MH question

memole

memole

Member
I have a 120 gal (4x2x2) 270 lbs LR/80 lbs LS for corals I have a Xenia colony Elegancy coral,Leather (finger type) my MH are 2-250 watt 10k retros with 2 VHO Super Actinic (48in long) My MH sit about 10 inches from the water surface...is this too close? my live rock is about 3 inches from the top surface, but my corals aren't as opened up from the LFS. the only thing open up is a open brain coral which is sitting on the bottom...water qualitity is good. I do a 10 gallon water change every week. what should I be dosing with??? I use Tech I, Tech M , that stronium, Magisum and Bio calicuim...but I think the MH are too close and I might be burning the corals...is that possible?????? any thoughts would be taken gratefully//// thanks
attached is picture of tank
 
007

007

Active Member
10 inces is not too close.
However to answer your questions re your corals, there are far more questions than answers.
 
007

007

Active Member
could be
how old is the tank
whats in it
what filtration are you running
how long are the lights on
how old are the bulbs
what are your water levels
do you use RO
how often are you dosing
how much are you dosing
the list goes on and on . . .
 
memole

memole

Member
The tank is 5 months old
1 true percula
1 Kole Tang
1 Flame Hawk
1 Copperband Butterfly
1 Bi colored angel
2 cleaner shrimp
1 coral banded shrimp
5 very very large snails
20 astro snails
30 hermit crabs
sand sifting star
corals are already mentioned
Bio 200 wet/dry with Euroreef CS-1 P/S genX PC100 from there a Chiller at76 degrees, two carbon bags in sump,1 phosate bag in sump,1 box of Bio Max two pipes coming from overflow with filters(cleaned once a week) P/S cleaned everyother day (cup only) and two returns back into the tank. inside the tank a 1200 gph powerhead with rotating end.
Lights are set as follows.
2VHOs on at 11am MH @12 moonlights(4 leds)@7pm MH off at 9pm VHOsoff at 10pm moonlights off at 10am
Bulbs 5 months old
PH 8.3 to 8.6 at 1pm
Nitrates 0
Amonia 0
Sal @1.25 to 1.26
RO for everything (even thawing out frozen fish food)
Tech I 3 caps fulls every Sunday
Tech M 3 cap fulls every 4 days
Stonium and May 3 capfuls every 4 days
Bio Calcium 25 scoops every Sunday
I want to thank you for your help in these matters. I really want to create a healthyier tank. thanks again.. I hope this list helps....
 
007

007

Active Member
I think that all in all it sounds like you have a good set up running. You have good equipment from what it sounds like and it sounds like you take good care of them.
I am going to guess that your coral issues are due to the fact that your tank is still pretty unstable. At 5 months, there are still some pretty big swings in chemistry. It just happens in new tanks . . . no way to avoid it.
I can't really help you out much with that because I am not familiar with the products you are dosing at all. I do know though that you should try and dose every day as opposed to once a week. The way you are doing it now creates swings in the levels. By adding it daily you help to stabilize things. This can be a pain to figure out, but it will help out immensely.
I can also tell you that you may be dosing too much, and you may also be dosing unneccesary products. The only things that I as well as many people dose are Ca and Alk supplements. No strontium, molywhtever, magnesium*, etc. All of these can be found in the salt mixes if you use a quality salt. There are even people out there that dose less. Do you test for all the additives you use?
Also, IMO your lights are on for too long . . . mine are on for a total of 8 hours a day and things are fine. I have no algae problems and my corals respond quite well to the lighting schedule. Just a thought.
 
K

kistheeze

Guest
Here's a wild guess. I'm gonna say that at your LFS they don't run 500W of MH with 220W of VHO actinics. My guess is that the tank they were in for a couple of months was lit by some relatively cheezy PC or even NO setup.
Bringing them home into a beautifully lit tank is like taking a pasty Irish Guy and putting out in the Hawaiian sun. Ain't gonna be pretty.
After a while your corals will likely get adjusted to the lighting and do well.
The other piece of advice would be to do the following.
Stop dosing EVERYTHING. Do your weekly 10% changes of saltwater and test on a regular basis. With the very light load of corals that you have - it's probably not necessary to add all of that extra stuff. Assuming you're using a good saltmix.
Now - if you're using Instant Ocean you'll want to add some extra calcium - but if you're using Oceanic you'll be all set.
Good luck - and NICE setup!!!
 
