need advice before I throw in the towel!!!! parameters and pic

[cncguy]

Sorry if this turns out to be a long description, just want to give as much info as I have to hopefully get some advice. I'm not necessarily new, as I have a fairly successful 90gal FOWLR but I can't get this nano thing figured out, and I believe the stuff I'm trying to keep is all fairly 'easy' stuff. I've had a JBJ 12 gal set up for about a year, and can't seem to get it to grow anything. I'll give all the parameters I've tested for, equipment, pic, and supplements I've tried.

temp-80
SG- 1.024
PH-8.2
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-10 (explain lower)
Phos-0
Calcium-460
Mag-over 1500? (explain lower)
KH-8.3
RO/DI water
Reef Crystals salt

All tests are API except KH and Mag are Salifert. The Mag test only goes to 1500 I think, and I still didn't have the right color.
Lighting since Jan has been OR D-120: Whites/colors-40% @ 5hrs/day
Blues-60% @ 8hrs/day
Fixture is about 16in above tank
Should I put the stock hood with the old pc bulbs back on? Although I've heard others have success with the OR LEDs. I've moved things up, down, turned intensity up, down, nothing seems to matter much.

I usually do at least 20% change per week with either just water, or vacuuming the bottom and rocks. Water flow is stock, plus a Tunze powerhead. Started out with live sand, then went bare bottom to see if that was the problem. It has had some fish, but for the last couple months only a few snails, crab, and corals. Not much of a algae problem to note. Corals are: Zoas (just seem to be slowly going away, and never grow or spread), mushrooms(had one split a while ago, but not anymore), GSP(same thing, not growing or even extending much), Frogspawn(started with 4 heads, now down to 1, and just stagnant, not growing or dying), pom pom Xenia(from LA, was ok, now not even opening much), also had a brain from LA that just started dying the day it was put in. I've tried nitrate pads(nitrate never goes down far), can't grow coraline. Side note: my 90gal won't grow much coraline either, but I blame that on the urchin! Had a DIY skimmer, which I've taken out since there's no fish anymore. I've tried iodide, reef trace, liquid reef, b-ionic. All of which have been removed from water changes. So HELP!!!!! Would love to keep it going, but not sure why it won't flourish. Are there any parameters that are dangerously off? I'm not used to checking all those because I don't check many of them in the FOWLR. I'm at a loss. Pests, lights, water quality, air quality, flow, what could be the problem?????

Notes on the pic: Geen zoas on the bottom right, was a full rock 8 months ago. The Xenia is still on the frag block beside the GSP on the right. The coraline on the back is old and dead.

I know this is the place to go for expert advice, so lets hear it PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AZBigJohn]

I hate that your question has gone unanswered;I'll be honest, nothing in your question jumps out at me other than just the size of your tank making me unsure of your lighting fixture/size/output being adequate for your corals, but you are right in that GSP and Xenia are usually fairly easy to get growth from.

I always used a mushroom as my "canary". If it was open and looked happy, I assumed everything was okay in the tank; if it was shriveled up or closed, I was worried. You said your split recently. Does it still open up every day and look "okay"? I certainly wouldn't go backwards with the lighting (to the PC lights).

Hopefully someone with nano experience will chime in here for you. I wish you the best of luck with this!

 

[cncguy]

thanks for the reply big john. yeah i was hoping for more responses! I did have one shroom split, but it was prolly 6 months ago, and nothing else since. everything just seems to be slowly fading away. the shrooms are probably the happiest, but still don't open as big as they did a while ago

 

[djam]

I've always heard that you need fish for the zoas to thrive , they feed on the waste products in addition to light. I don't know if that is true, but since I added fish to my frag tank it is growing like crazy.

As for the mushroom, if the split was six months ago, isn't that when you switched lights?

I also run my lights a lot longer, I think 8 hours seems short. I'm no pro at this, so maybe someone can give you better advice.

