Help me figurure out my issue (4/19 New Sump?)

I adjusted the white to 50% and the blues to 25-30% The corals are all on the bottom 1/3rd of the tank.

 

sounds like a plan

 

I have two of the cheap Chinese LED's over my 125 and have great growth and color on LPS and SPS. LED's grow corals, there's no doubt. Either the lighting is too intense, and/or there is a water chemistry issue. Do you calibrate your refractometer? Also, a two point change in salinity after a wc may not seem like much, but it can be a bigger factor than you would think.

 

The salinity was something I lowered intentionally. It's been sitting at 1.027 for awhile. My LEDs had been at about 30% for a couple months. I dont think they were too high. Too low or too much blue is possible

 

Well I just did a 5 gallon water change. I did a 3 gallon water change last week and a 1 gallon water change over the weekend, bringing my total to 9 gallons, or roughly 50% of my tank volume in a weeks time. I also replaced the burned out UV diodes and did some glass cleaning. I moved a couple soft corals corals away from the center of the light since I turned the whites up and the blues down.

I will do a test later tonight and see where my levels are after everything mixes together.

I am wondering if I had too much blue and too little white? I am also wondering if the high magnesium was the culprit. It seems like my snail, star and stomatella population has gone down, but I don;t know how much that is attributed to a lack of food or higher magnesium (It was up at 1700 at one point, but I shrugged it off as a faulty read).

 

Would you consider the following trade good?

120 watt 55 diode RGB LED unit (what I own) for a 175 watt Hamilton metal halide ballast/pendant?

 

LOL you know my answer on this one but I think you are certainly on the right track. I'm trying to see if I can get a better layout for you from some of our local reefers since you know how to replace the diodes already. I also agree that I think it was too much blue and not enough white.

 

Cool thanks.

I'm going to give this new color and new water chemistry a shot for a bit before I make my final decision. O really think mag was the big issue as I had a brief moment of growth a bit ago.

 

Your level of magnesium would not inhibit coral growth. Having your blue lights on for too long would mean too much intensity. The blue led's are very powerful.

Actually, your levels and temp are nearly identical to mine, and I would say your fixture is probably better. I really don't think the light itself is why your corals aren't growing.

What about the refractometer, has it been calibrated?

 

Don't have one. I just have a hydrometer. I'm not sure salinity is the issue though. Everything opens up and extends its polyps.

You don't think mag up in the 1700 range will have an effect on anything? I briefly read that it can have effects on snails and other inverts.