rgrcrain Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 The lighting issue might be your new screen tops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 9, 2010 Author Share Posted September 9, 2010 The lighting issue might be your new screen tops? Wow.. not sure why I didn't think of that..(laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Phosphates are too high, wanna work on that... Are you seeing lots of Ca based algae growing on rocks and glass? A sure sign of SPS readiness is the constant need to SCRAPE THE GLASS OF CORALLINE ALGAE...if you aren't seeing alot of calcifying algae, there is something out of whack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 9, 2010 Author Share Posted September 9, 2010 Phosphates are too high, wanna work on that... Are you seeing lots of Ca based algae growing on rocks and glass? A sure sign of SPS readiness is the constant need to SCRAPE THE GLASS OF CORALLINE ALGAE...if you aren't seeing alot of calcifying algae, there is something out of whack. Not seeing much growth on anything other than my rocks and powerheads. I'm thinking I jumped a little too fast for SPS but my parameters up until just recently were fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Phosphates are way to high. This may be a cause of your SPS dieoff also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 10, 2010 Author Share Posted September 10, 2010 Phosphates are way to high. This may be a cause of your SPS dieoff also. Now that I get to looking at this sheet that Robert wrote down i don't think we tested for Phosphates. It was the Ph that was written at 8.5. (laugh) Still pretty sure the ph was lower than that yesterday but I will test it again here in just a bit. I don't have a test kit for Phosphates though so I will try to stop by SWF (didn't get time to do it today) and get an acurate reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 From what I understand, High Calcium isn't really going to hurt, and I know several people who run their mag at 2000+ constantly, claim their corals LOVE it, and with the growth pictures they've showed me and that I've seen in person, well, I can't deny that they are getting some awesome growth. One buddy of mine started with a 1" frag of the ORA Red Planet, and 4 months later had a colony that was almost 11" across.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 The problem, is not so much the levels that he is running, but he doesn't know how those levels got there. if you run basic salt and thats it, changing your water weekly your parameters should fall in line with the salt manuf specs or lower depending on the coral load. Mag and calcium can wipe out corals overnight if the levels go up or down to fast, i've seen and experienced this and so have a few well known LFS. Noob needs to test his salt and determine why his levels are where they are, then he needs to figure out where he wants his levels to be and slowly migrate them to those levels. Getting better equipped with test kits will be a good start for sure, especially trying to dabble in more sensitive SPS pieces. I also agree that a good phosphate test is not to be overlooked but the suspicion of the high levels of cal and mag are still my gut reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Rapid changes especially in Mg can kill corals very fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 jesse remember to mix your dry salt up before you mix it. some buckets of salt settle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 10, 2010 Author Share Posted September 10, 2010 jesse remember to mix your dry salt up before you mix it. some buckets of salt settle. That's something that Robert mentioned to me yesterday as well. I honnestly didn't know that it would be an issue for settling. Guess that's part of still being a noob. if your at the shop tomorrow I will probably see you there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 That's something that Robert mentioned to me yesterday as well. I honnestly didn't know that it would be an issue for settling. Guess that's part of still being a noob. if your at the shop tomorrow I will probably see you there. i will be there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Dumb question but shouldn't I be trying to lower my calcium levels? I haven't used any additives in well over a month probably closer to two months now. I don't dose with anything other than what's in the salt mix. Water was from SWF. Sorry i meant alk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Really..... jesse remember to mix your dry salt up before you mix it. some buckets of salt settle. Any truth to this-I'm skeptical, sounds like an Urban legend-(laugh) I guess I have been lucky. Its something I hear people say but when asked if it has ever happened to them I cant find anyone. Does not hurt to roll the bucket around but I still question how "salt" can settle in a bucket that has no movement-is this some physics thing with the molecular build up of the photo ions blah blah blah-DOH! Good luck Jesse, curious how this all plays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackaninny Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Any truth to this-I'm skeptical, sounds like an Urban legend-(laugh) I guess I have been lucky. Its something I hear people say but when asked if it has ever happened to them I cant find anyone. Does not hurt to roll the bucket around but I still question how "salt" can settle in a bucket that has no movement-is this some physics thing with the molecular build up of the photo ions blah blah blah-DOH! Good luck Jesse, curious how this all plays I'm pretty the settling would occur during the transport from the factory to distribution to retail to consumer. Given the size and weight I'd guess those buckets spend many hours in the back of a vibrating tractor trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNanoReef Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Please test your phosphate in your tank. then run a new batch of mixed water and let it sit for 24hours with a powerhead. then test all the parms of that. let me know if you got the salt from me. if it does turn out to be bad i will bust some skulls to get you taken care of... at least with some good salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 Please test your phosphate in your tank. then run a new batch of mixed water and let it sit for 24hours with a powerhead. then test all the parms of that. let me know if you got the salt from me. if it does turn out to be bad i will bust some skulls to get you taken care of... at least with some good salt. Nope not your shop.. Sorry, but that could be a good thing. I picked up some test kits today from SWF so I will see what it tests out here in just a few and post my results.. Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 Alright so here's the update from my fresh salt. I didn't test everything... and yes I know I should but the two kits I bought today I wanted to test out since I've been having issues with Mag and Calcium. Mag: 1400 Cal: 550 So the mag is a little lower than what it was in my main tank two days ago and I know that Kent has higher than normal calcium so what do you all think? Should I go ahead and do a water change with this salt or just mix new salt? I bought some Reef Crystals today as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 12, 2010 Author Share Posted September 12, 2010 Bump to see what you all suggest. Trying to decide if I should dump this mixed salt and make new saltwater with reef crystals. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 those levels are fine, i would start doing small water changes every few days to bring your levels back down slowly. if nothings dieing then you want to do this in small increments to reduce stress. I wouldn't change salt mix unless your getting inconsistent mixes with it. if you continue to get those same results, keep using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 12, 2010 Author Share Posted September 12, 2010 Thanks buddy! I was going to call you if I didnt get a response online. Things seem happy in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 Alright so here's the update from my fresh salt. I didn't test everything... and yes I know I should but the two kits I bought today I wanted to test out since I've been having issues with Mag and Calcium. Mag: 1400 Cal: 550 So the mag is a little lower than what it was in my main tank two days ago and I know that Kent has higher than normal calcium so what do you all think? Should I go ahead and do a water change with this salt or just mix new salt? I bought some Reef Crystals today as well. Those levels are pretty similar to what I typically see from my Kent salt. I always test my freshly mixed saltwater, and have found the Kent to be remarkably consistent, even from bucket to bucket. I have not found that settling has been a noticeable problem. However, I do see how smaller particles would tend to settle to the bottom and larger ones work their way to the top over time with a substantial amount of vibration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 Well still loosing sps. in the process of loosing a piece I got from perry. A good sized piece of orange digi is almost done now. Not looking to do sps for awhile after this. Ive lost too much money in corals. Also lost most of a green milli from reefit. Going to check my parameters in just a few. My acans, zoas, and chalice are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted September 14, 2010 Share Posted September 14, 2010 Jesse, it might be that your tank is too new for SPS, I've always been told to let a tank age a bit, 6+ months before trying SPS. Go figure, I'm the hardheaded one who's gotta try it anyway LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted September 14, 2010 Author Share Posted September 14, 2010 Just tested the main tank. Alk 8.5 Calcium 530 Mag 1550 So the good news is that it is going down. But I think I need to get some of this sps out of my tank before I loose it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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