Reef nutrition

Tank parameters help request

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Fire_Reefer

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Hello all,

Curious if anyone had any ideas about some tank chemistry questions I have.

I have been battling a lot of cyano over the last year. Really bummed me out to the point where I stopped caring as much about the tank. I spent about 6-8 months in that mindset, but I'm back to beat it now. Anyone see any reason why the cyano would have such a hold over my tank given the numbers below/ICP test?

20240807_114455.jpg
20240807_114541.jpg
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Also I don't get great polyp extension from my toadstools or my duncan right now. Does anyone see anything that might lead to that issue? Having issues with the "easier" corals has also held me back from adding to the tank and trying new corals.

And finally is it strange that my home test numbers and my ICP are pretty far off on my salinity and my phosphate? I have calibrated my Hannah salinity probe with their 35ppt solution pretty frequently. Should the Hannah not be trusted? And I've never tested under .1 on my phosphate. Before I sent in this ICP I was testing at .43

I test at home with Hannah Salinity, Alkalinity, Nitrate, Phosphate & Calcium testers. Magnesium with Salifert. I haven't started dosing anything because I only have softies and nems in the tank. All chemistry changes come from my water changes. Home RODI of 0tds and Coral Pro Salt

My most recent tested parameters:

Temp 76.7
Salinity 34.9
dKh 8.0-8.2
No3 5.2
Po4 0.11
Calcium 568
Magnesium 1480

Here are my ICP results:
ATI ICP results

TLDR on the ICP:
Salinity - 36.9 - Above normal
Sulphur - Critically High
Potassium - Critically High
Calcium - Above Normal
Magnesium - Above Normal
Iodine - Critically Low
Zinc - Critically Low
Iron - Below Normal
Manganese - Below Normal


Anyone know why Sulphur and Potassium would be critically high?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:
Coral pro salt generally has boosted parameters and is often used as a "no dose" solution for systems. I'm guessing they supply their magnesium via MgSO4 hence your high sulfate. Potassium probably boosted as well.

You could try a more natural sea level calibrated salt like Tropic Marin Pro, or the Red Sea "Blue bucket" which has more normal levels.

For your testing of salinity, it might help to get another method of testing e.g. this: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/hydrometer-tropic-marin/
Sometimes the Hanna probes have issues (it's also good to test that water in a container outside of the tank as stray voltage or water movement can mess up readings). I'm guessing your salinity in reality is pretty high actually, something else that can cause boosted parameters.
 
You should really get your salinity in check. I do despise the hydrometer but it is peerless in terms of cost and accuracy. They next best thing which comes close is far more expensive.

The salt is terrible. Adding 12dkh results in massive precipitation unless your tank is full of acros which absorb this immediately. Maybe that's why they call it pro.

But to answer your question. This is what Fauna Marin states causes cyanos which they were able to confirm with their data from all the ICPs they did and the questions they ask when submitting the water tests:

IMG_1520.jpeg


There is some rare agreement amongst us here that the following test kits are most reliable:

Alkalinity / Nitrate / Phosphate - Hanna
CA / Mg - Salifert
 
Alexander1312 said:
One more thing - for cyano, my theory is that lack of strong flow is a major contributor. Increasing flow significantly can get rid of cyano rather quickly in my opinion.

However, in your case, getting iodine in a good range should help a lot.
Click to expand...
Yeah I started getting major cyano in my sand bed of my display when I had it running without the MP pumps because I didn’t have coral yet. I did some manual removal and turned the pumps on and it didn’t come back
 
Darkxerox said:
Coral pro salt generally has boosted parameters and is often used as a "no dose" solution for systems. I'm guessing they supply their magnesium via MgSO4 hence your high sulfate. Potassium probably boosted as well.

You could try a more natural sea level calibrated salt like Tropic Marin Pro, or the Red Sea "Blue bucket" which has more normal levels.

For your testing of salinity, it might help to get another method of testing e.g. this: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/hydrometer-tropic-marin/
Sometimes the Hanna probes have issues (it's also good to test that water in a container outside of the tank as stray voltage or water movement can mess up readings). I'm guessing your salinity in reality is pretty high actually, something else that can cause boosted parameters.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback. I switched salts, going with reef crystals for now. 30g water change this week.

I will take a sample and test salinity to see if the reading changes. I will look into getting a hydrometer like you suggested.
 
