kinda frustrated acro experts wanted

[Master Shake]

yes my appologies, you are correct i did typo it and calibrate the refractometer every 2 months

1.0024 you mentioned it twice and talked about .0001 but your salinity should be 1.024 which is a .0216 difference right there plus seawater is 1.026 which is actually significant difference from 1.024 and if you didnt typo your talking a major difference. Let's assume you did typo it the difference between 1.024 and 1.026 is a difference of 3ppt so where you should be at 35 your at 32 which is definitely not ideal and a significant difference. I am by FAR no means an acro expert, but it seems like yoi've got every other base covered.

 

[lnevo]

You should calibrate every time IMO and definitely consider raising it to 35ppt

 

[Master Shake]

the refrac icalibrated every few months and i have used multiple calibration fluids

water change is 30 gal every 2-3 weeks, water is heated over night and salt is mixed within 4 hours of adding to tank as per red sea instructions,

its not all sps just acros/millies

all biopellets do move when in reactor none are stuck to bottom

By the time expert show up, let me ask you , when was the last time u calibrate the ...............http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum...bration-fluid-refractometer-4.html..........?!
-not sure if use 15 W Aqua Ultra Violet Sterilizer , is good idea.
-add Strontium and iodide ? what the # b4 u add ?
- if SPS is still NOT doing good , i will stop add AcroPower, list for now.
-how much water change you do per week ?
-you sure all Bio-Pellets move around inside Reactor .

 

[duke62]

I calibrate every time I do a water change. I calibrate then check my tank water then my water change water

 

[Master Shake]

not nessecarilly looking for a magic snake oil to fix the problem, more or less looking to find the one possible thing that i have over looked, for the most part tank is incredibly stable, if you ask my parents there isnt a day im not at least touching it checking on everything, ive had those cycles before in my old tank and i know about them but to go through it for over a year and a half?

I'm by far no expert, but I have been keeping acros for twenty years....there aren't any miricles in a bottle with all the dosing this and dosing that because what works for one system may not for another...the key for any system is stablity...water quality keeping the numbers within an acceptable range so don't go chasing a specific number because it will flucuate anyway even with reactors etc.., lighting and flow..period!
Also anyone who has been keeping SPS for a few years will tell you tanks go through cycles all the time...everything looks great for a few months and then looks like crap for the next...I have gone crazy trying to figure out why when all the numbers etc.. are the same..it just happens. I have even had mini crashs where whole colonies here or there just RTN or STN for whatever reason even though they have been doing great for years...it's gratifying and drives you crazy at the same time ..welcome to the SPS addiction!

 

[duke62]

Try and stop dosing the extras. Just dose your mag, cal and alk. If you want to dose others get a good reliable test kit but I don't think it's necessary. Keep a eye on ootassium levels and iodine if your concerned about the 2 but test don't just dose. Like I said saw more tanks with great growth using a cacium reactor. I'm sure there are tanks with great growth using the dosing method but from what I have seen cacium reactors are the way to go.

 

[jackson6745]

Sometimes SPS issues leave you scratching your head Through trial and error we try to make sense of it. Some of us have made more errors over time, but that doesn't make us an expert

Explain the color loss in your SPS.

Are your filter socks well rinsed with no residual soap residue?

How long have you been using pellets? How have things changed since using them?

How long has the 120g been running?

Pics really help.

PS if you calibrated with 35ppt solution and your salinity is 1.024, this is not your issue.

 

[Master Shake]

they dont nessecarilly brown out but just become dulled out versions of what they should be, some do turn brown but most just dull out, they encrust like crazy which led me to believe it was the light so i tried more/ less/ new bulbs higher light lower light, more blue more white etc. but with those changes i got nothing. filter socks are rinsed well, i power wash them and dont use any bleach or detergents, pellets are probably for about 8 months and tank has been up for over a year and a half. unfortunately im on my out ina few minutes so i will upload pics later or tomorrow


Explain the color loss in your SPS.

Are your filter socks well rinsed with no residual soap residue?

How long have you been using pellets? How have things changed since using them?

How long has the 120g been running?

Pics really help.

PS if you calibrated with 35ppt solution and your salinity is 1.024, this is not your issue.[/QUOTE]

 

[jackson6745]

Fade?? Like pastel color? Are you getting tan colors on your acros? Generally poor polyp extension?

 

[jackson6745]

What are your 10 fish?

 

[duke62]

Brown to me indicate not enough light, dull and faded is to much light IMO. Are you just placing your acros in one spot and hoping for the best or are you moving them around when they look unhappy? I try and place my corals on a frag rack first and moving them from the bottom to the top over a period of time till I see they are coloring up. I try and mimic the height in the tank when I place them on the rocks. Sometimes it take a month of being on the frag rack to find a spot. Sometimes I get it wrong and by that time they are encrusted so I just leave them. Most times I get it right though. I have like 6 acros in the tank where I just got it wrong lol they are growing so I just leave them and hopefully in a few months they will be large enough to capture enough light to color back up.

 

[duke62]

Also if to little nutrients you can have pastel colors and to much nutients brown corals. You have to figure if the colors are from the light or nutrient levels in your tank

 

[Master Shake]

yea some tan, some pastel but not nice pastel i dont have any red bugs or aefw

Fade?? Like pastel color? Are you getting tan colors on your acros? Generally poor polyp extension?

 

[Master Shake]

black leopard wrasse, rosefacia wrasse, flame wrasse, lineatus wrasse, achilles tang, masked male and female swallowtail angels, percula, blue eye cardinal

What are your 10 fish?

 

[Master Shake]

as for pics here theyare

 

[Master Shake]

have had some of those for quite some time, sorry didnt realize my angel decided to photobomb the last one but you can see the coral right above his dorsal fin which looks dead but is in fact alive, it has not vertically grown but has encrusted the entire rock its on

 

[duke62]

Maybe too much flow? Happens to my acros that are close to power heads. They will encrust a lot before shooting upward

 

[bklynreef]

Maybe too much flow? Happens to my acros that are close to power heads. They will encrust a lot before shooting upward

+1
Funny you mentioned flow cause i just adjusted my flow towards the acros more and they started receding, so i turned it back the way it was. Can someone please tell me to stop tinkering with the tank!:fishhit:

 

[jackson6745]

If it was my tank I would pull off the bio pellets. I think you may be overdoing it with the carbon source. IMO you're stripping the water too much.

Are you using gfo?

 

[piranhapat]

I have one frag that is doing same thing in my tank since I got it. Has nothing to do with above mention. Of course with all the right water conditon it will help. But the bottom line it will not grow. Most likely from the stress it went through. What I did was cut a piece and glue it to other spot. I had strong current place near it. It started in incrusted and started to grow about 1/4 and nice color. It's been over two years. But still today just won't take off. But I blame myself I had moved it with no current. Also a little Alk problem that could of stressed it out aga:turtle:in. No expert just have one doing same for two years. Going to move it in more flow again. But did have a little battle with Alk which could just put that one in shock again. Any change in Water chemistry can set it back. Especially Alk and salinity change could place SPS in shock again.