Can anybody help me?

[n9cqb]

I've added some new pics of my 90 to my gallery on this site. I am not happy with the way it looks & have been ready to sell everything, but wanted to reach out to get some advice before I just give up.
There are only 4 fish: 2 yellow tail damsels, ocellaris clown, pajama cardinal.
There are about 8 mexican turbo snails & a hand full of hermit crabs.
I have about 80-100 lbs of rock work with mostly green mushrooms, a few hairy mushrooms, colony polys, a small frogspawn, a ricordia or two and green monti caps-some very large. All are healthy & polyp extension is full. The color is very drab-looking. The green monti are pale green. There is a ton of pink coralline all over the back of the tank & overflow.
The rocks are pretty full of mushrooms- too full maybe. There are tiny calcerous tube worms or hydroids all over the LR. Some GHA is growing on the PVC pipe that holds up the rocks off the sand & on some of the LR.
Water flow is moderate with a return of 1500 gph, 3 powerheads on a wave timer.
There are still dead spots with some light cyano outbreaks on the sand where there is no flow like behind the rocks in the back of the tank. Having the overflow in the center makes it hard to direct flow around it.
There isn't much substrate left after siphoning out cyano & other crap over the years.
Please take a look at the pics & give me any advice on how to make this reef look better. It needs some color, maybe more fish, other corals, loose the mushrooms, rearrange the rock scape??
I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks

[CUNAReefer]

Hi Doug,

I can help you get back on track. Can you please tell me what the following parameters are? (Alk, Ca, Phosphate, Nitrate) If you cannot answer these questions, then your first step is to pick up some test kits (not API).

Is there any way you can provide larger pictures?

How are you managing your Alk and Ca maintenance?

What type of lighting do you have?

What type of filtration do you have?

Warmest Regards,
James

[n9cqb]

James, Thanks for the reply.

Here are some better pics from photobucket

Pictures by ddschmutte - Photobucket

Pictures by ddschmutte - Photobucket

CA = 420
Alk = 2.0
Ph = 8.2
Phos= 0.3
Nitrate= less than 5ppm

I use Kalkwasser as ATO (1 tbs/gal)

Filtration: LR, 3" sand bed in fuge, filter sock in sump, turboflotor blue skimmer that produces ~ 1/2 cup skimmate/day. I had polyfilter in one of sump baffles but ran out- need to add more. I also have some LR in the sump & use carbon in a reactor.
There are 3 powerheads + the split return for flow. PHs are on a wave timer, yet flow doesn't get to all areas, especially behind the rocks & in far back corners.
MAybe I should put a ph in the front aiming it to the back wall??

I also think the rock work is inhibiting flow, but not sure.

Lights are all PC- one Coralife 4 x 56w all 50/50 bulbs less than 4 mos old. The second fixture is HAmilton retrofit 2 x 96w, one actinic & one 10k, both 3-4 mos old. total is 520 watts.

[n_prise]

maybe try to upgrade lights....params are close , need to try to reduce po3, what are your goals for the display?

[n9cqb]

Originally Posted by n_prise

maybe try to upgrade lights....params are close , need to try to reduce po3, what are your goals for the display?

I would like to find a way to add more colorful corals, either LPS or SPS and be compatible with the mushrooms, polyps & monti caps that I have. I see all those beautifuk tanks & mine looks drab.

Secondly, would like to know the best placement for powerheads to get better flow both behind, in front, and sides.

Thanks

[AJ :)]

For appearance. You will want to change your lighting. There are lots of good options. LED's can be stunning, but the nicer fixtures will be fairly expensive. But the upside is no bulbs to change, little heat, and perhaps use less electricity.

T-5s would make a world of difference, but bulb changes are usually about twice a year.

Halides have similar issues, but more heat to deal with.

[CUNAReefer]

Originally Posted by AJ :)

For appearance. You will want to change your lighting. There are lots of good options. LED's can be stunning, but the nicer fixtures will be fairly expensive. But the upside is no bulbs to change, little heat, and perhaps use less electricity.

T-5s would make a world of difference, but bulb changes are usually about twice a year.

Halides have similar issues, but more heat to deal with.

+1. I agree. If you are able to change out your light fixture, you can really get some of those colors to pop.

As for flow, it really depends on your budget. If you are able to purchase a TUNZE Nano Wavebox, I highly sugest it. You could add a TUNZE 6105 on a wavetimer and you would be done. The Wavebox will move every bit of water in your tank in a back and forth manner. When you add in an extra TUNZE Stream, you can really dial in your flow. Vortechs are also very good, but I only have experience with TUNZE.

Now if you really want to get your colors to pop, you are going to have to bring down your nitrates and phosphates. Phosphate should be less than .1. A phosphate level of .02-.03 is ideal for coloration (you can still have good coloration with a higher phosphate level). You want to keep your nitrates as close to 0 as possible. Some nitrate is essential for coral health. I sugest measuring nitrate with a high accuracy test kit such as Salifert.