Alexander1312 said:
You should really get your salinity in check. I do despise the hydrometer but it is peerless in terms of cost and accuracy. They next best thing which comes close is far more expensive.

The salt is terrible. Adding 12dkh results in massive precipitation unless your tank is full of acros which absorb this immediately. Maybe that's why they call it pro.

But to answer your question. This is what Fauna Marin states causes cyanos which they were able to confirm with their data from all the ICPs they did and the questions they ask when submitting the water tests:

View attachment 72238


There is some rare agreement amongst us here that the following test kits are most reliable:

Alkalinity / Nitrate / Phosphate - Hanna
CA / Mg - Salifert
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm not going to use the pro salt anymore. And I will work on getting the correct readings for my salinity.

Also thanks for finding that info from fauna Marin about the cyano. I haven't seen anything that specific with regards to trace elements. All videos and articles focus on nitrates/phosphates and flow. That actually makes a lot of sense for my tank. For a long time my ratio has been 10:1 no3 to po4 rather than 100:1. And my lack of iodine was unknown until my ICP.

With regards to flow, I think I'm doing OK. I have 2 - gyre 350s and 2 - octopulse 4s. I have parts of my rock with cyano right next to a nem that is getting very turbulent flow.
 
Fire_Reefer said:
Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback. I switched salts, going with reef crystals for now. 30g water change this week.

I will take a sample and test salinity to see if the reading changes. I will look into getting a hydrometer like you suggested.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind Reef Crystals also has elevated parameters. I agree though, get your salinity in check first. Tropic Marin hydrometer and a 500ml graduated cylinder to check salinity. Fill the graduated cylinder up to 450ml and put in the hydrometer, and spin it a couple times back and forth so there are no bubbles on it.
Fire_Reefer said:
Thanks! I'm not going to use the pro salt anymore. And I will work on getting the correct readings for my salinity.

Also thanks for finding that info from fauna Marin about the cyano. I haven't seen anything that specific with regards to trace elements. All videos and articles focus on nitrates/phosphates and flow. That actually makes a lot of sense for my tank. For a long time my ratio has been 10:1 no3 to po4 rather than 100:1. And my lack of iodine was unknown until my ICP.

With regards to flow, I think I'm doing OK. I have 2 - gyre 350s and 2 - octopulse 4s. I have parts of my rock with cyano right next to a nem that is getting very turbulent flow.
Click to expand...
If flow is good, you can also try dosing coral snow with bacteria. You need something to outcompete the cyano. It may or not work, but I'd say it's relatively low risk to try:
www.reef2reef.com

Extreme Water Clarity and Cyano Eradication, Made Easy!

Edit 10/092023: Note that I have tweaked the formula a bit. You can find an updated video here: Coral Snow Link: Coral Snow Hello all! I have been reefing now for about 25 years, and over those many years I have picked up many tips, tricks, and best habits/practices. From a hobbyist and...
www.reef2reef.com www.reef2reef.com
 
dangalang said:
Keep in mind Reef Crystals also has elevated parameters.
Click to expand...

Well... That was a fail on my part. I had been listening to a bunch of podcasts that said reef crystals was cheaper and works well. I assumed because it was cheaper and everyone was using it successfully that it didn't have crazy high numbers.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
 
Fire_Reefer said:
Well... That was a fail on my part. I had been listening to a bunch of podcasts that said reef crystals was cheaper and works well. I assumed because it was cheaper and everyone was using it successfully that it didn't have crazy high numbers.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
Click to expand...
I've used reef crystals with no issues. Though I do notice some batches mix dirtier than others. Meaning crude at bottom of buckets. Some bags from the same box has crude others mix cleaner. So there seem to be some inconsistencies between the different bags. I have the 200gallon boxes they come with 4 50gallon bags to be more clear on what I'm talking about.

Also I'm not saying reef crystals is better than any other salt only that I've used it without issues.
 
Fyi the Tropic Marin hydrometer is calibrated to 77*F/ 25*C
You will get an inaccurate reading if the temperature your testing is any other..
Tropic Marin has temperature conversion charts to give you the most accurate readings but their are calculators other reefers have designed to make it more easier..

Tropic Marin Precision Hydrometer Correction Calculator | BeanAnimal's Reef

Use this simple calculator to temperature correct your Tropic Marin Precision Floating Hydrometer readings and never guess about your aquarium salinity again!
beananimal.com
 
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