[N9CQB]

Have a 90 g reef for 1 1/2 yrs. Keep having trouble w corals closing up & eventually dying off. Some are SPS, softies. A couple of mushrooms have turned white but shrooms do well compared to others. Do H2O changes 10 gal ea 2 wks. Still have green film on glass that I have to scrape ea 2 days.
Lighting is 520 w PC
TEmp is 82
pH is 7.8 in am, 8.2 or 8.3 in pm
Ca is 410- 420
DKh is 6-7
Nitrate, Nitrite, Am, Phos are all zero
Mg is 1300
Filter is wet dry sump w Pro Clear Skimmer
Coil denitrator, UV Sterilizer

CAN ANYONE HELP?? I'm wasting a lot of money here

[ianizaguirre]

lower temp to 79 and what about yout water flow ?

[Hosser]

How long do you run your lights.... exactly what kind of lights do you have

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by N9CQB

Have a 90 g reef for 1 1/2 yrs. Keep having trouble w corals closing up & eventually dying off. Some are SPS, softies. A couple of mushrooms have turned white but shrooms do well compared to others. Do H2O changes 10 gal ea 2 wks. Still have green film on glass that I have to scrape ea 2 days.
Lighting is 520 w PC
TEmp is 82
pH is 7.8 in am, 8.2 or 8.3 in pm
Ca is 410- 420
DKh is 6-7
Nitrate, Nitrite, Am, Phos are all zero
Mg is 1300
Filter is wet dry sump w Pro Clear Skimmer
Coil denitrator, UV Sterilizer

CAN ANYONE HELP?? I'm wasting a lot of money here

Hey Doug! Good to see you here at RB!

Thanks for posting water params and your tank set up.

Of course you know your Alk is a little low and with that being said your params are a little out of balance. This always accounts for Ph swings that are too far apart. 7.8 in the am and 8.3 or more in the pm are the limits you can have especially for SPS. SPS will RTN on you with those ph swings especially the more sensitive ones. Softies and LPS should still be OK but like I said you are at the limit for ph swings IMO. Maybe try a refugium with a reverse light cycle, maintain Ca, keep your Mg at 1300-1400, raise alk to 10-11 and you will see your PH be very steady after that.

Check SG to be sure. Check pumps for short circuits with a voltmeter. Stray voltage in the water can show up anywhere from dying fish to whacked out corals to getting shocked ourselves.

Double check the nitrates with another test kit or at a LFS.

Bulbs could be old and need to be changed. This could lead to the green on your glass or too long a photoperiod.

Clean the UV and could try running some carbon thru a reactor. With various species of corals in there you could be experienceing some chemical warfare between them. The Carbon will help this.

The green on your glass...does it come off with a magnet type scraper or a metal blade type scraper. Is it hard and does it form in very tiny dots on your glass?

Hope something here helps. Would also like to know what you have for substrate, LR and fish.

Keep us informed!

[N9CQB]

Thanks Jim, Ian & Justin
I've lowered temp as much as I can w fans. Will try to move lights a few in higher.
Flow is Rio 3200 return pump at 900 gph, 3 Maxi Jet heads @ 160 gph
Lights are newly replaced 520 w PC (half 10K & half actinic). 260w come on at 9am, rest on at 10am. They go off same way at 8pm & 9pm.
I'll try to keep to Alk up. Use the 2 part Kent system. Seems that it is harder to keep up than Ca. Sg is 1.023
How do you check for shorts in the pump? At the plug??
I have those carbon,poly pads in the filter. Is that enough carbon?
The UV is new-1 wk old
The green on the glass is a very thin "film" and comes off w mag scraper. It's not hard at all. It accumulates quickly on the walls of overflow where water falls.
HAve apprx 50# LR , 2-3" aragonite live sand for substrate
Fish: Cream Angel, Blue Chin Trigger, Algae Blenny, 5 Yellow Tail Damsel, 2 Chromis, Cleaner Shrimp, Choc Chip Star, Serpent Star, 2 Sand Sifting Star, many snails, crabs

[jimw369]

Is it possible some of the tank inhabitants could be munching on any of these corals causing some stress?

Id cut back an hour or 2 on the light cycle unless you have SPS in there just to see if the green film gets less or goes away.

Carbon pads in the filter? Cannister filter, HOB Filter or in the sump? In a reactor is best if you can.

UV might help with the green on the glass. What size? One of those things that works best if oversized x2 from what they recommend. Some people dont like UV. Another topic for later.

50# more LR will help also. Sounds like a FOWLR you want to turn into a reef tank.

[N9CQB]

I've seen a few small hermit crabs crawling on some corals, but not actually eating them. The frogspawn was beautiful 2 weeks ago. Now the polyps are gone & the white shell is all that is left. I have a hard tube like thing that emits a stringy white stuff whenever the tank is cleaned or disturbed. Is that a tube worm? Should I remove it?
The filter pad is Foster & Smith PhosPure pads. Has carbon, ammonia & phos remover. Goes in the wet dry as a prefilter.
I don't have a reactor, just the protein skimmer.
I must be wrong on the LR. about 1/3 of the 90 gal tank is LR
One question about my overflow box...
The water cascades about 2/3 of the way down before the intake takes it to the sump. The green film thrives on the inside of the overflow box. Should the water line (and thus the intake pipe) be closer to the top so the overflow box is almost full of water?
Oh, UV is 25 w Gamma rated for 125 g, w 300 gph pump

[ianizaguirre]

if the white stringy substance is coming from a coral or mushroom then that means its stressed and those are its inside but when its not stressed it will bring them back inside itself BUT if its on a rock or something its usually just a harmless spaghetti worm .... have you spryed any chemicals around the tank that could of entered the water ?? try doing a 15 percent water change that should work...

