Resolved i need major help( see last page!) solved it!!!

Aquarium Frontiers Feature

Hi Bob - the article above may well help you and others in similar situations

I have not been able to find anything specific for the Tropic Marin pro or in fact RSCP salts

but if you look on table III on the study above, you will see that organics/ nutrients are present in a number of salt mixes at various concentrations

RHF - for example has stated many times that he prefers IO to Reef Crystals, because he does not want excessive organics in his salt mixes ( he prefers to add organics in the form of feeding his reef, which is more controllable)

in your situation it is possible that you have increased the organic levels with the new salt mix , thus given Zooxanthellia hosted by the corals more nutrients, increasing their number and resulting in a faded coral and reduced PE

might be worth some further investigation into the Tropic Marin product
but even if you do decide to return to your previous brand, you need to do so slowly IMHO
Steve

 

got it. thanks steve. i will let you know how my pH turns out. atm its at 8.4

 

Just a thought, but what is your surface agitation like? Any scum build up on the surface of your tank water (or sump for that matter if you have any low flow zones in it)?

If you have any, it could be inhibiting gas exchange and contributing to your PH swings.

For example, my tank has two MP40's in it which generate a lot of flow. However, I have a corner overflow. The side of the tank opposite to the overflow collects surface scum despite the volatile flow in my tank. I have a koralia 3 in the top corner to help push the scum towards the overflow and into my sump where it can be skimmed out.

Also, do you use any "night modes" on your powerheads? Some people do that to cut back on noise/energy consumption at night. This could also be reducing flow and gas exchange.

 

It sounds like there are multiple things going on which has stressed the tank. The different salt brands and related info. was great to hear, and something I never knew so my hat is off to Steve!!! Thanks for teaching me.

Your idea of the surface turbulence also is a good idea because there still seems to be no explanation for the pH swings. IDK.

 

well. a little update as of 8.2.12. lost 2 sps corals. and my pink lemonade started to stn from base. had to chop it up. as for the pH . i got rid of the RKL and got myself a apex jr. and was monitoring it. my skimmer pump got stuck because of ca build up. cleaned it up. then my return pump failed with the same symptoms. causing my temp to swing largely. cleaned them all up. and i dumped all my kalk away. poured fresh r.o water and i am not using kalk. manual dose till i get my auto dose for 2 part.

as of now. pH is steady and as well is temp.

sept1 is when i trashed the kalk

btw. tank is a mess! wires everywhere.

param. as of 1:30pm 9/2/12
alk 8.7
MG 1360
CA 420

 

Sorry bobssecrtsn.


Unfortunately theses things happen, just when you think it's all going along smoothly and happy with the tank. It's some unwritten law in keeping stony corals.

I just keep coming back for more though. I should have stuck to Anemones. :-(

 

Sorry you lost some corals but I think finally, after much hard work, you've got a handle on things. Yay!

Just a little time and your tank will be doing great.

 

I totally agree with this
my opinion with SPS is
as long as 80% or more are doing well = Happy Steve
with the softies and LPS corals I kept previously, I liked to think that 90% plus would do great with the rare loss (most due to my own stupidity such as accidents from failing to secure properly etc)

any incident that affects a few corals, provided you can isolate the cause, is an opportinity to learn IMO

and if you can save any part of a coral, then you have not lost the coral, you just have a smaller one than you started with

taking a step back is dissapointing, I agree
but take comfort as you watch those small frags grow and develop

Steve

 

thank you steve for all your help, i havent really thanked you at all! i am following your directions and adding very few amounts of the RSCP salt each day