What is wrong with my tank!!!!

1Blazer · 04/30/2010, 02:44 PM

Okay i have a 34 gallon Solana with a Sunpower ATI 6x24 watt lighting with with four aquablues and 1kz fiji and 1 ge 6500 I have an automatic doser my parameters are ph 8 kh 8 calcium 430 and magnesium 1200... i am losing color in my corals and do a water change every two weeks... my fish are fine the corals are alive but they are just losing their color and the growth is minimal now... im sooo frustrated because i have tried to do everything right and cannot get the results I have always hoped for and ive been at this for 3 years now... and have yet to have a tank im proud of... i have a better skimmer on the back its the Octopus hang on back and i also have a phosban reactor with biopellets as well... i cant figure this out!!!!! also i had an acrylic box for the stand made with three slots for dosing and one for top off water... i dont know if its my feeding or what but i tested and have no nitrate nitrite (even tho i know there has to be a little phosphate) my both my tds meters are reading zero on my ro/di unit output... okay so can someone please explain... is it my lighting or photoperiod? or am i not feeding enough? i just want a beautiful tank for once so please someone help! i will post pics soon... oh and last bit i hardly have any coralline growth??? please help me community!

THE GIMP · 04/30/2010, 02:53 PM

old lamps?

1Blazer · 04/30/2010, 03:05 PM

replaced them one at a time over a two week spread about a month ago...

chuckreef · 04/30/2010, 04:25 PM

have you considered pests?

John Blaze · 04/30/2010, 04:31 PM

Those ATI T5's are very powerful. Possibly to much light? How long is your photoperiod? What type of corals.?

1Blazer · 04/30/2010, 04:38 PM

pests are highly unlikely i watch my tank like a hawk... photoperiod is 6 hours on kz fiji,ge6500, and two aquablues... then two actinics are on for 10 hours... i do get a bad flux in ph at night but dont know how to adjust this it drops to like 7.7 and my temp is constant at 80 but those are the only things i can come up with

uncleof6 · 04/30/2010, 05:18 PM

Photo period is too short. In the tropics, where these coral grow, they get 10 - 12 hours of daylight. You are using actinics, apparently for a dawn and dusk effect, but T5 actinics have very low par-- would suggest you swap them out for Blue plus lamps. Increase your main lights to 8 - 10 hours. See what happens.

On the pH swing: this is caused by CO2 buildup in the tank, when the lights are off. This excess CO2, also lowers the dissolved oxygen content of the water-- which also stresses your critters, as well as does the pH swing. The buildup is caused by insufficient gas exchange (the tank is not "breathing" enough), which is generally caused by too low of a flow rate, and/or insufficient circulation.

Jim

chuckreef · 04/30/2010, 05:25 PM

[QUOTE=1Blazer;17034588]pests are highly unlikely i watch my tank like a hawk... /QUOTE]

What is your quarentine routine?

1Blazer · 04/30/2010, 05:45 PM

I have an mp20 on full blast in reef mode and my quarantine is the fish store i work at before we put new corals out i dont even let them go into display before i take them home... we do fresh water baths and coral dips as soon as they come in... but i promise they are taken care of and i havent seen anything out of the usual in my tank...

1Blazer · 04/30/2010, 05:46 PM

also on grimms t5 light setup i was told these bulb selections would be best and that blue pluses wash out color... i also had those on my tank before without any success....

uncleof6 · 04/30/2010, 08:26 PM

The MP20 is not helping your gas exchange much. The gas exchange occurs with water that is going in and out of the tank-- with returning water breaking the surface tension of the tank water.

I trust Grim, however, I have never read him saying that blue + lamps wash out color; and T5 actinics are almost useless-- next to the aquablues. Case in point: ATI Aquablue and Blue + only---

Photo credit: forgotten......

Color is aesthetic, PAR is life essential. You have been doing something, not quite so wrong, but not as well as should be-- as your posts intimate. You need to rethink everything that you are doing.

Jim

mmm67 · 04/30/2010, 09:20 PM

From what I read it sounds like your bulbs need replacing

Jason S · 04/30/2010, 10:45 PM

Hardy any Coralline Growth? Are you sure your Mag, Ca, kH, and Nitrate test kits are accurate? Have you validated with other kits? Regardeless, I have had my best growth in both SPS and coralline with kh around 10ish, and Mag around 1350.

