[jaymo]

Hi I was wondering what temp I should keep my tank at ? Was also wondering if 2 96w c p 10000k is enough light for soft corals Thanks . Was also wonder ing why my live rock is loosing it's color. was also wondering about the white stuff it seems to be dieing

[KathyC]

What temp it is at now?
Much more info about the tank would be helpful...water parameters, how old is the tank, size, skimmer, flow within the tank..do you have a sump..etc.
Are you running a phosban reactor? You seem to have an algae problem there.

[jaymo]

The tank is83f sorry I did read the sticky notes but couldn't wait to post .I'll have all my readings tomorrow the tanks a 60 with a built in filter and skimmer no reactor . The only flow in the tank is the power head pumping from the sump to the tank .Thanks For the help

[KathyC]

Eek! You need some water flow in that tank! Very important.
Have a pic of the full tank? Built in filter & skimmer???
Assuming you are going to buy your test kits tomorrow?
No idea of the current temp?

The white stuff...Was it originally on the rock or the frags and has it been growing & engulfing the croals around it? Is it spongy if you touch it?

[jaymo]

The temp now is 83f and it's an acrylic tank with the sump and skimmer built into the back . I have a kit but I rarely see the giants win .GO BIG BLUE .The white stuff was on the rock orignaly haven't touched it yet

[KathyC]

83 is a bit warm..have any fans in the canopy? Have a canopy? lol
Would help if you had a clip on fan ( at the very least) to blow across the water. Open a window.turn on the AC & cool the room off some.
The tank isn't covered is it?
You have a kit?? Did I miss something..other than the fact the Giants are on TV...lol

Has the white stuff been continually growing? Go wash your hands & touch it..

[autoponicz]

keeping temp. at 78-80 is good.....2 96 watts should be fine but add a bulb with some actinics....and your live rock is losing color is mostly because your water parameters are all out of whack ...do you use RODI water or are you using tap water?

but u got no flow in the tank,not sure of your equipment and no test kits?
i would suggest reading the beginners section in this forum before going any further

	RODI High quality filtration systems used to purify tap water before it is mixed with salt or added to the aquarium for evaporative top off. Most municipal water supplies contain unacceptable levels of Nitrate, Phosphate, Lead, Chlorine, Copper etc. It is critical that these impurities are removed as some are toxic to reef organisms and others fuel algal blooms that can quickly overtake a reef display. Again, there are many brands and many configurations to fit most applications.

[Awibrandy]

Hi there! Is your temp. that high because you have the heater set that high, or because the room the tank is in is that hot? If it is the heater - turn the heater down. If it is the room - cool the room down some way.
Like autoponicz said; lr is loosing it's color because your parameters are out of whack - mainly your calcium & alkalinity.

The lighting you have should be enough if they include actinics. If not then you need to add the actinics.

I don't know much about the filter & skimmer you have, someone else may chime in that does. sorry.

If you go and look up my tank, you will see that I do not have pumps in my tank. My flow comes from my return pumps. I have two return pumps - pumping a total of 1350gph through 4 locklines. If your return pump is not putting out enough flow on its own then you will have to add flow via power heads in the tank, this is what I do in fowlr.
That white stuff on your lr. You stated it came on the lr, could be sponge, but I have never seen sponge that looked like that. You say it's dying, what I see that looks like it's dying is your mushrooms. Is that white stuff suffocating the shrooms?

DO your self a giant favor, and get a RO/DI unit. I didn't for the first 6 years, and always battled hair algea, and red slime. I switched back in Feb/2007. Best investment I ever did for my reef.
Hope this helps.

[vanceny]

Quote: Originally Posted by Awibrandy My flow comes from my return pumps. I have two return pumps - pumping a total of 1350gph through 4 locklines.

If I remember Awibrandy has a 150gal tank, (correct me if I'm wrong)that's a little under 10x flow. Depending on what you are keeping even that may not be enough. If your looking to keep sps then even 30x is not unheard of. Just dont have all that flow running through your sump. Softies don't require that much but I would at least shoot for 10x your tank volume.

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

[Awibrandy]

Your correct Vanceny, my tank is a 150g bow front. The livestock consist of lps, leathers, shroom, zoas, very small on the SPS (monti caps, patchy, and a large branching sps coral that was given to me), and heavy on the fish dept. plus snails, hermit crabs, shrimps, star fish. And the tank is thriving.

	SPS Small Polyped Scleractinians - Sometimes known as Small Polyped Stony corals. These are hard corals that have extremely small polyps. They are typically on the difficult side and require Metal Halide lighting or dense Power Compact or T5 arrays. These corals are prized for their rareness and ability to be easily fragged into multiple colonies.

	LPS Large Polyped Stony corals – In the aquarium hobby this is a common division of the species of stony corals based upon the visual assessment of the size of the polyps. Corals in this category were among the first stony corals to be kept successfully in captivity and include many very beautiful species. Commonly kept Genera include Euphyllia (hammer/frogspawn coral), Favia (brain coral), Plerogyra (bubble coral), Lobophyllia (meat/tooth coral), and Caulastrea (candycane coral). LPS corals also include the popular solitary non-colonial stony corals such as Fungia (plate coral), Cynarina (button coral), Trachyphyllia (open brain coral), and Herpolitha (tongue coral). Like their SPS counterparts, LPS corals require good water quality, intense lighting of the appropriate spectrum, adequate water movement and regular supplementation of calcium.