Coral problem! HELP!!!

[shelley]

Yeah, that fuge stuff scares me! LOL! I so don't understand fuge, sump, etc!
Ok...I will try to get my nitrates down to 0. I honestly think it's the test kit as again, they have never been below 20 since I set the tank up. Shouldn't they have at least gone below 20 at some point?
One more thing I'm wondering if this may be contributing to my nitrate prob...I have a shallow sand bed...2.5 inches at the deepest point. In the front and sides of glass, I can see junk under the sand. I only have 2 large turbo snails (the size of a golf ball), 2 scarlet crabs, 2 zebra crabs, one emerald crab, cleaner shrimp and sally lightfoot along with 2-3 small ?? snails. Do you think this is enough.
Another thing (sorry for rambling)...my darned skimmer isn't working right..need to go check on that.

 

[sign guy]

Originally Posted by Shelley
Yeah, that fuge stuff scares me! LOL! I so don't understand fuge, sump, etc! never some time this week I will siplify it for youOk...I will try to get my nitrates down to 0. I honestly think it's the test kit as again, they have never been below 20 since I set the tank up. Shouldn't they have at least gone below 20 at some point?
yeah they should have droped at one point
One more thing I'm wondering if this may be contributing to my nitrate prob...I have a shallow sand bed...2.5 inches at the deepest point. In the front and sides of glass, I can see junk under the sand. I only have 2 large turbo snails (the size of a golf ball), 2 scarlet crabs, 2 zebra crabs, one emerald crab, cleaner shrimp and sally lightfoot along with 2-3 small ?? snails. Do you think this is enough. What kind of fish do you have? I know you told me sorry i forget alot the sb is fine we all have that algee in the sbAnother thing (sorry for rambling)...my darned skimmer isn't working right..need to go check on that.
imo
you need in this order
sailfert test kits
sump/fuge
coral
lights

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by Shelley
Yeah, that fuge stuff scares me! LOL! I so don't understand fuge, sump, etc!
Ok...I will try to get my nitrates down to 0. I honestly think it's the test kit as again, they have never been below 20 since I set the tank up. Shouldn't they have at least gone below 20 at some point?
One more thing I'm wondering if this may be contributing to my nitrate prob...I have a shallow sand bed...2.5 inches at the deepest point. In the front and sides of glass, I can see junk under the sand. I only have 2 large turbo snails (the size of a golf ball), 2 scarlet crabs, 2 zebra crabs, one emerald crab, cleaner shrimp and sally lightfoot along with 2-3 small ?? snails. Do you think this is enough.
Another thing (sorry for rambling)...my darned skimmer isn't working right..need to go check on that.
Sump & Fuge isn't all that bad. Inorder to really lower nitrate, you need to do 20-25% water change every other day to lower nitrate until it reaches proper level. Then keep up with your weekly water changes to keep it stable. Having a fuge with deep sand bed and macro algae will help to keep your nitrates at bay. About your lighting, you need to change those bulbs if they're over a year old, check with your LFS on the proper bulbs needed. Either that or invest in a higher wattage lighting kit. IMO, for what your trying to keep, the lighting kit you have is just fine for your size tank. You should get that skimmer working properly, it will help with nitrate reduction as well. Good Luck! :happyfish

 

[murph]

Do you have a refractometer for checking SG. My hydrometer was +.005 and I ran my reef at 1.030 for months before checking my SG with an LFS that had a refractometer.
If your using a hydrometer and it is -.005 your SG is to low for the corals and your problem is found.
At the vary least try to find an LFS in the area with a refractometer to double check your SG. Reasonably priced refractometers can be found over at the doctors site.

 

[shelley]

The fish I have in my 30 gallon are as follows:
Diamond Goby (3-4")
Royal Gramma (2")
False Clown (2")
PJ Cardinal (1.5")

 

[sign guy]

your clean up crew is fine for those fish

 

[sign guy]

Originally Posted by Murph
Do you have a refractometer for checking SG. My hydrometer was +.005 and I ran my reef at 1.030 for months before checking my SG with an LFS that had a refractometer.
If your using a hydrometer and it is -.005 your SG is to low for the corals and your problem is found.
At the vary least try to find an LFS in the area with a refractometer to double check your SG. Reasonably priced refractometers can be found over at the doctors site.
in all politness

could we not sugest other sites on here I just think swf.com has helped us greatly with this board in knowing that most of us on here will never buy from them. I really dont want to be rude, just asking

 

[teresaq]

Hi Shelley. I have been reading this thread, and i think your light fixture is fine, you just need new bulbs. you can order them on line you just need to look at them and see if they are straight pin or square pin. give me an e-mail and I'll try to help you out. m0m24 at earthlink dot net

 

[shelley]

Hi, and thanks to all! Teresa, watch for an email from me as I would like to email you! Ok, you guys are probably going to fuss at me, but I have a confession. After doing much thinking about this early this a.m., I decided to take a water sample to a different LFS that I have used before. I actually know a guy who works there who I trust very much. Well, my params were fine and salinity was 1.022. My nitrates were not 20 but rather, 10. I looked in my records as I keep all my readings everytime I do them. When I had the other anemone, my nitrates were running 20 ppm according to my kit. I know it's not 0, but again, they said all looked fine to add a couple of things. I bought an anemone (I forgot the kind...he's white with purple tips and his mouth is yellow/green) and some more live rock and a small frag of candy cane coral. I honestly think something ate my yellow polyps or either they died from lack of food as I feed my fish marine pellets. Both ate and are looking great. The anemone moved and attached to the underneath of a rock, so he's upside down! I cannot remember as it's been awhile since I had one, but do they like a strong current? I had to turn everything off to feed him. I'm going to do another water change in a week in hopes of further lowering the nitrates. They said my lighting was fine for what I'm trying to do, but I think I will invest in new bulbs (Coralife). I looked back and realized that these bulbs aren't the ones that came with the ballast and are only 4 months old so I guess I'll wait a couple of months for the lights. Honestly, I don't want to do the sump thing. Do I really need to? That means I would have to break my entire tank down and get another stand for it is it is on a piece of marble topped furniture. I don't want you guys to think I'm usually this bull headed, and maybe I made a big mistake, but I just had a strong feeling about this. Ok, ok...I'll take a lashing if I need it!

 

[sign guy]

thats alot of atuff to add to a tank that sounds unstable. is the lr cured if noy you may see a huge spike

 

[shelley]

Oh, yes....forgot to put that. Live rock is cured. All I added in addition to that is the anemone and the little candy cane.

 

[mikeyjer]

I never did feed my zoanthids so that's not the issue. It has to do with either your lights, zoo eater or water issue. :happyfish

 

[shelley]

Ok, I have a dumb question. Are zoanthids and yellow polyps the same thing? Also, why would my Xenias have done wonderful and the polyps died? I also found my mushroom frag that was put into the tank at the same time and it is looking great. Maybe I'm being hardheaded, but wouldn't it make sense that the other corals would have not thrived if it were my water? Thanks!

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by Shelley
Ok, I have a dumb question. Are zoanthids and yellow polyps the same thing? Also, why would my Xenias have done wonderful and the polyps died? I also found my mushroom frag that was put into the tank at the same time and it is looking great. Maybe I'm being hardheaded, but wouldn't it make sense that the other corals would have not thrived if it were my water? Thanks!
Different corals thrive under different condition. It just all depends....Plus Xenia and Mushrooms don't require much lighting unlike Yellow Polyps. Flow requirements are different as well!!! :happyfish

 

[shelley]

oic......thanks for the info!