might not have liked the sudden change. couple of weeks is nothing to an acro when it comes to acclimation. p.e. in all your pics (before and after) kinda sucks, so that's whuy i'm leaning towards water quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 13, 2011 Author Share September 13, 2011 (edited) What is p.e.? Here are my water stats: All Salifert Kits Alk 9.3 Calc 450 Nitrates 0 Ammonia 0 Magnesium 1380 API Test kits Phosphate 0 Salinity is stable at 35 ppt (Refractometer calibrated with solution - thanks to my Avast ATO) Water change weekly (almost 5 gal) I leaned towards my new LED fixture as the source of this stress since I always kept the water parameters stable. Thanks for your input! Edited September 13, 2011 by Reefoholic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der ABT September 13, 2011 Share September 13, 2011 P.E. Polyp Extension. what temp you running. do you have a grounding probe? alot of the glass heaters leak voltage from my experience otherwise it all seems good to me. Ca is a little high but not horrible this is a 20-25g system and your doing 5g water changes weekly....are you checking the alkalinity/ph of the water for your water changes? often some salts run high/low ph and alk so if it isnt matched when you do the water changes the spikes may annoy corals.....seems like a little overkill on the water changes in my opinion but im also used to having more volume to help dilute things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefoholic September 13, 2011 Author Share September 13, 2011 (edited) P.E. Polyp Extension. what temp you running. do you have a grounding probe? alot of the glass heaters leak voltage from my experience otherwise it all seems good to me. Ca is a little high but not horrible this is a 20-25g system and your doing 5g water changes weekly....are you checking the alkalinity/ph of the water for your water changes? often some salts run high/low ph and alk so if it isnt matched when you do the water changes the spikes may annoy corals.....seems like a little overkill on the water changes in my opinion but im also used to having more volume to help dilute things. Temp is stable at 81 F. I always test my water for salinity, alk and ca before adding it to my system. I use Brightwell salt and almost always the alk is stable at 9 and ca is at 450. My heater is managed by my RKL and it is off when the temp is in range. Electricity is only given to adjust the temp. I run carbon in a reactor and I change it every two weeks as well. Maybe carbon is the reason? There is nothing I added new but the light tho. Thanks PS: For polyp extension, I just took this picture. Is this enough p.e.? I am starting to think that it is only that one staghorn having problems with p. e. Also, I dunno why the SPS would turn brown :( Edited September 13, 2011 by Reefoholic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now