Has me Puzzled

[kingpin9995]

I have a 30 gallon IM 36 " tank about 5 months old. It seems all I have been able to keep alive is zoas and shrooms. I've tried some acans, hammer, and some frogspawn and they all die quickly pretty much skeletons after a few days. I use a Chinese led Aquasnarise lighting only at about 20 white and 50 blue. Use a IM skimmer as well as a phosphate reactor. My readings are

Alk 7.3
Cal 410
Mag is low 900
and a constant struggle is PH.. Always hovers around 7.4

Any ideas why anything but my zoas and shrooms seem to do horrible .

[Uncle99]

All low, raise them and maintain them at or near NSW.

As a guide,
PH 7.8 (but don't chase)
Alk 8-9 (this can not fluctuate must be stable, changes in this kills corals, some run higher.....
CA 420
MG 1360

The tank is young, when all 8 parameters are on point to NSW ranges, all these corals become easy to keep and will thrive......

CCB is great lights for corals and I think your mix is fine.
Keep in mind.....start corals off at the bottom.....then slowly...over weeks increase......or if lighting changes, ramp up slowly..........more corals are killed by to much rather than not enough..

[Fourstars]

If they die in a few days then maybe you should question your source.

[kingpin9995]

Thanks for the info. I have used a few sources and same thing happens when I put in a hammer. Then another source , some acans, and another source frogspawn. Never had this issue before and I do know I need work on my parameters.

[Fourstars]

They are not that far off to cause death in a few days, Have you tested for ammonia and nitrite?

[outssider]

ph at 7.4 is pretty much impossible unless you have a gaggle of people/pets in your house and their raising the co2 in the room......I would re-check that with another kit...magnesium is low but that's not causing the deaths.....

[mcgyvr]

Skeleton in a few days?really a few days?
Why is mag so low?
What salt mix?
Water change schedule?
Phosphate reactor but no phosphate test result?
What powerheads?
Pics of tank?

[tkeracer619]

Salinity?

FWIW i've had zoes and shrooms survive in live rock totes on the back porch for months.

[kingpin9995]

Phosphates are wayunder.025 in good range. Have two powerheads each end. My ph for some reason i cant get get up but dont dose. Yes a hammer and in three days pretty much skeleton. Salinity is .022. I live in Mn but have windows open alot. That will end soon. I use instant ocean reef crystals and do 5 gallon change about 1 a month

[reefteaser]

Sounds like a LARGE water change is in order. Not difficult with that tank (I own a nuvo 30L).
Are you making or buying RODI? If not, start!
Unless you are measuring phosphates the reactor may be unnecessary, and “possibly” part of your ph problem, especially if algae isn’t an issue. Don’t add any more coral until your water gets right, and then go slow.
As opposed to dosing my larger tank, I use kalk in my ATO, much easier and works well with that size. It may also help with your ph.

[Uncle99]

Large Swings in Parameters especially ALK will easily kill the E type corals fast.
Why 1.022 and not 1.025 or 1.026?
If your main parameter is out of range, I might surmise the others are out as well.
Sounds like a water quality and stability issue

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by kingpin9995

Phosphates are wayunder.025 in good range. Have two powerheads each end. My ph for some reason i cant get get up but dont dose. Yes a hammer and in three days pretty much skeleton. Salinity is .022. I live in Mn but have windows open alot. That will end soon. I use instant ocean reef crystals and do 5 gallon change about 1 a month

Why GFO then? Its for those with a phosphate problem.. IF you don't have one it can do more harm than good.. Not that its the issue here..

Have you tested a freshly mixed batch of saltwater for alk/mag,etc...? Your mag reading is suspicious IMO and not likely correct..
Same with most of your parameters IMO.. Reef crystals has high alk, mag,etc..... I HIGHLY doubt your alk is low too...

I would start with a second opinion on your parameters..

[kingpin9995]

I did a large water change this weekend, about 60 percent . Also I am not using the phosphate reactor. Going to take some readings and I do have another 5 gallon bucket mixing at home. I am going to take a reading on the mag alk on that just to see where it's at. I may think about changing mix. What is good one besides reef crystals?

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by kingpin9995

What is good one besides reef crystals?

In general all salt mixes are fine to use.. Just comes down to price/availability,etc... Some choose one that matches their target parameters so that they can do as large of a water change as they want without causing parameters to swing..

Reef Crystals is just fine too however you might find that one with lower alk,etc... is better suited..
Thousands of people use regular Instant Ocean too on both fish only and reef tanks with great success..

At this point we need to ensure that you are capable of performing testing properly/accurately.. Please let us know the results of you testing a new batch of saltwater..

[kingpin9995]

I have new water testing kit coming . I got the RED SEA kit that has mag, alk, ca.. Should be here tomorrow so we will see how that goes.

[FoxFace Fish]

PH at 7.4?
Maybe I know nothing but everything they sell is to bring Ph to 8.4 (which is what I keep my tank at)
7.4 IMO is way to low which is what I think is causing the death.
Zoa I know for a fact can survive in strange condition I did some experiments on them. Mainly seeing what Ph and Alkalinity and calcium spikes and lower levels does they survived at 6.9 for two weeks without a problem but when I ran it with things with skeletons (Acans and trumpets) they died in about 2-4 days

[mcgyvr]

Recommended PH range is 7.8 to 8.5
Their stated PH is certainly lower than the recommended range but so far IMO their measurements are suspect..

Low mag would certainly cause troubles maintaining proper supersaturated cal/alk levels but I haven't seen mention yet of them stating any problems with precipitation.. Not that it couldn't be an issue just unnoticed/unidentified..

Maybe they got a bad batch of Reef Crystals.. There seem to be those that seem to imply issues with it in the past..
RC though is typically much higher in all 3 than reported even with monthly water changes as I suspect they are not stocked with heavy cal/alk consumers to the point where they need to be dosing..
Its certainly possible though and such out of wack levels would certainly be a cause for concern..

Verifying accurate readings and then slowly returning the system to save/natural/normal levels is priority here.. Once stability at proper levels can be proven then they can attempt stony corals again..

[FoxFace Fish]

I know the feeling I have had bad batch of salt before

[kingpin9995]

Tested the salt and it's fine. Mg Alk Ca all in fine levels. Im right now raising my Mg slowly. It's at about 1050 now and by the next week should have it back up to where it should be. Then I will start on the CA and Alk which are low but not real low. My biggest issue has been raising my PH.. I have a new test coming but my old test I could never get it up t 8 range. When I get the MG good I may use KALK in my ATO. I've used it before and it does help get my ph up.

[jlmawp]

You mentioned that your salinity is 1.022. I'd aim for 1.025 or 1.026.

What about ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? Have you tested those?

[kingpin9995]

Yep I am bumping it up. Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites are all in normal ranges. Got new tests today in mail. Will be testing tomorrow. See where I am. I am a bumping up the salinity with my last water changes.