Trouble Keeping Invert / Beginner Corals

[McFraembs]

Hey guys, I was hoping to get a little advice of some things I may possibly be doing wrong. I have had my tank going for about 2 years now. First started with a 10 gal, then 30 gal, now I am at a 55 gal with a 30 sump tank. Water parameters are below obtained from API test kits and salinity from a refractometer. I strictly use RO for tank water and have an ATO with Kalkwasser mixed in to try to raise PH a bit.

Salinity - 1.026
Temp - 78.3
PH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrite - 0.0
Nitrate - 0.0
Phosphates - 0.25
Calcium - 460

My goal is to get into some beginner corals and keep more of a beginner reef ecosystem. However I have not had much luck with inverts or coral frags such as polyps, kenya trees, etc. some of the inverts that have died on me are cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, emerald crab, feather duster and anemone's. My fish seem to be pretty happy and thrive fairly well! However corals and inverts are another story..... Below is a list of some of my tank mates.

Yellow Tang
Klarki Clownfish
Domino Damsel
Large Velvet Damsel
Valentini Puffer
3 Pajamas
2 large turbo snails
about a 12 nasrai snails (spelling.... Haha)
large feather duster

My nitrate and Phosphates always test at zero or very low however due to some hair algae I have in the tank I feel this reading from the API test kit is not truly accurate. Below I have listed some of my equipment, I know some of them probably need to be upgraded but it is a work in progress.

Eheim Return Pump
HOB CPR Overflow for sump
Coralife Super Skimmer "Protein Skimmer"
2 @ Fluval Sea Marine & Reef - LED Lighting
Corallife digital power center "timer"

I also have a good amount of live rock mixed in will some dry rock purchased at Bulk Reef Supply

 

[pegasus]

I would highly suggest getting quality test kits. If nothing else, at least a good Nitrate kit, as NO3 is possibly what's killing your inverts. API kits are notorious for being inaccurate, and if the kit's old, it's even worse.

I don't know why they bother to put "Reef" on those LED's, but I suppose there may be something that will grow under them. Just not sure what... except for slime and hair algae. Most likely not going to grow softies under them. They're basically "lights" that lame manufacturers labeled as "Reef" so they could sell more of them. It's a common mistake to fall for it. I did... once.

 

[lmforbis]

Love your stand.
It could be an issue with your lighting. The lights you have aren't great. Coral needs light of the correct intensity and wavelength to survive. You absolutely don't have enough light for an anemone. Not sure what's with the inverts. There could be something else in water that is either too high or low.

 

[McFraembs]

Well that sucks about the lights, I must have fallen for that trap as well! What would you recommend for the lighting? I figured the "full spectrum" reef lighting would be pretty good lighting...... I was thinking of getting a few Hanna Checker test kits because I hate trying to match the freaking colors.....

Thanks for the comment on my stand, I actually built it myself and made it large enough for my next tank upgrade! I coated the inside with a rubber compound and it has saved my ass when my skimmer caused an overflow. It literally held all the water like it was a pool without damaging the wood! Haha.

Think my test kits are junk, but this kinda confirms it. Thanks for the info on the lighting, I may decide to go with the T5's.

 

[lmforbis]

It is beautiful. What is the rubber compound you used? It sounds like a good idea.
Lighting depends on what you want to keep. Probably good to plan on the future like you did it with your stand since it sounds like you plan to upgrade. Lighting can be expensive if you want coral. There are T5 fixtures that are reasonably priced. They do need regular bulb changes because the wavelength shifts as the bulbs age. Maybe a 6 bulb fixture. Metal halides will grow most anything but they produce a lot of heat and use a lot of electricity. They also need regular bulb changes I don't think it is as often I could be wrong I've never used them. I don't want to have to use a chiller to cool the water so I didn't go that direction. There are LEDs now. A lot of varied quality. I run Kessils on my tank. They are individual pendant lights. They have two sizes. Depending on what you want to keep would depend on the size. I have a 6 foot tank and use 2 of their smaller fixtures. I like that I can add on as I can afford them. In the future I will add 2 more. I do grow soft coral and some LPS but can't do anemones or SPS. There are a couple of other higher end LED fixtures, radion, Maxspec, etc. I have no personal experience with them. There are also some cheap fixtures made in china you can buy on ebay and amazon that are about 100$ each and will grow coral at least LPS and softies, not sure about SPS or anemones it probably depends on the brand. There is a face book group dedicated to them search for Cheap chinese led aquarium lighting. I own 2 of them and used them on my 55 gal before I upgraded them. I use one now for my QT the other is in storage for the next time I need a light.

 

[chrisely24]

I hear these lights are supposed to be pretty good and they are easy on the wallet too!

