B1N4RY's 8 Gallon Reef Aquarium.

I'm not an expert in any way on SPS, I would think flow would be important not only on the surface but in the tank. I thing I did want to mention is that your skimmate looks a little odd to me ....it's almost clay like? what is causing the film on the surface do you think? Are you still dealing with any sand releasing particulates?

I know that some people say that LED's can sometimes burn some corals but your light doesn't appear to be too close. Are you putting the SPS at the top of the tank or slowly acclimating from bottom to higher? It also seems that you'll need to bring your calcium up since SPS do use a lot of it. Have you thought about a 2 part dosing system as opposed to the zeovit?

 

Only thing I see that is really off is alkalinity. How are you testing? Calcium will be used by corals and coralline algae, so no surprise to see that drop some. Don't go chasing your pH. 8.0 is still "in range". What time of day are you testing? You should be seeing higher pH values after the lights have been on all day. Are you sure the white tips on the Acros aren't just them growing?

 

Some Closeups of the Acros & Clam in the Aquarium.

Here are a few photographs of the current state of my aquarium and the corals. I'm not entirely please with the coloration of the corals but their polyp extension is acceptable. My clam on the other hand has no issues. I'm concerned about the slime coat on the water since I don't have a surface skimmer and I cannot ramp up the vortechs without creating a sandstorm.




My aquarium as of Monday, September 23, 2013. See the film on the surface of the water.





One of my Teal Acropora Corals. Not sure if that is growth or a burn tipped on the right hand branch.



My Derasa Clam enjoying itself as usual.



Another Acropora Coral. I'm not sure if the white areas are signs of growth.



My Purple Tipped Acropora Coral. Not entirely happy with the color and the poly extension on this one.




My Green Acropora Coral. I'm happy with the poly extension but I am not sure if the white areas are signs of growth.




Some of the coralline algae encrusting the aquascaping rather quickly.

 

That is protein on the surface, you need to ramp up the surface agitation. In theory it should go to the skimmer via the over flow and be removed by the skimmer. You can take a paper towel and lay it on the surface and that will remove some of it. The protein layer on the surface leads me to think the tank may not be preforming adequate gas exchange. Decline in gas exchange leads to a build up of CO2, driving down your pH and a decline in available 02 needed for coral and fish health. Your Acropora look a tad stressed to me.

 

Reply to Corailline.

I was thinking the same thing about my corals. I can't ramp up my vortechs enough without getting a sand storm so I think I might purchase a couple of Tunze Nano Streams so I can point and agitate the surface more. That should do the trick.

 

How much for your Mp10?

 

I am not getting rid of my MP10's. I am adding two Tense Nano Streams into the mix with them.

 

I'm not sure if you'll still have water in the tank afterwards

 

Dude you should save the money on those other pumps and buy the 20 dollar Pico MP10 shield...

 

Why are you wanting to add so many powerheads to a 20 gallon tank? One mp10 should have done this tank just fine with a little careful aquascaping. And part of your problem might be the fact that you are dumping and entire cube of food into a tank with basically nothing to consume it.