just another newbie

[cynbob]

ok i have a 45 gallon tank about 40lbs of rock,4 snails,3 peppermint shrimp,1 emerald crab,3 hermit crab,some zoa`s,frogspawn,candycane,feather duster,a coral i have no idea what it is and a small tree coral which i thought i killed but came back to life and a toadstool.
the tank is about 3 months old,i am running a fluval 306 filter,and a marinland led light(dual blue,white) i dont know the specs on light but its your typicle marinland light from pet smart 23 in long.(i was told it would be fine)
everything is alive but as i look at other tanks,i notice how much more vibrant other tanks are than mine.my frogspawn looks half mass,the candycane tenicles have only come out for short periods of time,toadstool has shed twice in 2 weeks and his pollups havent been out since the first couple of days i had him.i have moved things around to see if they like other parts of the tank but get no response.
my ph is at 8.3 or so,nh3/nh4 is at 0,no3 is 0 and no2 is 0.i was told to use some chemicles from a local aquarium place so i have been putting calcium buffer(evs b-ionic) "ions"(auquavitro) and "vibrance"(auquavitro) as directed on bottle.
here are some pics so youi can see what things look like.any tips would be appreciated thank you

[cynbob]

oops here are more pics

[sponger0]

First off, need to know exactly which LED light you have. Marineland makes LEDs just to light a tank and some that are for reefs.

Secondly, never dose unless you test. You could overdose and cause a whirlstorm of problems.

So next question, gonna need to know mag, alk and calc levels

[cynbob]

i will go to town later and get testers for those,and i will look at the specs on the light and post back asap
i was told the light i bought was ok for reef but being new to this i really had no idea how important lighting was i have looked on there website for specs but dont really know which one i have and the dam thing has no markings or model #

[BigCountry74]

seeing some skeleton on a few of your corals. so I think that's water versus lights. nothing that cannot be saved though, looking at your pics. so thats good

u might need some more light for sure bob. you could buy a 36" (or 24" not sure how wide your tank is) dual T5HO fixture and run 2 whites on top of the marineland LED fuxture you have. Both fixtures should fit on top of the tank. might be an inexpensive patch for now.

[TjwBlake]

There is also the question of flow. While I completely agree with what the others said, you would also want to look at the flow. That frogspawn is out in the open so there may be too much flow on him.

I have one in my tank and it was getting fairly high flow and not really opening up all the way, i moved it just slightyl behind cover just so his tentacles gently wave and since then it has never looked happier, everything is extended and thick and full.

Just as a thaught

[cynbob]

ok found calcium test and alkaline but local petco didnt have mag..so the calcium is around 400 and alk is off the chart its blue and the closest color on chart is like a forest green..

i will be getting a better light friday and moving frogspawn to different location

thank you

[BigCountry74]

do a water change to lower the alk

[sponger0]

Well with that reading, that doesnt give alot of us a real number to use to say where your alk is at. What kind of test kit was it for the alk?

[cynbob]

the tester was a strip i found at petco.i will get a better tester tomorrow the color wasnt even on the chart so i cant even get a number.i will also get some water..in the mean time i moved them all again and im thinking of getting better lights tomorow also..i will keep you updated..thanks for the help

[cynbob]

ok i bought "red sea" alkalinity pro and magnesium pro testers..the alkalinity was off the charts still so i did a 10gl change..my levels are now alc.5.0/14.0,mg 1200,cl 520 amonia 0,nitrite 0,ph 8.3. i moved things around again so i will see what happens..do my levels sound ok?..the aquarium guys said my light should be ok for my tank..they had a similar set up and there tank is thriving ..im hoping its just my levels were out of wack..any suggestions would be much appreciated..thank you!

[sponger0]

Originally Posted by cynbob

ok i bought "red sea" alkalinity pro and magnesium pro testers..the alkalinity was off the charts still so i did a 10gl change..my levels are now alc.5.0/14.0,mg 1200,cl 520 amonia 0,nitrite 0,ph 8.3. i moved things around again so i will see what happens..do my levels sound ok?..the aquarium guys said my light should be ok for my tank..they had a similar set up and there tank is thriving ..im hoping its just my levels were out of wack..any suggestions would be much appreciated..thank you!

Your alk is a little high...you wanna bring that down slowly. And your mag should be around 1350. And calcium is high. Calcium should be around 440-480

[cynbob]

Originally Posted by sponger0

Your alk is a little high...you wanna bring that down slowly. And your mag should be around 1350. And calcium is high. Calcium should be around 440-480

Any tips on fixing these?

[Paul B]

just another newbie

You are not "just" another noob. This hobby depends on Noobs and you are a valuable member of it. You have a very new tank and these "problems" you are experiencing are normal. The tank was to new for corals and I feel you are a little too new for corals being you got them before you learned enough but it will all come. These guys will give you advice and everyone means well. The problem you will find is that everyone will give you advice so listen to their advice and if possable look at their tanks and how long they have been in the hobby then decide who you want to listen to.
Good luck. It will all work out.

[cynbob]

ok today everything looks so much better,i think im on the right track,im going to test levels again i had a couple gallons of water left over so i put that in last night hoping that will bring down the alc and cal.

[cynbob]

i first want to thank everyone for your help!!! my tank is looking WAY better now that i have a better understanding of water chemistry..i have been doing alot of reading on this and think im on the right track.
im not sure where to post my next question so i figure i will post here..everything in my tank is now thriving and i have since purchased a few more coral and rock,but my toadstool is still not as happy as i have seen him.i have tried multple placement for him with no luck.iwas told he should be low in the tank,should i try placing him up toward the light more? i havent tried high yeti was afraid of placing him too close to the light

[TjwBlake]

Move it slowly, an inch or 2 at a time that will give it time to adjust to the higher light and give you a chance to see how it reacts to the lighting change.

[Reeferz412]

Halt on the purchasing of corals for a bit. Patience is the game here. Get your parameters to the right levels and go on from there.

Ditch the marineland light. Even if it is reef capable, judging by the amount of coral you have already purchased, you will want to branch out and purchase more light demanding corals (only natural). Get yourself a nice T5 set up or a more power LED fixture.

[cynbob]

i will look into the light,thanks i have heard that a few times,so im guessing theere is a good reason.its looking way better today i moved him again last night just to another spot in the tank not up yet.he has opened up but no polups yet.im going to leave him there for a few days.everything else is just beautiful right now..i love it
the lfs guy suggested i use this stuff called "Fuel" made by aquavitro said once i get levels in order this stuff will make a big difference.is this a good idea?? seems like its working,just since friday things are flourishing like i have never seen(in my tank anyway)but i just want some of your guesses advice since you have already made a huge difference and helped me gain knowledge i need to succeed