[Adam J]

Originally Posted by ianizaguirre

if the white stringy substance is coming from a coral or mushroom then that means its stressed and those are its inside but when its not stressed it will bring them back inside itself BUT if its on a rock or something its usually just a harmless spaghetti worm .... have you spryed any chemicals around the tank that could of entered the water ?? try doing a 15 percent water change that should work...

Where did you get this info from?

[ianizaguirre]

iv read plus i have experence

[Adam J]

Where did you read?What book,mag.,..ect

[ianizaguirre]

not a specific book or website that was a long time ago this is just stuff iv remembered as time goes by

[N9CQB]

It must be a spaghetti worm or tube worm cause its on LR. I've seem the mushies expell their insides before. This thing is more web like stuff.
Anyone know about the overflow question?

[Jason L]

cut back on lighting and try and raise your salt to 1026 mag 1400
good luck

[dinor2]

How is your iodine level? I finally got my test kit and found my iodine was WAY low and that was the reason my corals were not as happy as they once were. Perked right up after I got that iodine up to a good level. Just something I've found as I go along.

[N9CQB]

Never have tested for Iodine but will get a test kit & see.
I have tried to increase the Alk & Ca in a balanced fashion, but the Alk seems harder to get up above 7 dKh. Ca is 410-420

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by ianizaguirre

not a specific book or website that was a long time ago this is just stuff iv remembered as time goes by

Welcome to the world of giving advice Ian! If you are going to give advice you gotta be ready to post your sources. Start making your own library as you read and when some one asks where you got the info it will be right at your finger tips.

Experience is all Relative. To some 3 mos is good exp. to others 3 years is good exp. People dont like it when I say "proof is in the pudding...show me your tank". That is one good way you can tell some ones experience level.

I think it is good for many of us to get our albums going here at RB. Lets people know where we are at in the hobby and lets each of us enjoy some one elses tank. Instead of posting pics in the threads of everything you buy start your albums and just let members know you are adding to it.

Sorry...got off topic....

[pyromaniac398]

Good idea there jim ... I wouldn't mind seeing a new Forum topic like reef chronicles....some other Reef sites I'm on have them. Gives everyone a place to have a thread completely outlining their tank, how it grows, place to add pictures, etc.

[pyromaniac398]

Sorry for going off topic on your thread... lol

[N9CQB]

That's OK, I've been busy with work & stuff at home so haven't had time to check back
UPDATE.....
My Iodine level was almost zero !!
I added Kent Essential Element supplement & corals seem a little better.
I did end up losing one of the SPS & my year old stylophora(sp?)
The Alk is up to 8 dKH & Ca is 420
Temp is still at 84 F & I can't get it down lower. Have 2 fans in the canopy & the PC lighting is about 5" above the aquarium.
Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia are all zero.
The green film on the glass and overflow is both small hard green dots + the film.
I realize there is some film in reef tanks but cleaning film off glass every 2 days is too often (I think)

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by N9CQB

That's OK, I've been busy with work & stuff at home so haven't had time to check back
UPDATE.....
My Iodine level was almost zero !!
I added Kent Essential Element supplement & corals seem a little better.
I did end up losing one of the SPS & my year old stylophora(sp?)
The Alk is up to 8 dKH & Ca is 420
Temp is still at 84 F & I can't get it down lower. Have 2 fans in the canopy & the PC lighting is about 5" above the aquarium.
Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia are all zero.
The green film on the glass and overflow is both small hard green dots + the film.
I realize there is some film in reef tanks but cleaning film off glass every 2 days is too often (I think)

Like Jason said...cut back on your photoperiod and try some new bulbs if they are over a year old. Get a new thermometer just to be sure as 84 degrees is on the high end. PC lighting and 2 fans tells me your heater is broken or you have return pumps and Power heads creating too much heat. Maxi-jets are terrible for putting out heat if that is what you have.

[dinor2]

What Jim and Jason makes sense! I had 2 1200 mjs and after taking both out and replaceing with koralias, my temp dropped 3 or 4 degrees! The 900's aren't so bad at adding heat but the 1200's add lots.

This hobby seems to be very much learn as you go! I love it!

[pyromaniac398]

how old are the bulbs? As a bulb ages the spectrum of light shifts which usually leads to an increase in algae growth or a diatom bloom. If you are using PC bulbs they are usually replaced every year or so.

[N9CQB]

Dana you are right on...all trial & error & learn as you go. I love researching things & learning new stuff, so guess this is why I like reef keeping.
I have 3 maxi jet 600 power heads used as a wavemaker w timer. they go off and on ea few minutes. The return is not a MJ. I'm uplugging the heater to see if temp drops. If not I'll remove 1 of the MJ 600's & see what happens.
Cutting the photo period 1 hr in am & 1 hr in pm also.
Since the Alk is up to 8 dKH I'm seeing very tiny green dots on the glass.
Is this coraline algae & should I remove it ??

Oh, yes, the bulbs are only a few months old

[N9CQB]

cut lights by 2 hrs, 1 in am & 1 pm
cut out 1 of the MJ PH's for temp
The film is a little better but not much.
Temp is still 84