wamp

wamp

Active Member
And get rid of these two fish:
1 Copperband Butterfly
1 Bi colored angel
Both are known to pick at corals when they open.
And yes, a Very nice setup indeed!
Edit: I say have been known, by that I mean, I have seen them.. So I guess I should have said, I have seen them and not been known.. Sorry for that..
 
memole

memole

Member
Well thanks for the info...very helpful....
The brand I use is Kent for everything dosing wise...(thats what LFS has and recommends) but please inform me on what you use. I am open for any suggestions seeing how I am fairly new to reefkeeping and reading about products are much different that getting first hand knowlegde from people using the products..(if that makes sense) I will cut back the lights for only 8 hours...we are here mostly here during the evenings so I guess I could run them 2pm until 10 pm???? LFS doesn't have test kits for everyhting I dose but it looks like I might stop dosing alot. the only thing I waas wondering if I can still dose with Iodine...my corals really seem to perk up after I dose that every sunday.... Well thanks again for your guys time....
memole
 
K

kistheeze

Guest

Originally posted by memole
but please inform me on what you use.
Drip Kalk and change 10% weekly.
1 cube of homemade food in the morning, 1 at night.
 
007

007

Active Member
Definitely STOP the iodine . . . yet to see any real data that shows a positive effect.
The only thing that I dose is B-Ionic two part buffer system. It handles both Calcium and Alkalinity. I dose it daily after lights out. That and I feed 2-3x per week. I also change 5% of the tank water weekly using RO water and Oceanic salt. My numbers are rock solid and right in the appropriate ranges.
I too run my lights from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Works well. On when I get home, and off before I go to bed so I can see the night life.
IMO what I think would be best for your tank is to stop all additives and get some salifert kits (this web page actually has some really good prices for salifert). Start to do regular water changes and begin tracking your levels. This will give you an idea where you start and this way you can better determine exactly what and how much additives you need.
IMO, you need no other additives than Ca and Alk and a good quality salt.
 
K

kistheeze

Guest

Originally posted by 007
IMO, you need no other additives than Ca and Alk and a good quality salt.
Bingo. I agree 100%
 
memole

memole

Member
Thanks for all the info...I should have came here to this forum before I went to the LFS and asked questions...(lol) I guess they need to sell thier products too....I am going to stop all additives and get some test kits...other than ph and amonia should I get all the test kits???? I don't have an RO unit so I buy already made saltwater and RO water from LFS I know that they use instant Ocean..I guess I should start making my own saltwater with Oceanic...from what you guys have siad says like the ticket. Queation about feeding. I feed everyday. A pinch of flakes(Omega One) @12noon and a cube of Formula One (Reef) @6pm...this may be too much???? The fish eat everything within 3 mintues but could this be too much still. thanks again
memole
 
memole

memole

Member
Another question.... I am not really getting any coralline growth at all....any ideas????
thanks again
memole
 
K

kistheeze

Guest
doesn't sound like too much food.
Making sure your calcium, alkalinity and magnesium are in line will help your coralline.
 
007

007

Active Member
coralline takes time to grow. As mentioned, as long as Ca and Alk are in check then it will spread eventually.
My tank has been up for two years and I am FINALLY getting plating coralline (the holy grail of coralline IMO).
As for the feeding, I only feed my tank VERY lightly, but then again I only have two little clownfish. I think that twice a day is too much, but it all depends on your individual tank.
Test kits needed:
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
These can be purchased together as a "Master Kit" as they are the basic test ktis. They do not need to be fancy. I use FasTest (also sold as SeaTest) and have since I started. Great kits, cheap, easy to use, reliable and readily available.
Also needed:
Calcium
Alkalinity
I trust no other test kit than Salifert for these two. Period.
 
memole

memole

Member
thansk for the help and info again. Ca and Alkalinity should be where as far as test numbers.. maybe a general area??? Also I have read alot about temps here and no know seems to be the same....I am running at 76 but could I go up to 78 to 80??? thanks
 
007

007

Active Member
My tank is at 80F +/- 2 degrees.
Calcium should be around 400 ppm and alk should be around 3.5 meq/L
 
K

kistheeze

Guest

Originally posted by memole
I am running at 76 but could I go up to 78 to 80??? thanks
Sure. You could go as high as 84 if you really want to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top