Question for the pros!

madjoe said:
I hear ya like i said if your tank is running to clean and alk is over 8 ive heard it can fade or even burn the corals i run mine at 9 /10 but in no way running a ulns tank maybe some one else will chime in with dif idea
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Yep, MJ is correct. It is very common for ulns (eg biopellets) to cause tips to burn and/or kill acros when alk is over 8. This phenomenon happens in some biopellet tanks and not others. When i used to run them I'd get buurnt tips at 8.1 dkh. A lot of biopellet guys shoot for 7 dkh to give them some wiggle room. I's suggest you get to the mid-7's or lower and test often to stay below 8.
As far as color, you can either feed more or look into dosing aminos which many need to do in ulns to keep colors vibrant.

IMO, I don't understand why people who strive for stable sps tanks opt for a salt that boosts the alk/ca when used? We want stability in sps tanks...therefore why use a salt that is going to bump your alk everytime you do a wc? I use Red Sea (not the "Pro) in the blue bucket because it mixes at nsw levels. I dose kalk and keep a very stable alk level at 8 dkh (I no longer run pellets) Tropic Marin has a nsw salt, but they call it their "Pro" which is technically accurate. A "Pro" salt (imo) should be at nsw levels for the "pros" who use Ca reactors or have some dosing regimen to keep their tanks stable. I think Red Sea misleads people into buying their "Pro" when in fact it should be reserved for tanks with minimal ca/alk demand like an lps tank whose requirements can be met without a reactor or daily dosing. In this case the wc bump takes care of the needs.... just my $0.02
 
EricTheRed said:
Yep, MJ is correct. It is very common for ulns (eg biopellets) to cause tips to burn and/or kill acros when alk is over 8. This phenomenon happens in some biopellet tanks and not others. When i used to run them I'd get buurnt tips at 8.1 dkh. A lot of biopellet guys shoot for 7 dkh to give them some wiggle room. I's suggest you get to the mid-7's or lower and test often to stay below 8.
As far as color, you can either feed more or look into dosing aminos which many need to do in ulns to keep colors vibrant.

IMO, I don't understand why people who strive for stable sps tanks opt for a salt that boosts the alk/ca when used? We want stability in sps tanks...therefore why use a salt that is going to bump your alk everytime you do a wc? I use Red Sea (not the "Pro) in the blue bucket because it mixes at nsw levels. I dose kalk and keep a very stable alk level at 8 dkh (I no longer run pellets) Tropic Marin has a nsw salt, but they call it their "Pro" which is technically accurate. A "Pro" salt (imo) should be at nsw levels for the "pros" who use Ca reactors or have some dosing regimen to keep their tanks stable. I think Red Sea misleads people into buying their "Pro" when in fact it should be reserved for tanks with minimal ca/alk demand like an lps tank whose requirements can be met without a reactor or daily dosing. In this case the wc bump takes care of the needs.... just my $0.02
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Thanks for that. Or simply should I just discontinue the use of my biopellets?

I like red sea salt. It dissolves fast and doesn't make my skimmer go insane. If I switch back to reef crystals I will have to leave my skimmer off for 24 hours after water change.

Or just do smaller water changes maybe to maintain 8dkh?
 
I wouldn't say it is such an urgent matter that you sell the salt you have now, perhaps give it a try with your next purchase. As far as whether you should stop biopellets, well, that has to be your decision. Just never forget that biopellets and high alk (8+ dkh) can cause an sps tank to crash and that too low of nutrients will starve the acros. If you don't mind taking the risk or managing an ulns system then keep the pellets running. That being said, I think you'll find that a lot of people who used to run bp's don't do it anymore and they went back to natural and traditional ways of nutrient export.
 
EricTheRed said:
I wouldn't say it is such an urgent matter that you sell the salt you have now, perhaps give it a try with your next purchase. As far as whether you should stop biopellets, well, that has to be your decision. Just never forget that biopellets and high alk (8+ dkh) can cause an sps tank to crash and that too low of nutrients will starve the acros. If you don't mind taking the risk or managing an ulns system then keep the pellets running. That being said, I think you'll find that a lot of people who used to run bp's don't do it anymore and they went back to natural and traditional ways of nutrient export.
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Natural and traditional ways of nutrient export?