Anyway, I use t5s with a similar bulb configuration... Actinic, aquablue, Blue+, KZ fiji, blue+, 65kge, Actinic, Aquablue. Note the differences are the Blue+ bulbs. My colors are fantastic, and they are certainly not washed out by the Blue+.

1Blazer · 05/01/2010, 07:15 PM

my parameters have been tested by three different testing kits... and still nothing... im so confused yall... i turned my photo period up but its seems everytime i do everything begins to look worse...

1Blazer · 05/01/2010, 09:01 PM

why cant i figure this out?????

1Blazer · 05/02/2010, 08:11 PM

I found this massive outbreak... maybe my quarantine isnt working as well as i hoped... what are these things... the are like tiny octopus with tentacles surrounding the mouth and an orange strand in the body and they are everywhere! i slowed the current of my tank down and they are all emerging all over the place here is the best picture i could get

jc-reef · 05/02/2010, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Blazer

pests are highly unlikely i watch my tank like a hawk... photoperiod is 6 hours on kz fiji,ge6500, and two aquablues... then two actinics are on for 10 hours... i do get a bad flux in ph at night but dont know how to adjust this it drops to like 7.7 and my temp is constant at 80 but those are the only things i can come up with

I had this same problem with my tank as I live in Florida and have the house closed up 24/7 running the a/c....this causes a build up of exess CO2 in your home which is absorbed into your tank. I started dosing Limewater (Kalk) as my ATO and this helped stabilize my Calcium and Alk and bring up my pH from the 7.6-7.8 range (nite time)& 7.9-8.0 (day) to 8.05-8.10 range (nite) & 8.15- 8.20 range (day). I know it can be a little higher (may install a CO2 srubber in the future), but my corals have seemed happier at a higer, more stable pH and my coraline has really taken off!

I was told that corals, especially SPS dont do well with large pH swings..they like stability...

+1 on replacing some of the aquablues and maybe 1 actinic with blue+'s.

Good luck!

r-balljunkie · 05/02/2010, 09:15 PM

on a easy to do sidenote....i tried the nano pack from KZ ZEOvit Nano Power Package , and have liked them so far. my corals started to color up, and look really good.
i also switched salts- tropic marin, that seemed to help too.
FWIW, your out 35 bux on the kz...

i dont think you can attribute decline to your lighting.

GL

C

1Blazer · 05/03/2010, 04:07 PM

can anyone identify this critter?

04/30/2010, 02:44 PM	#1
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	What is wrong with my tank!!!! Okay i have a 34 gallon Solana with a Sunpower ATI 6x24 watt lighting with with four aquablues and 1kz fiji and 1 ge 6500 I have an automatic doser my parameters are ph 8 kh 8 calcium 430 and magnesium 1200... i am losing color in my corals and do a water change every two weeks... my fish are fine the corals are alive but they are just losing their color and the growth is minimal now... im sooo frustrated because i have tried to do everything right and cannot get the results I have always hoped for and ive been at this for 3 years now... and have yet to have a tank im proud of... i have a better skimmer on the back its the Octopus hang on back and i also have a phosban reactor with biopellets as well... i cant figure this out!!!!! also i had an acrylic box for the stand made with three slots for dosing and one for top off water... i dont know if its my feeding or what but i tested and have no nitrate nitrite (even tho i know there has to be a little phosphate) my both my tds meters are reading zero on my ro/di unit output... okay so can someone please explain... is it my lighting or photoperiod? or am i not feeding enough? i just want a beautiful tank for once so please someone help! i will post pics soon... oh and last bit i hardly have any coralline growth??? please help me community! Last edited by 1Blazer; 04/30/2010 at 03:04 PM. Reason: mistype

04/30/2010, 02:53 PM	#2
THE GIMP Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Fullerton, California Posts: 694	old lamps? __________________ AKA: Brando The Electrizian We're gonna need a bigger boat... If its not tied up or in a cage, I'll need a stick! Who is John Galt? Current Tank Info: 180 BB, ATB med ext, 2 Vortechs, Life Reef CARX, RKE, T5

