clevergeek
Member
Well, I mentioned that I had lost a few millipora's frags and an acropora to someone at my LFS, and he asked me for my water params. I've never really tested them, and he told me I should probably just be flushing my coral down the toilet. 
On that note, I bought some kits. (ouch!)
Here are my results, which I also tested with some older kits I forgot I had received with the tank (but which seem to give consistent readings with the new tests, except alk).
Salinity - 1.025-1.026 depending on where I am with topping off, using RO/DI
Nitrates - Less than 5 (appears to be 0 based on color chart)
Alk - 2.9meq/l with one test (newer), almost 3.5 with the second (older), both of which were consistent with a retest
pH - 8.4
Ca - 500
temp - 78f
light - 250w hqi and two 96 watt pc's (actinics)
feeding - 1cm chunk of frozen cyclopese twice a week (if I remember), and spot feedings of tiny bits of thawed scallop for the candycanes, rbta, hairy mushroom, and sun coral, maybe once a week or so.
I have a small yellow "reef safe" goby in the tank that actively picks at my sps. First I was trying to net it out, then trap it...now I'm actively trying to take it's life. (he's a crafty one, and he's very aware of the fact that I'm trying to kill him). I think it's highly likely that he killed the milli's, but I never really saw him pick at the acropora. Are my calcium levels high enough to start killing things off? Five-hundred is the top of my test kit's acceptable range, but I've read several things on various forums that mention folks using similar levels. Is there something I should be testing that I'm not?
My softies, clams, and anemone all look great. My LPS (hammer, pipe organ, candy canes) all look healthy, and some of them (candy canes) are growing very quickly. I have three different colors of monti digi that all look fantastic, and are growing very quickly. Several other Pocilloporas, monti caps, and Stylophoras all looks fine, but aren't showing the growth of the digi, and two birdsnests that seem to be surviving fine, but don't show polyp extension anything like when I got them. (and I don't think that's the result of the goby, they closed up when I first got them, and I haven't seen major extension on them since acclimating them).
I still have three or four remaining acro frags, all of which are hanging in there (all have been in the tank more than a month), but aren't really showing growth I can see, and rarely showing much if any polyp extension or noticeable color-- they all stay a bit pale, but I know they're alive because they never get even a hint of algae on them. If I leave things alone will my candycanes, clams, and digi's suck up that extra CA, or should I do a large water change and bring things back below 400?
Sorry for the long rambling post!
On that note, I bought some kits. (ouch!)Here are my results, which I also tested with some older kits I forgot I had received with the tank (but which seem to give consistent readings with the new tests, except alk).
Salinity - 1.025-1.026 depending on where I am with topping off, using RO/DI
Nitrates - Less than 5 (appears to be 0 based on color chart)
Alk - 2.9meq/l with one test (newer), almost 3.5 with the second (older), both of which were consistent with a retest
pH - 8.4
Ca - 500
temp - 78f
light - 250w hqi and two 96 watt pc's (actinics)
feeding - 1cm chunk of frozen cyclopese twice a week (if I remember), and spot feedings of tiny bits of thawed scallop for the candycanes, rbta, hairy mushroom, and sun coral, maybe once a week or so.
I have a small yellow "reef safe"
goby in the tank that actively picks at my sps. First I was trying to net it out, then trap it...now I'm actively trying to take it's life. (he's a crafty one, and he's very aware of the fact that I'm trying to kill him). I think it's highly likely that he killed the milli's, but I never really saw him pick at the acropora. Are my calcium levels high enough to start killing things off? Five-hundred is the top of my test kit's acceptable range, but I've read several things on various forums that mention folks using similar levels. Is there something I should be testing that I'm not?My softies, clams, and anemone all look great. My LPS (hammer, pipe organ, candy canes) all look healthy, and some of them (candy canes) are growing very quickly. I have three different colors of monti digi that all look fantastic, and are growing very quickly. Several other Pocilloporas, monti caps, and Stylophoras all looks fine, but aren't showing the growth of the digi, and two birdsnests that seem to be surviving fine, but don't show polyp extension anything like when I got them. (and I don't think that's the result of the goby, they closed up when I first got them, and I haven't seen major extension on them since acclimating them).
I still have three or four remaining acro frags, all of which are hanging in there (all have been in the tank more than a month), but aren't really showing growth I can see, and rarely showing much if any polyp extension or noticeable color-- they all stay a bit pale, but I know they're alive because they never get even a hint of algae on them. If I leave things alone will my candycanes, clams, and digi's suck up that extra CA, or should I do a large water change and bring things back below 400?
Sorry for the long rambling post!
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