 

[cncguy]

yes correct djam. I just don't remember if I had the lights first, or if it split first. I've also heard you should have at least a fish, but then have also read you can have a reef tank with just CUC and live rock? So I don't know what to believe, just know I have taken a lot of time and effort into this, with no results, and don't know what the problem is!!!!!!

 

[Stolireef]

Your actually dealing with one of the most difficult types of reefs to keep. Couple of quick suggestions. Check your kH a couple of times during the day to see if the number is moving around. Same with pH. A small tank tends to be far less stable and the parameter swings much larger. I wouldn't worry about the nitrates at that level (definitely not bothering your zoas or shrooms).

Are you dosing anything into the tank? What are you feeding (if anything).

 

[Breadman03]

yes correct djam. I just don't remember if I had the lights first, or if it split first. I've also heard you should have at least a fish, but then have also read you can have a reef tank with just CUC and live rock? So I don't know what to believe, just know I have taken a lot of time and effort into this, with no results, and don't know what the problem is!!!!!!

You can run a reef without fish, but then you should be feeding coral foods.

 

[cncguy]

Thanks stolireef, I'll check those a couple times in one day. As far as dosing, I've stopped to see if it would get better, but had been dosing iodide(seachem), reef trace(seachem), liquid reef(brightwell aquatics), and b-ionic. The b-ionic I was trying after the others seemed to not make much difference, and the b-ionic seems to work well in my 90 to help promote coraline, but didn't seem to make a difference in the nano. As of right now, there's not much in there because I stopped dosing. Should I start dosing again? which one?
Breadman: should I be feeding them other than the trace elements?

I was hoping/wishing something would jump right out at the pros as to what my problem is, but maybe not? Does everything seem like it should work? Any other advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated!!!! Dosing, lights, maintenance??????

 

[cncguy]

Or is this an option..........Take all the corals out of the nano, put in the 90 (which should be way more stable(details in my tank description at bottom of post)), and remove the damsel, and chocolate chip starfish, because I know they'll at least eat the GSP if not more(been there, done that!). Which would leave their tankmates: 2 pajama cardinals, rabbitfish, miniatus, panther, serpeant star, anenome, urchin, and CUC. Or are any of those harmful to corals? specifically the urchin? I'm really reachin out for suggestions, and was hopin there was just a magic answer for the nano as-is!

 

[undeadmoto]

as to feeding your corals you should get marine snow that is what i use for my xenia, hammmer coral, and radioactive dragon eye zoa's.

 

[cncguy]

will do undeadmoto, thanks

 

[cncguy]

more advice please!!!!!!

 

[UMass14]

Flow? You might have too much or not enough. Picture of your tank set up would be helpful also.

 

[acabgd]

You shouldn't dose anything you cannot test for. And I mean test with proper test kits, not by observing if your coralline grows or not.

 

[viper12775]

are you running optics on the d120 if so I would bet your cooking the corals in that shallow of a tank I would lower the intensity of the LEDs and see how they look in a few weeks all prams look good unless your mag is 1500 or over

 

[cncguy]

thanks viper, I will try that. Maybe whites at 25%, and blues around 40%? I'm not real positive the specifics of the fixture as far as the optics go

 

[cncguy]

umass: There is a picture in my first post that shows the power head, and return, is there something else you'd like to see? I can take more pics

 

[cncguy]

any opinion on putting the stuff in the 90? Then start the nano over? The xenia just seems to be getting sadder ever day

 

[AZBigJohn]

It couldn't hurt to move your stuff into the 90, but I thought you had said the 90 was having growth problems, too.

Maybe a fresh start in the nano might be what the motivation doctor needs. Maybe even go to fresh live rock? Or perhaps start with just fresh corals and maybe a very small fish to see if there is some truth to the fish help the coral thing?

 

[cncguy]

No, the 90 is good, just can't keep much coraline, but blame that on the urchin