okay so a few months ago i upgraded from my 55 to 90 i purchased off craigslist and have nothing but issues since. between the algea and the soft corals are all closed and turning white last tests i did were as follows ph 7.4 alk normal nitrites .1 nitrates 0 kh 6dpk and phosphates .2 did a 10 gallon water change but did not retest yet. so as it stands i have no clue what to do to fix this any help would be great thanks
-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
help corals turning white
- Thread starter jrjackson
- Start date
Your pH is very, very low, it should be a minimum of 8.0. your phosphate is also very high, that should be reading very close to zero. You can address phosphate by running a GFO reactor, and adjusting the amount you feed. You did not mention what your alk is, and the temp that you run the tank at. Alk should be a minimum of 8 dKH, although I like to run mine high at 10 dKH. Alk can be adjusted using baking soda. pH, and Alk should be adjusted slowly, over time to avoid shocking your corals. I don't think a sharp drop in phosphate would be anything but beneficial. Nitate can be taken care of over time with a bio pellet reactor, or a carbon dosing method.
as for cycle the 55 was a transfer and had been running for a year great with no issues all water came fromm 55 and topped off with ro to fill i have a fluval and two hob skimmers a sea clone 100 and cpr back pack alk was 1.7 -2.8 according to the card so it just a water change issue or do i have to do other stuff and are the corals dead or will they come back
This is very important: Are those alk readings in dHK? If so, they are extremely low, and that is probably a large part of the problem.
Soft corals can be pretty resilliant, and should get better as you improve the tank conditions towards optimal. Your algea problems mentioned in you previous post could very well be caused by the phosphate and nitrate levels in the tank too. The important thing to do now is change the parameters slowly.
If those alk levels are in dHK, you target should be about 8-11 dKH, this will also help get your tank to the correct pH, and buffer any pH swings.
Ok, first things first, we need to find out what those units of measure are, before you can fix any problems. Is there somewhere in the test kit that gives an explanation of all the tests, and the units that the results are actually in? Like an instruction packet?
I personally wouldn't trust a test ket that just gives you an answer of low, medium, or high. What I think you should do is go to your LFS, and get either a salifert, or elos alkalinity test kit, or better yet, a hanna alkalinity photometer. My vote is with the hanna meter, mine has been worth every penny. However, there is nothing wrong with the salifert or elos brand test kits. These are higher end testing supplies, but well worth it to ensure long term success with your corals and tank. The more accurate your measurements, the more accurately you can dose and fix parameters.
Here is another question: When was the last time you added anything/ant product at all to dose alkalinity? It is something that is used up, and needs to be replenished from time to time.
Looking around, it appears that those measurements are in millequivalents/Liter. Here is a link for a site to do the conversion (hopefully someone else will chime into verify this accuracy)
http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php
According to that calculator, you'd want to be getting a reading of 3.03 mleq to equal 8.5 dKH, or 151 ppm of alkalinity in the water. If your test kit is indicating the upper end of normal (2.8 mleq), then you alkalinity is still a bit low, and needs to be brought up a bit. However, with a test kit like that, that gives ranges, how can we be sure? That's why I like the titratable tests and photometers the best.
In other words, your target should be to get alkalinity to the low side of the high range of that test kit, depending on its accuracy. even the highest part of the high range (3.6 mleq is only 10.08 dKH), which is right around where I run my alkalinity.
This must be done slowly, but at least can be dosed for very cheap. I use baking soda to dose alkalinity. You are adding NaHCO3, and it is the bicarbonate part of that equation (the HCO3) that is used for alkalinity.
http://www.saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/AlkConv.php
According to that calculator, you'd want to be getting a reading of 3.03 mleq to equal 8.5 dKH, or 151 ppm of alkalinity in the water. If your test kit is indicating the upper end of normal (2.8 mleq), then you alkalinity is still a bit low, and needs to be brought up a bit. However, with a test kit like that, that gives ranges, how can we be sure? That's why I like the titratable tests and photometers the best.
In other words, your target should be to get alkalinity to the low side of the high range of that test kit, depending on its accuracy. even the highest part of the high range (3.6 mleq is only 10.08 dKH), which is right around where I run my alkalinity.
This must be done slowly, but at least can be dosed for very cheap. I use baking soda to dose alkalinity. You are adding NaHCO3, and it is the bicarbonate part of that equation (the HCO3) that is used for alkalinity.
Last edited:
When you say that the water from the 55 was topped off with "all ro", do you mean ro/di which you used to mix saltwater yourself? When you did your water change, we're you using ro or ro/di? When was it?
What salt mix are you using? Did you use live rock (cycled) and live sand for this tank?
What is your SG?
Did you test for copper? (if you don't have this test kit, add it to the list to purchase- I suggest salifert for the Cu test kit)
What kind of light fixture are you using?