On another note, your Alk is extremely low. The lowest you should aim to have your alk levels at is 7.0 dkh (2.5 meq/L).

Stability within the correct parameters in conjunction with better lighting will really help you obtain that color pop you are after. The better flow will help with the nutrient export.

Warmest Regards,
James

[tdb320reef]

Change lights. Get LEDS.

[n9cqb]

I made up new Kalk mix and put it in the ATO container yesterday cause it was almost empty. I added 5 tbs to 5 gal, let it settle a few hours. Today the params are Ph 8.1, CA 410, Alk 2.96 meq/l, Nitrate <5, all with Salifert kits
The HAnnah phosphate checker said 0.00, which could account for the poor color in corals.
I feed 1 x day or every other day, usually pellet food, sometimes mysis shrimp.

As far as LED lighting I know little. Any recommendations for a DT that is 24" deep??

[cmaxwell39]

Hey Doug,

I will say that probably most of your coloration problems are due to the lighting. PC's aren't the greatest lights and the bulb choices are absolutely dismal. You can customize your color a whole lot more ithe a good T5 fixture or LEDs. Halides give you a lot of options too, but then you have to manage the heat a little more.

Are you running a fixture in your canopy? If not then you could look at reefgeeks LET retro kits for T5's You will probably want to add a fan to keep the bulbs cool under the canopy, but I could help you with all of that. If you want to look at a T5 tank, that is what I run and live about a half hour from you.

Is your nitrate at 5 on the salifert kit looking at the vial from the top or throught the side. If you are looking through the side then your nitrates are at .5 not 5. If this is the case, then you are running a very low nutrient system, and adding some more fish and feeding more would really help. Also, try to avoid large swings in your parameters. The more stable you can keep everything the better off everything will look.

Good luck. I know what it is like to be frustrated with the coloration on your corals. It can be turned around and you can be excited about your tank once again.

[n9cqb]

Originally Posted by cmaxwell39

Hey Doug,

I will say that probably most of your coloration problems are due to the lighting. PC's aren't the greatest lights and the bulb choices are absolutely dismal. You can customize your color a whole lot more ithe a good T5 fixture or LEDs. Halides give you a lot of options too, but then you have to manage the heat a little more.

Are you running a fixture in your canopy? If not then you could look at reefgeeks LET retro kits for T5's You will probably want to add a fan to keep the bulbs cool under the canopy, but I could help you with all of that. If you want to look at a T5 tank, that is what I run and live about a half hour from you.

Is your nitrate at 5 on the salifert kit looking at the vial from the top or throught the side. If you are looking through the side then your nitrates are at .5 not 5. If this is the case, then you are running a very low nutrient system, and adding some more fish and feeding more would really help. Also, try to avoid large swings in your parameters. The more stable you can keep everything the better off everything will look.

Good luck. I know what it is like to be frustrated with the coloration on your corals. It can be turned around and you can be excited about your tank once again.

Hey there.
I'm working in Lansing on Tuesday & I will stop by Preuss Pets & check out some T5 and LED fixtures. I would rather get a retro kit & put together myself to save $$.
I have a Coralife & retro fixture under the canopy now.
The Nitrate test kit is LaMotte & is pretty sensitive. I could barely see any color after adding the reagent, so nitrate is very low, more like 0.25 ppm, not .5 like I thought.

[cmaxwell39]

If you are interested in T5 retro kits, check out reefgeek's LET retros. Hands down the best around.

I am not up on LED's so you'll have to check around if you want some info on them. There are plenty of others using them, so I am sure you will find plenty of opinions on what is good.

[weimers75]

Originally Posted by AJ :)

T-5s would make a world of difference, but bulb changes are usually about twice a year.

Reviews are still out on leds - they look stunning but if you search through threads, lots of people are unhappy with them too.

I have run t-5's for years and love all the bulb comibnations you can come up with. I have an 8 bulb fixture over a 90 gallon, but only rin 5 - this is under an almost exclusivly sps tank so plenty of light. Actinic (blue) bulbs need changing every 12 months, whites can go 18+ months.

[Detroit_306]

the lower end LEDS need T5 supplementation IMO

[katymunoz]

Originally Posted by weimers75

Reviews are still out on leds - they look stunning but if you search through threads, lots of people are unhappy with them too.

I have run t-5's for years and love all the bulb comibnations you can come up with. I have an 8 bulb fixture over a 90 gallon, but only rin 5 - this is under an almost exclusivly sps tank so plenty of light. Actinic (blue) bulbs need changing every 12 months, whites can go 18+ months.

+1, love t-5s! I have a 6 bulb retrofit over my 180 and I only run 4 at a time or I'll fry stuff! The retrofit made a huge difference in light spread! I used to have an 8 bulb fixture over my 110 and ran all 8 bulbs! Now with the large reflectors and spacing of the retrofits, I run only 4 with the same results.