Ocean Revive Arctic t-247

 

[pegasus]

I haven't seen anything from Fluval that I'd want lighting my tank. If I had a FOWLR, perhaps. I have two 6 bulb T5 HO fixtures that I bought on ebay. Three separate timers, one for three bulbs, another for the other three bulbs, and one for the moonlights. As soon as I bought them, I upgraded the cheap bulbs for quality ATI bulbs. Less than $300 in each fixture. T5 bulbs should be replaced every 12-18 months, which is longer than all other lighting except LED. I have many different kinds of corals, from mushrooms all the way up to Acropora (SPS). I can grow all but the most light-demanding SPS, which require bright, intense lighting. If I had gone with 8 bulb fixtures, even that wouldn't be an issue. I chose T5 is because of two things... because of initial cost... and they are time-proven. Quality LED's for growing hard corals, especially demanding Acros, will easily set you back $1K+. Not talking about the cheap Chinese boxes, because I haven't bothered to check into those, but those that are made with the best components and used by the pros. I have looked at Kessils, but I would need at least the 360's to duplicate what I have now, and I would need no less than three to go on my 125. $1K+. I can buy a lot of bulbs and pay a little extra on my power bill for quite some time for that price. That said, if money wasn't an issue, I would have gone with LED from the start. I've spent countless hours researching LED, and I learned a few things along the way. With that knowledge, I won't buy anything that doesn't meet the proper specs. Too much detail to get into, but trust me, all LED's are not created equally. I wasted $200 on a piece of junk LED (from a reputable manufacturer) a good while back, and I won't make that mistake again. Hard corals aren't necessarily cheap, so hit-or-miss LED's are not an option for me. I will only accept what has been proven to work, and when it comes to LED, that comes with a hefty price tag. Just my 2c...

 

[pegasus]

I hear these lights are supposed to be pretty good and they are easy on the wallet too!

Ocean Revive Arctic t-247

The first thing I spotted was Input Current : Adjustable/Dimmable. That typically means dimming is controlled by voltage reduction. Suppose that the LED's were producing the proper wavelength to begin with... as soon as voltage is reduced, the wavelength changes. The slightest change in voltage can make a big difference in spectrum/wavelengths. Had Input Current been followed by "PWM" (Pulse Width Modulation), that would be a completely different story...

 

[chrisely24]

Pegasus is right as usual, lol
I have heard they are ok and I was going to order a pair but, I went expensive with maxspect razor instead. On a budget I probably would have gone cheap.

 

[flower]

Hi,

The light issue is already being addressed. There is one thing to remember, there is a coral for every type of lighting under the sun. Some corals need no light at all, but the work of keeping water quality up and good maintenance is a must for that type of reef. So if you can't afford fancy LED lighting, spend your money on the proper corals that can live with what you have.

If you have hair algae, you have more nitrates and phosphates then you realize. All tests for them will give you a false negative, because the algae is absorbing it to live on.

(You most likely know this already, but just in case you don't) Water quality is the life of your tank. Use Reverse osmosis, never tap to mix your saltwater, and make sure you keep the filters clean or it's not good RO. Doing regular water changes won't help much if you are using nasty water to begin with.

 

[Kristin1234]

Are those the $230.00 lights from *****?

 

[McFraembs]

Kristin,
they are those lights from *****, I got them for 50% off so I thought I was getting a deal! hahaha.

Flower,
I do use RO/DI water for all changes and top off. I am thinking I made a mistake by not curing some dryrock I purchase from BRS. I was thinking if I placed it in a bucket for a week with some DI water, water flow, and a heater for a week it would get anything needed off the rock. well i dont think it worked because shortly after I had a huge outbreak.......

IMFORBIZ,
I used a white rubber compound used to coat and protect the insides of swamp coolers, its white in color so it also reflect the lights inside my cab for my refugium. as an added bonus it makes it very easy to see inside!

 

[McFraembs]

I just ordered a phosphate hanna checker and a dual reactor for carbon and GFO! hopefully these will help do the trick! I have a feeling my API test kit is junk! any recomendations for test kits?

 

[Kristin1234]

Sailfert is good.

 

[mandy111]

I also run T5's. love the coral colour and growth.
@pegasus . I am amazed that your able to change your globes every 12-18months.
We have been recommend to change every 9-12 months. And for sure around the 9 months mark we certainly do notice a difference in the lighting.
We have a sunrise, sunset feature on our light fixture and hear that the ATI globe loses about 35% of its life span by dimming.
On the other hand we actually have a ATI fixture but run Giensmann bulbs, they only lose about 15% of their life span by dimming, by doing this we do get 12months.
Although not cheap to change 8 globes at once, we dont have any ailing corals, so its worth the extra money spent.

 

[bang guy]

I see no mention of the alkalinity level.

 

[pegasus]

I also run T5's. love the coral colour and growth.
@pegasus . I am amazed that your able to change your globes every 12-18months.
We have been recommend to change every 9-12 months. And for sure around the 9 months mark we certainly do notice a difference in the lighting.
We have a sunrise, sunset feature on our light fixture and hear that the ATI globe loses about 35% of its life span by dimming.

While my fixtures are Chinese manufactured, they have Fulham Workhorse ballasts that are made in the USA (weird, right?) and come with 5 year warranties. Burning at 100% with clean, consistent power is the key to bulb longevity.

 

[mandy111]

@pegasus
Unfortunalty we cant 100% run, it is too bright and too much light that way.
Wish we could if we could get an extra % from the globes, but i am afraid it not possible.
We run channel 1 at 65% channel 2 at 75%.
so I suppose its just replacing every 9 months for us

 

[bang guy]

Mandy, are you positive you need to replace every 9 months? How are you determining that?

 

[mandy111]

Mandy, are you positive you need to replace every 9 months? How are you determining that?

Manufactures recommendations mostly.
And last year when we didnt change at the 10 month mark we had a slight cyno outbreak(without a change in parameters) . Changed globes and it was gon wthin 3 weeks.