Reef nutrition

Hi there!

Wow, no coralline for 2 years. Here is our frag tank at day #1 and the same tank at 30 days old.
yyday1.png
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at 30 days old.
 
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Here is the tank - its 2 years old and almost clear - there are couple dots here and there but its pretty much it...
sorry for crappy iphone picture


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New light is AI Hydra 26HD, 11-12 inches above water line. Use AB+ profile - approx 18k, 100% blues 35% red,green and white. Old was Nanobox duo - it's was perfect to growing algae :)
It's easy to zap corals with LEDs especially when you have new lights... your new lights could look dimmer to you and at the same time could be delivering more of something than the corals are used to. Maybe turn the lights down if the corals are bleaching. When I see corals suddenly looking unhappy I look for stuff that might have died (snails, fish...), hungry emerald crabs that could be picking on corals, check the parameters, do a large water change, and add activated carbon, usually in that order.
 
Its interesting how opposite could be opinions on the same subject - one is "you cant grow sps under this light", another - "too much light". However, nothing was happy from the beginning of this tank and change of light just elevated the situation... sounds like its time to nuke it :(


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I saw that you have 100% blue and 30% other colors but what is the overall intensity?

Close up of a dying acro pls? Is the skin flaking off or is it losing color/flesh from the bottom or the tips?


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100 blue I'd drop to maybe 80. I'd use a lot less red too. Maybe like 10. Otherwise lighting seems fine to me.
It's pretty close - I found two recommended profiles - one is AB+ with lot less white but little bit more red/green - 25-35% and 80-90% blues, and another one from D Saxby - it's more intense in blues/whites - 100%/60% and little less in red/green - 15/10%. Not sure which one is better since both used by lot of folks.



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I told you where I would set it. Always best to start lower w leds and ramp up SLOWLY if you want more light. Trust me, I run a few tanks w those lights. 80 blues with 40 white and 10 red will be plenty of light.
Anyone that says you can't grow sps with that light is either clueless or full of sh*t. I would be hesitant to listen to them about anything else.
 
Ah you are running Dan's reef light profile? Below is my profile.

I started out at 40% max, when I changed to 60% max all the coraline that was on the top side of my rock bleached out and died.

Also when I started my 525xl, I ran with one single 26HD to cover more than 3' of tank space.

So when in doubt, turn it down.


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It's pretty close - I found two recommended profiles - one is AB+ with lot less white but little bit more red/green - 25-35% and 80-90% blues, and another one from D Saxby - it's more intense in blues/whites - 100%/60% and little less in red/green - 15/10%. Not sure which one is better since both used by lot of folks.



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What's with the dips?

I used the kelvin setting and adjusted intensity instead. I found it to be easier and less confusing.


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I saw that you have 100% blue and 30% other colors but what is the overall intensity?

Close up of a dying acro pls? Is the skin flaking off or is it losing color/flesh from the bottom or the tips?


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Acros aren't experiencing skin flaking. On moist of them it's hard to tell whether the die-off started at tips or bottom. I suspect bottom. He is also experiencing patches of dead flesh on monti's and I think I remember that was starting at the base and in some spots in the center. He has a few acros that still have some zoonathellae present and interestingly enough those are mid-tank (ish.) Clearly there is a light issue, but it's not the only issue. There's a host of smaller issues as well and all of them together probably led up to a slow die-off .

Flow was an issue for sure. Regardless of what the rating on the PH is there was little to no movement in the tank. Torches weren't "bending." Also there's clumping in the sand from Detritus not being moved.

I just tested (and re-tested water samples for him and this is what I got:
Sal 1.024
Alk 8.1
Calc 350
Phos .1
Nitrate 30
RODI TDS 15.5

He re-tested his RODI for me and it shows zero for him so that may be an issue with the transport container. Interestingly enough he shows his phosphates at .04-.06. I'll retest that later tonight with a different kit.

So my best guess is it's high nitrates, little flow and a lighting issue. None of these are necessarily "off the charts" but it does explain the slow decline. Of course it also explains why the LPS are doing "better" and the easier SPS still has a little life to it (although the birdsnest is dead.)
 
Acros aren't experiencing skin flaking. On moist of them it's hard to tell whether the die-off started at tips or bottom. I suspect bottom. He is also experiencing patches of dead flesh on monti's and I think I remember that was starting at the base and in some spots in the center. He has a few acros that still have some zoonathellae present and interestingly enough those are mid-tank (ish.) Clearly there is a light issue, but it's not the only issue. There's a host of smaller issues as well and all of them together probably led up to a slow die-off .

Flow was an issue for sure. Regardless of what the rating on the PH is there was little to no movement in the tank. Torches weren't "bending." Also there's clumping in the sand from Detritus not being moved.

I just tested (and re-tested water samples for him and this is what I got:
Sal 1.024
Alk 8.1
Calc 350
Phos .1
Nitrate 30
RODI TDS 15.5

He re-tested his RODI for me and it shows zero for him so that may be an issue with the transport container. Interestingly enough he shows his phosphates at .04-.06. I'll retest that later tonight with a different kit.

So my best guess is it's high nitrates, little flow and a lighting issue. None of these are necessarily "off the charts" but it does explain the slow decline. Of course it also explains why the LPS are doing "better" and the easier SPS still has a little life to it (although the birdsnest is dead.)
Doing massive water changes - tank is small enough to fix it :)


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