Calcium up take at a low!

[AJ]

I believe there is a handheld PH meter in the club test kit.

[erky]

my ph is pretty stable always above 8.0 day and night, im really getting annoyed at what is going on, does anyone have any ideas of what to do?

I am going to take a few more pictures soon to see if there is anything pest wise going on, but i have dipped and dipped with not luck.

[CoralBeauties]

I was experiencing alot of the same issues as you.  Pulled my hair out trying all kinds of different things.  It had been a couple of months since I had calibrated my refactometer so I decided to check it.  WOW it was off by .05  My salinity was actually at 1.019  During all this I was doing 50 gallon water changes and my alk was also clear up in the 12 range.  Needless to say my corals had lost alot of color and many had stn and lost a couple of them completely.  It has been about 2 weeks since I got the salinity and alk back to normal and I am starting to see my p/e come back and alittle of the coloration return.  If you havent calibrated you refractometer in awhile do so.  You might also ck your alk test kit against the known regent that comes in the kit.
Jeff

[erky]

I was experiencing alot of the same issues as you.  Pulled my hair out trying all kinds of different things.  It had been a couple of months since I had calibrated my refactometer so I decided to check it.  WOW it was off by .05  My salinity was actually at 1.019  During all this I was doing 50 gallon water changes and my alk was also clear up in the 12 range.  Needless to say my corals had lost alot of color and many had stn and lost a couple of them completely.  It has been about 2 weeks since I got the salinity and alk back to normal and I am starting to see my p/e come back and alittle of the coloration return.  If you havent calibrated you refractometer in awhile do so.  You might also ck your alk test kit against the known regent that comes in the kit.
Jeff

with RODI or distilled water? 

[CoralBeauties]

I bought a calibration fluid off eBay. Your welcome to drive up and check yours but I know it is a drive. If you haven't calibrated I would say that's a must. Also make sure the calibration fluid is same temp as the water your testing
Jeff

[CoralBeauties]

Did you get your meter calibrated?  Was it off?
Jeff

[erky]

ive used rodi and its dead nuts on 0

[CoralBeauties]

I would still pick up some calibration fluid.  I cked mine tonight with ro water and it was actually below the scale.
Jeff

[thepipbull]

mine was off to using RO water by 5 I think
Hows everything looking

[erky]

some corals are doing amazing and coloring well, but others look like they were just pulled out of the sewer....

[erky]

alright jjos99 you win salinity was 5ppt lower than it should of been, got calibration fluid today and warmed then tested, currently adding more salt to the tank, SLOWLY

[thepipbull]

it happened to me too....5 off as well couldn't believe it

[CoralBeauties]

Glad to hear you found something.  Watch your alk as you add the salt.  The increased salinity can also effect the alk.  I am slowly seeing better color and p/e but it is taking its time so dont expect a quick turn around but things should get better.
Jeff

[CoralBeauties]

Have you seen any difference in your corals yet? 
it been a good 6 weeks since I got my tanks salinity back in check and my corals are showing better color and p/e now but has been very slow.
Jeff

[erky]

been out of town the past week+ so hopefully everything is doing well.

[erky]

got home yesterday and some noticeable improvement in a few corals, some serious growth on 2, but 2 others still look like crap, not too worried about them as they most likely are not going to make it.

I do have a mean case of cyano going on right now also, not sure where that came from, but need to get it figured out.


Also on my other tank it decided to leak all over my office floor while I was gone, looks like I lost some LSP and montis in that one...

[thepipbull]

Glad to see it getting better. I would Dip the 2 looking like crap just to see if they can be saved. If your seeing STN I would cut them above it.
Chemi-clean is the best for cyano it wiped mine out over night. I noticed it 2 weeks later and dosed again hasn't come back. Will probably do a small dose quarterly for maintenance.
what cause the leak. I travel a lot too and always worry i forgot to do something

[erky]

Glad to see it getting better. I would Dip the 2 looking like crap just to see if they can be saved. If your seeing STN I would cut them above it.
Chemi-clean is the best for cyano it wiped mine out over night. I noticed it 2 weeks later and dosed again hasn't come back. Will probably do a small dose quarterly for maintenance.
what cause the leak. I travel a lot too and always worry i forgot to do something

i dont have a clue what caused the leak, neighbor filled the tank up and she said it was super full in the diaplay and hardly any water in the sump, but that doesnt make sense at all.... So 4 days went by when she was over to when i got home and the tank was below the overflow and the sump was full... Im so confused on how that happened. Im assuming the tank had a leak or something but never saw anything. I tore it down and have some rock and fish in a spare sump i have.

I am going to get the cyano under control with some chemi-clean as that has worked in the past, and then jump into getting these nitrates under 5ppm they are currently 10+.  I think carbon dosing will be my best bet, thoughts on that?

[thepipbull]

that's crazy hate it when i cant figure something out
Carbon isn't going to doing anything for the nitrates..its more for chemical warfare and keeping the water crystal clear..
A water change and more frequent changes should bring it down also a refugium helps a lot     

[Humphrey]

Pit bull I think erky means vodka, vinegar, or sugar etc. carbon dosing.

That will work yes.  10 isn't crazy high.  Water changes also an option, but you could probably pull it down in a couple of weeks with careful carbon dosing paired with Dr. Tims waste away as seeded bacteria... I think there is a brightwell product too that has denitrifying bacteria.  Someone's probably used it.  I pulled a tank down from 20 in about 2 weeks using vodka with half dose to maintain it.

Might take a little longer if you don't seed it.

I haven't had much in the way of nitrates since employing marine pure in my sumps.

[erky]

the tank is really showing some great improvement, growth has started again, and colors are really starting to show clear and vivid!

[Steve]

That is great news Erik, I need to get down to see you.

[erky]

That is great news Erik, I need to get down to see you.

yeah things are growing that you want.

I am considering doing another fiji order soon.

[CoralBeauties]

When I was taking some mechanical classes years ago one of the professors always would say to use the KISS method when diagnosing something.  Keep it simple stupid.  We all tend to overthink things too much.  It has burnt me many times
Jeff

[erky]

When I was taking some mechanical classes years ago one of the professors always would say to use the KISS method when diagnosing something.  Keep it simple stupid.  We all tend to overthink things too much.  It has burnt me many times
Jeff

i usually use that method too! the bali tri is finally starting to show a little purple again!