coral regrowth

[reefsurfer1]

I have an 85 gal tank with a 30 gal sump.2 t5 dual ballists. And my water tests consistently at 0 ppm nitrites and ammonia. My ph is usually 8.0 and my migrated are around 20 ppm. I had an open brain coral and a closed brain coral at the bottom for about 6 months. Almost half of them has died away. I recently moved them up and the die off has stopped. How do I get them to grow again? I feed them mysis shrimp every 4 days or so and use 5 ml of reef snow every other day. I just tested calcium yesterday and it was 340. I would really like to get these guys healthy.

[Mad Mead]

you want your PH much higher then that. like 8.2 to 8.4 for reef tanks and coral also your Ca need to stay in the 400 to 520 for coral growth. these both make big diffs. your temp and lights all i find differs to coral type and tank size. I would look more in to how your levels should run with what life you already have in your tank some thing don't like high ph or ca. so know whats in your tank first!!! good luck

[reeferbill]

Hello Reefsurfer1 ; I would order online a 2-part Cacium and Alkalinity Supplement such as ESV B-Ionic, Bulk Reef Supply 2-part System, Two Little Fishes or Kents A+B 2-Part or even Brightwell aquatics. Start with these but you also have to test to see how much calcium and buffer your system uses on a daily bases by testing daily for a week or 2. Get a reading of how much calcium it will take to keep your levels around 450ppm and ph at 8.2-8.4 and alkalinity from 8-12 drops for color change on test. When you get good at controlling these parameters you will have to add Iodine , Magnesium , and some . Essential Elements because magnesium can effect the calcium concentration and the Iodine and elements get used up and skimmed away. The amounts you use will change as your reef grows it will use and need more calcium and magnesium depending on the growth rates. Good Luck and Happy Reefing!!! Keep us posted. P.S. I use whatever supplements are on sale or you can also start using Instant Oceans Reef Crystals because they have extra calcium and buffer added and that may be enough for you to get started so you can buy all the test kits and additional supplements you will need. I love this Hobby but nobody told me I had to be a Chemist and Marine Biologist.

[reefsurfer1]

Thanks for your help guys! You are right I will have to test and add, as for knowing my coral, I always ask the name when Im buying it but forget by the time I get home. I need to right them down.

[Mad Mead]

That's the best way to keep on top of your tank. To have journal to keep a record of your fish. (exp when you get them. what there habits are.) that also helps you see sign things going bad before its unmanageable. keep asking Q&A and reading you'll do great. Just like in life you have to fail sometimes to learn.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I have an 85 gal tank with a 30 gal sump.2 t5 dual ballists. And my water tests consistently at 0 ppm nitrites and ammonia. My ph is usually 8.0 and my migrated are around 20 ppm. I had an open brain coral and a closed brain coral at the bottom for about 6 months. Almost half of them has died away. I recently moved them up and the die off has stopped. How do I get them to grow again? I feed them mysis shrimp every 4 days or so and use 5 ml of reef snow every other day. I just tested calcium yesterday and it was 340. I would really like to get these guys healthy.

Did you mean your nitrates are 20ppm? If so, you want to try to get it as low as possible. Corals don't do well with higher nitrates. Under 10ppm is okay but aim to get it immeasurable.

[reefsurfer1]

Ha, I did mean nitrates. I did read up on lowering my nitrates. I also didn't use reef snow for a week and when I did my water change I cleaned out some gathering points that stuff tends to build up. I didnt see any change the following week when I tested my water so I think I will have to do a bigger water change tomorrow. I usually change 10% every sunday night, I will do 30% tomorrow. Do you have any other ideas on lowering my nitrates? I feed the fish flake food once a day and leave it in for maybe 5 min. Usually every fourth day I feed the coral and fish mysis shrimp, and every other night I feed my filter feeders 5ml of reef snow. I used to have it near 0ppm until january. Then it went up to 10ppm and on 2-20 it was at 20ppm. The only thing I can think of that makes it that high is the amount I feed or maybe my skimmer isnt working right. I never really have been satisfied with how much it skims. How do I know if it is working correctly? I skim maybe a cup a week and its a greenish color. There is a good slime coat on the walls of it but I always think it should be skimming more. Its a cone skimmer from swc. It is rated for 120 gal for a medium bio load and I dont think I have that heavy of a bio load. 1 clown fish, 1 mandarin dragon, 1 blue hippo tang, 2 mushroom coral, a cocoa worm, 1 open brain, 1 closed brain, and 2 filter feeding coral (I dont know the names). If you could help that would be great!

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

What equipment are you using (filters, bio balls, filter pads etc...)? What source water are you using? Have you changed anything since Jan? How old is the tank? Let's start there...

[reefsurfer1]

Lets see my tank is 9 months old. I have a sump and use live rock and a refugium for a biological filter. I have a little chaeto but i need more. I dont use any bio balls, sponges or filter pads. I use ro water from a water store. Its the same water I have used since I set up my tank. The only thing I can think of is in january I was feeding my tank a lot. I had a sun coral that unfortunately got some sort of algae on it and it died. I also had an anenome that died in january. those are the only things that I have lost and I want to keep it that way. I think I was over feeding my tank with mysis every other night. Then in feb is when I started using reef snow. Other than that I dont know. I just change 20 gal of water and emptied the collection plate on my skimmer. It has a very thick slime coat on the side of it instead of in the collection plate. I wonder if it needs to be submerged more. I have it in 7 inches of water and the company that makes it recommends 6-9 inches I think. Any ideas?

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

You're not using crushed coral are you? If not, you may want to cut back on the reef snow ( although I know nothing about it). Maybe dose once or twice a week and monitor trates? Also, its probably a good idea to test your source water before mixing to see if its contributing to your numbers.

IMO, you should definately pull the skimmer and clean the crap out of it. That might be why its not pulling the junk out like it should. I was told a clean skimmer is a happy skimmer.
I'm no pro, by far. Just tossing some ideas around. HTH.

[reefsurfer1]

I am using a mix of live sand and crushed coral. The sand is about an inch deep and so is the crushed coral. Testing the source water is a great idea! I am going to do that and clean my skimmer tomorrow. Thanks for your help.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Hopefully it's not your crushed coral causing problems. Is the CC on top of the sand?
If you're source water checks out and cleaning your skimmer doesn't help, you might want to suspect the CC is trapping waste much like a filter pad, thus turning into a nitrate factory.

[Matities23]

+1 with cutting down on feeding ( try feeding em once everyother day or smaller portions) <--- talking about flakes.. also with a clean skimmer is a happy skimmer. Test your water for NH4.. could be that theres nome ammonia leaking inside the tank small enough for your bacteria to turn it into NO3 but too much to finish the cycle.. Good luck!

[reefsurfer1]

I just cleaned my skimmer. It was filthy! I didnt realize how bad it was. I tested my nitrates, calcium, and ph today as well and the nitrates were still at 20ppm after my water change yesterday. It does look a little lighter but I dont know if Im just wishful thinking or not. The calcium was 440 on monday and 420 tonight. That is only my 3rd time testing for calcium so I want to get more familiar with it before I mess with the calcium. And my ph was 8.2ish. Its hard for me to tell when its a small difference in shade between the two colors. I will retest my water for everything tomorrow and my water from the water store before I add salt to see if that is a problem. If any one have any more suggestions please let me know.