So if I stop using my BP, I'm going to expect some Nitrates to come up of course.... What do you mean by natural and traditional ways of nutrient export?
 
First of all...do not stop the biopellets all at once. If you take them offline you could cause a cycle/crash since your tank wouldn't have it's own natural filtration established yet to replace the pellets. By natural, I mean live rock and/or macro algae to export nutrients. IF, you're going to remove them then I'd suggest slowly reducing the amount of pellets in your reactor over a period of time. This way the beneficial bacterial in your tank will catch up to the demand as the bp's are weaned.
 
EricTheRed said:
First of all...do not stop the biopellets all at once. If you take them offline you could cause a cycle/crash since your tank wouldn't have it's own natural filtration established yet to replace the pellets. By natural, I mean live rock and/or macro algae to export nutrients. IF, you're going to remove them then I'd suggest slowly reducing the amount of pellets in your reactor over a period of time. This way the beneficial bacterial in your tank will catch up to the demand as the bp's are weaned.
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I was thinking the same. Thanks for the reassurance. :)
I may leave them. Not sure, colors really are nice. I may keep going and see what happens!
Might just change salts to bring alk back down and call it a day.
 
Vapour1ze said:
I was thinking the same. Thanks for the reassurance. :)
I may leave them. Not sure, colors really are nice. I may keep going and see what happens!
Might just change salts to bring alk back down and call it a day.
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I would suggest reducing the amount of BP by 25% and see if the nitrates register. Repeat if needed in 2-3 weeks. You want the no3 to register. I learned the hard way.
 
If u decide to take the BP out do it slow. a more natural way to reduce nitrates and phosphates is with a algae scrubber. I've done BP and stopped, I switched to vinegar and I'm dosing around 20ml a day. I like it. It's cheap easy to do and helps with ur levels. But now I'm interested in doing a DIY algae scrubber. I've been reading a lot on them and they r simple, natural, and u could NEVER crash ur tank by if something happens to it. Thats the biggest reason y I'm making the switch. Plus I read it adds extra food for sps.
 
The goal should be to get some measurable nitrates and phosphates in your tank. I'm not so sure removing BP and switching salts is going to do a whole lot for you. If your tank is used to the BP and a certain salt brand, you may as well keep the path your trudging, as any changes affect the stability of the tank and your colors/growth will be hindered. I would be aiming for a phosphate reading of about 0.05 on an ultra low phosphate checker like Hannah makes. Nirates anywhere from .5 to 5 or so.

I saw you bought more fish and are feeding more. Excellent. Even a little more fish and more food might help as well. For a 93 gallon tank you should aim for around 18 medium to small sized fish. Keep up on bi-weekly or better yet, weekly water changes and keep the alk stable. I'm confident your tank will take off with color and growth as long as stability is maintained. You probably already know most of this stuff, but wanted to make sure it was clearly laid out. Good luck!
 
tmb22 said:
The goal should be to get some measurable nitrates and phosphates in your tank. I'm not so sure removing BP and switching salts is going to do a whole lot for you. If your tank is used to the BP and a certain salt brand, you may as well keep the path your trudging, as any changes affect the stability of the tank and your colors/growth will be hindered. I would be aiming for a phosphate reading of about 0.05 on an ultra low phosphate checker like Hannah makes. Nirates anywhere from .5 to 5 or so.

I saw you bought more fish and are feeding more. Excellent. Even a little more fish and more food might help as well. For a 93 gallon tank you should aim for around 18 medium to small sized fish. Keep up on bi-weekly or better yet, weekly water changes and keep the alk stable. I'm confident your tank will take off with color and growth as long as stability is maintained. You probably already know most of this stuff, but wanted to make sure it was clearly laid out. Good luck!
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Thank you, very informative. Appreciate it!
 
Lots of good info here. Agree with them what ever u decide do it slow specially if they r stressed already with faded colors . Id remove some bp and go from there if u can register po and nitrate readings u wint even have to lower the alk just take your time its amazing how one day sps alive next morning dead good luck
 
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