Where do I send my wate for testing?
- Thread starter Sea Turtle
- Start date
Sea Turtle, You have a great set up, but don't rush it. IMO, just let the tank relax and do its thing.
I noticed your pumps are very clean, and the sand has no signs of an established tank. It may be too early to be adding any more coral.
Keep your levels in check, and just wait a few months. Your pumps need to look like this before any sps will thrive.
I noticed your pumps are very clean, and the sand has no signs of an established tank. It may be too early to be adding any more coral.
Keep your levels in check, and just wait a few months. Your pumps need to look like this before any sps will thrive.
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Iseeweed, thanks for the advise. However, I try to clean my pumps and accessories every couple weeks in a vinager bath with a scrub brush. I understand your point though. I am a little currious as to why I don't have corleane algae growing all over my back glass? :?iseeweed":1tvjo3dj said:
Last anyone looked, AWT, the cheap water testing company, is not a bunch of chemists doing scientific grade water testing - and there were issues with their methodology. There are such companies but they are very expensive. IMO you are better off with your own test kits. FYI, I have poor color perception, meaning reading test kits is almost impossible for me, and I still don't use AWT.
Blues and purples can be a hard thing to keep in sps and we don't really know why.
Your tank is still young. I didn't get coraline booming until 2 years. I think there are prolly more cycles than the one we normally talk about and different bacteria need time to establish. The short version is I think your tank is too young to start trying to tweak for sps color. Chasing color and going for things like AWT is really just throwing money at stuff so you feel like you are doing something. While I understand, and have done it, I think you are better off not doing it.
If you have quality test kits and you levels are fine, relax. You could add an actinic VHO bulb along the front of your tank because it makes the colors you like pop. Other than that, it seems waiting is your best option.
Blues and purples can be a hard thing to keep in sps and we don't really know why.
Your tank is still young. I didn't get coraline booming until 2 years. I think there are prolly more cycles than the one we normally talk about and different bacteria need time to establish. The short version is I think your tank is too young to start trying to tweak for sps color. Chasing color and going for things like AWT is really just throwing money at stuff so you feel like you are doing something. While I understand, and have done it, I think you are better off not doing it.
If you have quality test kits and you levels are fine, relax. You could add an actinic VHO bulb along the front of your tank because it makes the colors you like pop. Other than that, it seems waiting is your best option.
Thanks Thales. What you say makes sence and I am sure you and everyone else that has mentioned are corect. However, I am stubborn sometime and just have a hard time excepting it. My fried has a tank that he has had about 6 months longer than mine. His sps's are all deep purple/blue (awesome)! He gives them to me and they lose their color. It just tells me that there is something going on I can't figure out. An invisable mystery. Again, you could be very right though. Maybe his tank matured quicker than mine for some reason.
Anyway, I will continue to dig until it either corrects itself over time or I figure this out. I purchased new Phoenix 14k metal halides the other day which I should have soon and also a TDS meter for my RO/DI unit. This is where I am going to start . Thanks for your help. If you can think of anything else that might pop into your head I would appreciate it.
It just tells me that there is something going on I can't figure out. An invisable mystery. Again, you could be very right though. Maybe his tank matured quicker than mine for some reason.Anyway, I will continue to dig until it either corrects itself over time or I figure this out. I purchased new Phoenix 14k metal halides the other day which I should have soon and also a TDS meter for my RO/DI unit. This is where I am going to start . Thanks for your help. If you can think of anything else that might pop into your head I would appreciate it.
Sea Turtle":2oyviis9 said:
Just a thought-Your tank is amazingly clean, so I'm assuming your hands are in the tank quite a bit. Is there anything that might be on your hands? Maybe your scubbers or glass magnets are contaminated?
One other thing, My tank is about 10 months old. I had very little coraline up until 7 months or so, but when it started-it really went crazy. I also noticed my corals colors really improved after the coraline bloom. I have this one monti(chalice) that was bleached white, now after about 4 months it is a really nice deep green color :roll:
Sea Turtle":19c1l6j9 said:
I talked to a guy one time who had a terrible time with his tank. He built transmissions for a living and contributed his issues with the oils and chemicals absorbed on his hands.
I would suggest to let the tank get a little "dirty". I have a lot of green algae and junk growing in my sump, overflow, poweheads ect. I'm just to lazy to clean it i guess, but it doesnt seem to effect sps growth or color.
I still am convinced your tank just needs more time. I will try to post some pics later of a 6 month time span in my tank. I had no coraline in August and very slow sps growth, and now everything is pretty much purple and the sps stuff is really taking off. Its amazing what can change in a few months!
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