At wits end...your thoughts..update 3.13.13...all better

So I basically went from a 56 column to a 50 breeder so its shallower. I went from 3 hydors to two mp10s. I have them each at about 60 percent and I added a small hydor to aim toward my sps. My other tank I had no top off and I topped every few days. This tank I have a controller to control everything and a top off..Should be my dream tank! But stuff just won't grow. All new rock and sand, tank has been up for atleast six months and I just cant get things to take off like the other tank. I started with leds and sold them about 2 months ago and put a 4 bulb t5 (was on old tank). Recently I thought maybe it wasn't enough light so I added an 18 led rapid led build. which is at about 50 percent...Monti's are doing great. Acros (one of which is red planet) have not moved in months. Favia bad, chalice bad, hammers good. One frog spawn good one bad. Zoas are growing but very slow. Wellso doing very good. So everything is random.. weird that the montis are doing so well. I even have a gorgonian thats doing great. I have a yellow watchman, 2 clowns, a bangai cardinal, purple fire fish, and a cleaner shrimp. I did have a candy cane coral that was doing well but started loosing heads slowly. I don't think I ever had a pest but it kind of looked like small red dots so I dipped it in revive and lugols and now its doing better...Should I treat the whole tank with a pest remover??

Tests as follows
PH- Reef keeper lite 8.2 (It was very low for a while, like 7.6 so I connected a tube to my skimmer to run outside and now ph is good. 2- 3 weeks ago)
PH - API 8.2
KH- Red Sea 8.4
KH- API 7
Temp 77
Calcium - API 420
Nitrites - API 0
Nitrates - API 0
Ammonia - API 0
Copper - API 0
Mag - Red Sea 1600
Salinity 1.025 (refractor meter) I am going to order calibration solution from BRS shortly to test it.

I have a 20 gallon sump with macro algae. In my old tank there was stray voltage, I literally got shocked everytime I had a cut. Everything is properly grounded and I don't feel anything now.

I don't test for Iodine but I can't imagine its that. I do a water change every 2 weeks. I was using red sea pro, but I just switched 2 weeks ago to IO incase it was bad salt. Since than I did a 50% water change. I am using RO from a reputable fish store and always have...what else could I check!! I even went carbonless for a while, now I switched brands. I use red sea No3Po4-x. I just started using red sea reef energy AB as well to help boost corals(aka im desperate)

 

jeez i dont know. youve already covered a lot of bases. You might be on to something with the pest, any new corals since the switch to the 50 breeder?

 

I'm speechless on this one. The only thing I could think of is too much flow but I don't think that would be the case.

 

Back off on the light you are most likely light inhibiting your corals. Cut back to a 9 to 10 hour light period. Raise the T5 fixture to 30" above the sand and 86 the LED. Stop using the carbon and phosphate remover. I think your water is too clean and you are giving too much light and not enough nutrients to the corals. That is what happened with me. Since I lessened the number of bulbs, 6 to 4, shortened the light period, 12 to 10, and raised the lights to near where I suggested and took my carbon and GFO off line my corals have better color and grow faster. Make sure your total water flow is around 50X also. Heavier flow cause the coral to grow thicker and not up.

 

I'll turn off two of the t5s right now and turn down the intensity of the leds. the lights are on from 11 to 930. But in layers. So led, led t5 t5. Here's a fts. I also have a rock boring clam that is doing very well. I'll stop with the po4 remover as well.. Hope this helps it's been frustrating because I was very lazy with the old tank and everything did great from softies to sps.

 

Picture didn't work.. Try again..

 

That's your answer right there. Too clean, too much light, too many hands in the tank. LOL

 

Yup....answered your own question...I feel like sometimes we are too involved...Let Mother Nature do its thing!!

 

Nice thread

 

Yea a lot.. I inspect all sps and lps I only dip zoas though because I care most about zoa eating nudi