When was the last time you cleaned your canister filter?
What salt mix are you using? Did you use live rock (cycled) and live sand for this tank?
What is your SG?
Did you test for copper? (if you don't have this test kit, add it to the list to purchase- I suggest salifert for the Cu test kit)
What kind of light fixture are you using?
When was the last time you cleaned your canister filter?
The skimmers are under-powered for that size tank. You can tread water for only so long before having to break the bank and get either a new skimmer, or find a better way to export nutrients.
Exporting nutrients means bigger water changes, or increased frequency on water changes. In addition you could have macro-algae, like chaetomorphia or if you are interested in alternative methods - you could try a turf scrubber and let us know how that goes. I'm a skimmer fan myself.
The fluval is also going to be problematic. Unless you are changing the filter pads in it frequently, all that is happening is that gunk is building up in there, the biomedia is working overtime to convert it into nitrate - and given your readings of nitrite - it appears it is not capable of keeping up. A cannister filter can help by using media like carbon and maybe a GFO bag in there to help - but you will have to change it out. Do you have a sump on this 90g?
So in conclusion, your corals will NOT just bounce back until you address the long-term ability of the tank's export of nutrients. This means either:
improved skimmer
change to the way the fluval is deployed/cleaning schedule
addition of macroalgae or other nutrient absorbing material.
Biopellets might be in the future but i wouldn't use that technique until you address the other items above.
Exporting nutrients means bigger water changes, or increased frequency on water changes. In addition you could have macro-algae, like chaetomorphia or if you are interested in alternative methods - you could try a turf scrubber and let us know how that goes. I'm a skimmer fan myself.
The fluval is also going to be problematic. Unless you are changing the filter pads in it frequently, all that is happening is that gunk is building up in there, the biomedia is working overtime to convert it into nitrate - and given your readings of nitrite - it appears it is not capable of keeping up. A cannister filter can help by using media like carbon and maybe a GFO bag in there to help - but you will have to change it out. Do you have a sump on this 90g?
So in conclusion, your corals will NOT just bounce back until you address the long-term ability of the tank's export of nutrients. This means either:
improved skimmer
change to the way the fluval is deployed/cleaning schedule
addition of macroalgae or other nutrient absorbing material.
Biopellets might be in the future but i wouldn't use that technique until you address the other items above.
A lot of advice and questions already given so I won't overwhelm you with more just yet. I'll just comment on some things others have said.
I agree with Jonathan that the Alk conversion is showing it to be too low still. As for "just add baking soda" I'd like to give some more info on this...
1. First off, I suggest reading this article on the relationship between alk and pH. Very good info that should help you out.
2. This article will explain two different methods of mixing the baking soda with water to create your additive. I suggest using the "recipe #1" by baking it in an oven first... which will help raise pH a bit too.
It's a pretty simple process and it's about as cheap as you can get in terms of additives for your tank.
Nikki was the first to mention the first thing I thought of with "corals turning white" aka bleaching. The most popular cause for this is corals being too close to or having too strong of lights. Answering this question is important IMO. I also would like to hear the answer about "filling the rest with RO water." I hope you mixed salt in with that.
I'd like to know what you salinity (SG) is as well.
Lastly, I agree with Phil (Hawkeye) that 10g water changes isn't going to do much for a 90g tank. I do 15g every week on my 75g, which only has about 70g total including my sump (after accounting for the LR and sand displacement.) I would say do at least 15g, preferable 20g every water change on your 90g.
I agree with Jonathan that the Alk conversion is showing it to be too low still. As for "just add baking soda" I'd like to give some more info on this...
1. First off, I suggest reading this article on the relationship between alk and pH. Very good info that should help you out.
2. This article will explain two different methods of mixing the baking soda with water to create your additive. I suggest using the "recipe #1" by baking it in an oven first... which will help raise pH a bit too.
It's a pretty simple process and it's about as cheap as you can get in terms of additives for your tank.
Nikki was the first to mention the first thing I thought of with "corals turning white" aka bleaching. The most popular cause for this is corals being too close to or having too strong of lights. Answering this question is important IMO. I also would like to hear the answer about "filling the rest with RO water." I hope you mixed salt in with that.
I'd like to know what you salinity (SG) is as well.Lastly, I agree with Phil (Hawkeye) that 10g water changes isn't going to do much for a 90g tank. I do 15g every week on my 75g, which only has about 70g total including my sump (after accounting for the LR and sand displacement.) I would say do at least 15g, preferable 20g every water change on your 90g.
Last edited:
+1
When my nitrates sky rocketed I ended up doing a 30g water change which dropped the nitrates down quite a lot. Then I continued with smaller WC for short time. Now I also dose vinegar to keep them low. I have a 75g DT with 30g sump. Total water volume is probably 80g.
