mixed tank not growing

[mikea213]

Any one have any ideas why my tank isn't really growing? The tank is 3yrs old all the same corals a mixed of sps and lps. I run leds and a cal reactor nothing flex's and been stable since setup. None of my sps plate out or grow up they stay the same. My levels are below. As for as par the leds blues are 271 at surface and 32 on the sand bed and whites are 100 and 22. I use reef crystals for salt.

Sal 1.025
Cal 400
Alk 12dkh
Phos .38
Nitrate 0
Nitrites 0
Ph 8.2
Mag 1375

Thanks,

 

[bazeball05]

Any one have any ideas why my tank isn't really growing? The tank is 3yrs old all the same corals a mixed of sps and lps. I run leds and a cal reactor nothing flex's and been stable since setup. None of my sps plate out or grow up they stay the same. My levels are below. As for as par the leds blues are 271 at surface and 32 on the sand bed and whites are 100 and 22. I use reef crystals for salt.

Sal 1.025
Cal 400
Alk 12dkh
Phos .38
Nitrate 0
Nitrites 0
Ph 8.2
Mag 1375

Thanks,

I know that sps corals hate phosphates. Your phosphates are pretty high... I would say that is your problem... Do you use rodi water?

 

[mikea213]

I do use rodi water. I tried awhile back gfo and could only gdt them down to .33 and I dont over feed.i dont have algae growning in the the tank. Temp on tank is 78 all the time should I increase it to 79 or 80?

 

[bazeball05]

I do use rodi water. I tried awhile back gfo and could only gdt them down to .33 and I dont over feed.i dont have algae growning in the the tank. Temp on tank is 78 all the time should I increase it to 79 or 80?

Have you checked your filters or replaced them in a while on your rodi system? Your temperature is perfect. Okay there is an option I know about. It is a gamble IMO and its called Zeo Spur 2... It helps with coloration of corals but can make corals that are "stuck" from growing get back on track and grow... I honestly would check where your getting the phosphates first before the Zeo Spur 2 is recommended

 

[mikea213]

I wash them everytime I clean the reactor since they dont make a replacement for the unit.

 

[bazeball05]

I wash them everytime I clean the reactor since they dont make a replacement for the unit.

That might be your problem... You should see if you could check the TDS of your rodi water... Also do research on the Zero Spur 2 stuff!

 

[aadair22]

Your par seems way to low for sps a barely good for lps.. Soft should be ok

 

[Gregcoyote]

Your par seems way to low for sps a barely good for lps.. Soft should be ok

I agree. The phosphate levels need to be lower, like below .1 ppm for best SPS growth. Also, PAR for most LPS is 200-300 and most SPS is 200 and way up to 600 or higher. You have light enough for soft corals and some LPS up at the top.

 

[mikea213]

Ok whats good for keeping the phos down. I can turn up my lights what should the whites and blue be both the same, one more than the other? These are 200w lights at 2 watt each

 

[Gregcoyote]

The balance between blue and white is more cosmetic, so dial in what looks good to you. Make any adjustments slowly if you already have some SPS.

Water changes are the first line of defense from phosphates using RO/DI water.

Many folks, including me, use a mixture of things to further reduce it, like GFO and products like Purigen. I don't tend to go with more aggressive methods and like using organic binding agents like these. My algae scrubber/skimmer only pushes my phosphates to .4 ppm, so I use GFO and Purigen to get it down under .05 ppm. I have a very large coral and fish bio load, so I have to be pretty thorough to grow SPS in the system, but it all works. BRS sells a inexpensive reactor for these products.

 

[Jmkb02]

The balance between blue and white is more cosmetic, so dial in what looks good to you. Make any adjustments slowly if you already have some SPS. Water changes are the first line of defense from phosphates using RO/DI water. Many folks, including me, use a mixture of things to further reduce it, like GFO and products like Purigen. I don't tend to go with more aggressive methods and like using organic binding agents like these. My algae scrubber/skimmer only pushes my phosphates to .4 ppm, so I use GFO and Purigen to get it down under .05 ppm. I have a very large coral and fish bio load, so I have to be pretty thorough to grow SPS in the system, but it all works. BRS sells a inexpensive reactor for these products.

With LEDs you have options for your par which is a big advantage. They can be cranked up to help bring more par to the bottom. Sps is very temperamental. I lost two or three frags while the others took off right next to them.
Weekly water changes and a Gfo reactor will help stop the phosphates from rising and if you are still having problems, try a refugium. It will help drastically especially with water quality. You have some good things going for you so maybe just some tweaking and fine tuning. I actually use the BRS reactor as Greg said above and it works wonderfully. No problems and very affordable. If you were running one before maybe you could just hook it back up and start from there. Good luck.

 

[mikea213]

Ok I plan to turn up the blues slowly. On the phosphates I do have a sponge filter just before the return pump can I take that out could that cause phosphates? I am running a fuge. On the first chamber is the skimmer and heater then second chamber I have rock a little sand and chaeto then another chamber that has the sponge and then its the return pump and top off float.

Thanks

 

[Jmkb02]

Ok I plan to turn up the blues slowly. On the phosphates I do have a sponge filter just before the return pump can I take that out could that cause phosphates? I am running a fuge. On the first chamber is the skimmer and heater then second chamber I have rock a little sand and chaeto then another chamber that has the sponge and then its the return pump and top off float.

Thanks

I would take out the sponge and go with live rock if there is room. If not I would def get rid of the sponge, seems to be the problem. What is your maintenance schedule like? How often are you doing water changes and such??

 

[mikea213]

I use to do about every 3 weeks 40gals but now thats slowed down do to price of salt was geeting rc for 39 for 200gal box now it like 69 so mighy go back to plain instant ocean since I dont need the extra alk cal mag in my salt since the reactor does that for me. What do u think? Im self employed so I got to watch what I spend if you know what I mean

 

[Jmkb02]

I use to do about every 3 weeks 40gals but now thats slowed down do to price of salt was geeting rc for 39 for 200gal box now it like 69 so mighy go back to plain instant ocean since I dont need the extra alk cal mag in my salt since the reactor does that for me. What do u think? Im self employed so I got to watch what I spend if you know what I mean

No I get you, it's tough sometimes. I would start with removing the sponge and adding the Gfo. Does your cheato grow relatively fast? Also how big is your tank?

 

[mikea213]

It grows ok not to fast but it does tank is 180gal pen with adhi sump and evo 400 skimmer I have 2 mp40 run on one side and 2 other cheap pumps on the other side. Theres about 400lbs live rock in the tank at the moment close to that in live sand.

 

[Jmkb02]

It grows ok not to fast but it does tank is 180gal pen with adhi sump and evo 400 skimmer I have 2 mp40 run on one side and 2 other cheap pumps on the other side. Theres about 400lbs live rock in the tank at the moment close to that in live sand.

Oh man, I was thinking you had a much smaller set-up. With that much live rock and water volume, I'm starting to really wonder what your source of phosphate can be. Did you test your top off water? It may be the source. Also how often do you feed?

 

[mikea213]

I have a tds meter on my rodi and it reads zero. I feed frozen twice a week and flake daily. I tried everyother day on flake made no change

 

[aadair22]

I have a tds meter on my rodi and it reads zero. I feed frozen twice a week and flake daily. I tried everyother day on flake made no change

Make sure your rinsing the frozen with ro water, also flakes tend to add a lot of phosphates and your feeding then daily.. I would cut back on those a lot

 

[aadair22]

Do you mix your own saltwater or buy it from a lfs?