Wondering whether or not to give up on corals

[AdamHorton]

It's an API test kit I bought this year. During this process I ended up buying a new test kit and I learned to just trust the results from it.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

I don't but is a 20 gallon sump enough for a 150g tank?

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Wc like you have been blowoff the rocks with a turkey baster or powerhead then siphon the water out, cut back on feeding, try some chemical help purigen or chemipure elite or both, you have a reactor? brs has a good one use some chemical help in there. Try cheato and some mangroves wedge into the sump.dr gs has a nitrate remover chemical that works well don't know if it's available in Ohio or another brand. This is just some options try the first three and see if that helps it should. Blowoff those rocks really good and siphon out as much waste as you can.

 

[jeffaquarius]

All I can say is that most coral tanks I have seen so far have a very minimal fish on them like probably 3 the most. It's to easily maintain a stable good water parameter. With your present stock IMO it would be very difficult to attain your goal even for a pro. That being said, I would suggest reducing your stock and then follow the good advice of the rests.

 

[TheTodd]

Stepping in late, but I wanted to second the ideas presented. I'd be willing to bet that using a combination of that will make big improvements.

Use at least RO water. I use the stuff from the machines outside local gas stations (usually around .003 TDS) at 25 cents a gallon. Not perfect, but much better than my tap which is 195. I have a FOWLR, but my parameters stay low. Feed less...every other day is probably fine. I know people that go three times a week. Less waste should equal less nitrate. Also, open up that rock and get flow in between. There has to be pockets in there that water is not pushing out waste. Waste that piles up becomes nitrates.

IMO, the number of fish should be okay for a tank that size. I'd probably try to lose the damsels, as they can become terrors, but reef tanks don't necessarily need sparce stocking of fish.

 

[AdamHorton]

Can anyone out there say if it's a terrible idea for me to try for a nano reef instead of a larger reef tank? I've heard it can be difficult but it seems like it might be the way to go for me.

 

[Mebbid]

Can anyone out there say if it's a terrible idea for me to try for a nano reef instead of a larger reef tank? I've heard it can be difficult but it seems like it might be the way to go for me.

As long as you are familiar with salt water nano reefs are fine. The difficulty in a smaller tank is that any changes in the water happen faster and are bigger.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Can anyone out there say if it's a terrible idea for me to try for a nano reef instead of a larger reef tank? I've heard it can be difficult but it seems like it might be the way to go for me.

That is a good option which I did the same thing. I got me a 28 gal nano with just 2 fish and still in the process of putting corals in it. The only drawback is you are limited to just few small corals.

 

[aadair22]

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to get the nitrate issue fixed in your 150.. I would take out some love rock and redo the aquascape, and add more flow. The way it looks from the video is that there are probably a ton of dead spots, allowing waste and such to collect. Make sure you have a good CUC to. Using RO/DI is a must, make that a first priority. Depending in the flow around the lr in your sump, you might want to take some of that out as well. Another thing to try would be going to some frozen food, just make sure you rinse it in rodi water. Flakes and pellets can cause a lot if nitrate and phos, especially as much as you are feeding them.. Switch to frozen and cut back to at least 4 days a week, and feed lightly.

 

[AdamHorton]

So I suppose I'll put my reef dream off until I want to get a nano reef... maybe.

That means I guess I have a couple of questions:

RO/DI unit. I think I just want to start from zero here. What's a good unit you all can recommend that I can hook up and use easily in my home? How much waste should I expect to see per gallon of 0-TDS water I get? Should I be hooking this up to my hose out back? If not, how should I hook this up with pretty much zero knowledge of home plumbing? How often do I need to replace membranes for the RO/DI unit? Is this number in gallons produced or time?

Chaeto. I got a PM from someone on here (thank you, BTW) who can send me some chaeto. It seems the only thing I would change from my previous setup would be the lighting. Right now I have a clip-on lamp on my refugium that has just a regular light bulb socket in it. What's a good light bulb I can put in there that will actually help the chaeto out?

Biopellet Reactor. In the OP I linked a previous thread where I ended up getting a biopellet reactor. I've been using it for a few months now and my nitrates still seem to be ridiculous. I have no idea if it's helping or not, and I have no idea if I'm using it right. Maybe there's something I'm missing here?

 

[aadair22]

So I suppose I'll put my reef dream off until I want to get a nano reef... maybe.

That means I guess I have a couple of questions:

RO/DI unit. I think I just want to start from zero here. What's a good unit you all can recommend that I can hook up and use easily in my home? How much waste should I expect to see per gallon of 0-TDS water I get? Should I be hooking this up to my hose out back? If not, how should I hook this up with pretty much zero knowledge of home plumbing? How often do I need to replace membranes for the RO/DI unit? Is this number in gallons produced or time?

Chaeto. I got a PM from someone on here (thank you, BTW) who can send me some chaeto. It seems the only thing I would change from my previous setup would be the lighting. Right now I have a clip-on lamp on my refugium that has just a regular light bulb socket in it. What's a good light bulb I can put in there that will actually help the chaeto out?

Biopellet Reactor. In the OP I linked a previous thread where I ended up getting a biopellet reactor. I've been using it for a few months now and my nitrates still seem to be ridiculous. I have no idea if it's helping or not, and I have no idea if I'm using it right. Maybe there's something I'm missing here?

There is not reason for you to not make your 150 a reef.. Just fix a few simple problems. check out purewaterclub.com for pictures on how to use and install a RO/DI system.. There are a few ways and all are simple. I believe they also have recommended times for replacing the filters, and they measured by the gallons that go though it. Also, expect a lot of waste water. BTW, if no one has mentioned it, you can buy RO/DI water from you LFS, just take some buckets with you.

I seriously believe the 3 things going against you right now is a 1)a lot dead spots due to the rockwork 2)lack of flow in general and 3)overfeeding. Fix these issues and you will be good to start getting corals! Don't wait for a nano.. You would be surprised how fast you will fill up the space with corals!