Nitrates and Phosphates help please (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter tthorn125
- Start date
Ive been sorta sol when I comes to growing anything with a skeleton. Like lps with the exception of a bubble coral. My softies do fine. My polyp extension is ridiculous. Just no skeletal growth
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Corals are more than days. I have some (SPS) that are going on 3 weeks now that they've been in there.
The lights are 12" off of the water currently, but like I said earlier they are less than 50%. I'm not sure what lenses are in the units because that will affect the spread. I have looked at MB7, but hadn't really seen anything conclusive by folks.
Your lights are probably part of the problem. LED's have shadowing issues especially that close. I would raise them up and turn the intensity up a lot if not all the way.
Are you running T5's with the leds? That can help with the shadowing but I still would raise the leds. If you watch the videos with BRS comparing the major LED brands they show them at different height and coverage.
Are you running T5's with the leds? That can help with the shadowing but I still would raise the leds. If you watch the videos with BRS comparing the major LED brands they show them at different height and coverage.
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Are you talking about this article?
Reef tank LED lighting: The best mounting height for your corals - Reef FAQs
Finding the right height to mount your reef tank lighting, specifically LED lights, can be confusing because the advice is often conflicting. The reason this gets a bit tricky is because every tank is different in size, shape, depth, what is in it, the lights themselves and how they are used. All
www.bulkreefsupply.com
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No T5's
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I did go back and find my order info about them. They have 60 degree lenses for optics. That in general states that the light spread is about 24" at a mounting height of 20".
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I moved my pendants to be about 20" up and will increase to about 70%. I will have a PAR meter this afternoon to check levels with and adjust accordingly.
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Yeah that was my first thought too after seeing that setup. You might be having a lot of coral warfare killing off your SPS. See what the PAR meter says and then go from there.
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Nice finger leather corals!!! ... ... ... They shed skin! 
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I dont notice any shedding. They grow like weeds.
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So I borrowed Jeremy's par meter, thanks Jeremy!
When I raised the pendants 20" off of the water, and intensity is a little less than 50%, the par about an inch down is between 300-350. I have Ozone running so the water clarity is probably making the LED's more effective as it isn't fighting the yellowing particles.
I can visually see a giant difference in the SPS on the top of the water column in just a few days of raising the lights. So I have to believe that I was feeding way too much light even when it was at 70%. I will keep tabs on the corals and see what transpires.
Not sure I can visually "see" a difference between 50% and 70% with the naked eye. I also lowered just the white lights another 5% to give it a slightly bluer look to it.
So far so good.
When I raised the pendants 20" off of the water, and intensity is a little less than 50%, the par about an inch down is between 300-350. I have Ozone running so the water clarity is probably making the LED's more effective as it isn't fighting the yellowing particles.
I can visually see a giant difference in the SPS on the top of the water column in just a few days of raising the lights. So I have to believe that I was feeding way too much light even when it was at 70%. I will keep tabs on the corals and see what transpires.
Not sure I can visually "see" a difference between 50% and 70% with the naked eye. I also lowered just the white lights another 5% to give it a slightly bluer look to it.
So far so good.
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Corals directly under the light are doing great. The SPS on the frag rack mounted in the front glass are probably short in light given the height and spread. Need to drill holes and get plugs on rocks.
@tthorn125 once I added ozone to my softie tank, they don't shed anymore either. Just GROWTH! Like, insane growth. On top of feeding, metal halides, and higher tank temps, I'm getting 10x growth I've ever seen in some of the leathers. Others probably only double. I've cut back on feeding because of water yellowing. I don't measure orp, so I don't want to go over 100mg/hr. 24/7 on my 90gal. Maybe I'll send the $150 someday.
I actually noticed nitrates DROPPED after I started feeding more. I feed hard boiled egg yolk, bakers yeast and amino acid/vitamin supp. No export methods besides the softies. Not even a skimmer anymore. I have seen so many people complain of nitrates, and when they feed LESS, the levels actually INCREASE.
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I'm sure the leathers are soaking up a ton of nutrients. I don't feed a ton to start with, but they are huge.
I do feed Acropower now for the SPS, so that is essentially nitrates. I was feeding flake for a while to intentionally raise the phosphates.
I do feed Acropower now for the SPS, so that is essentially nitrates. I was feeding flake for a while to intentionally raise the phosphates.