04/30/2010, 05:18 PM	#7
uncleof6 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: AWOL Posts: 12,013	Photo period is too short. In the tropics, where these coral grow, they get 10 - 12 hours of daylight. You are using actinics, apparently for a dawn and dusk effect, but T5 actinics have very low par-- would suggest you swap them out for Blue plus lamps. Increase your main lights to 8 - 10 hours. See what happens. On the pH swing: this is caused by CO2 buildup in the tank, when the lights are off. This excess CO2, also lowers the dissolved oxygen content of the water-- which also stresses your critters, as well as does the pH swing. The buildup is caused by insufficient gas exchange (the tank is not "breathing" enough), which is generally caused by too low of a flow rate, and/or insufficient circulation. Jim __________________ "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef

04/30/2010, 08:26 PM	#11
uncleof6 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: AWOL Posts: 12,013	The MP20 is not helping your gas exchange much. The gas exchange occurs with water that is going in and out of the tank-- with returning water breaking the surface tension of the tank water. I trust Grim, however, I have never read him saying that blue + lamps wash out color; and T5 actinics are almost useless-- next to the aquablues. Case in point: ATI Aquablue and Blue + only--- Photo credit: forgotten...... Color is aesthetic, PAR is life essential. You have been doing something, not quite so wrong, but not as well as should be-- as your posts intimate. You need to rethink everything that you are doing. Jim __________________ "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef

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04/30/2010, 03:05 PM	#3
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	replaced them one at a time over a two week spread about a month ago...

04/30/2010, 04:25 PM	#4
chuckreef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Davis, Ca. Posts: 816	have you considered pests?

04/30/2010, 04:31 PM	#5
John Blaze Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North Florida Posts: 56	Those ATI T5's are very powerful. Possibly to much light? How long is your photoperiod? What type of corals.?

04/30/2010, 04:38 PM	#6
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	pests are highly unlikely i watch my tank like a hawk... photoperiod is 6 hours on kz fiji,ge6500, and two aquablues... then two actinics are on for 10 hours... i do get a bad flux in ph at night but dont know how to adjust this it drops to like 7.7 and my temp is constant at 80 but those are the only things i can come up with

04/30/2010, 05:25 PM	#8
chuckreef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Davis, Ca. Posts: 816	[QUOTE=1Blazer;17034588]pests are highly unlikely i watch my tank like a hawk... /QUOTE] What is your quarentine routine?

04/30/2010, 05:45 PM	#9
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	I have an mp20 on full blast in reef mode and my quarantine is the fish store i work at before we put new corals out i dont even let them go into display before i take them home... we do fresh water baths and coral dips as soon as they come in... but i promise they are taken care of and i havent seen anything out of the usual in my tank...

04/30/2010, 05:46 PM	#10
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	also on grimms t5 light setup i was told these bulb selections would be best and that blue pluses wash out color... i also had those on my tank before without any success....

04/30/2010, 09:20 PM	#12
mmm67 Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: ferndale Posts: 70	From what I read it sounds like your bulbs need replacing

04/30/2010, 10:45 PM	#13
Jason S Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Murfreesboro, TN Posts: 555	Hardy any Coralline Growth? Are you sure your Mag, Ca, kH, and Nitrate test kits are accurate? Have you validated with other kits? Regardeless, I have had my best growth in both SPS and coralline with kh around 10ish, and Mag around 1350. Anyway, I use t5s with a similar bulb configuration... Actinic, aquablue, Blue+, KZ fiji, blue+, 65kge, Actinic, Aquablue. Note the differences are the Blue+ bulbs. My colors are fantastic, and they are certainly not washed out by the Blue+.

05/01/2010, 07:15 PM	#14
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	my parameters have been tested by three different testing kits... and still nothing... im so confused yall... i turned my photo period up but its seems everytime i do everything begins to look worse...

05/01/2010, 09:01 PM	#15
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	why cant i figure this out?????

05/02/2010, 09:15 PM	#18
r-balljunkie Registered Reefer Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Doha, Qatar Posts: 2,059	on a easy to do sidenote....i tried the nano pack from KZ ZEOvit Nano Power Package , and have liked them so far. my corals started to color up, and look really good. i also switched salts- tropic marin, that seemed to help too. FWIW, your out 35 bux on the kz... i dont think you can attribute decline to your lighting. GL C

05/03/2010, 04:07 PM	#19
1Blazer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 54	can anyone identify this critter?