I upgraded my tank about 2.5 months ago to a Nuvo 20g. The live rock is from my old tank which ran for more than an year.
Some corals have displayed good growth and some have shown no growth at all. But for most part, I am seeing a fading in the coloration for most corals. Most notable color fading is with bali green slimer. My nitrates have always been low.
Sleuthing info:
Tank: Nuvo 20g
Light: Single Kessil A160 runs at a peak intensity of 75% at a height of about 8 inches above water.
Chemistry:
Fairly constant Alk: 8-8.5 dKH, Ca: 380-400, Mg: 1300-1350 (Tested with Salifert kits), Nitrates: Undetetable with API kit (unreliable, I know, but the color is as yellow as it can be).
Water changes: Every 10 days about 2-3 gallons.
Flow: Jebao wp10 at 75% power and a small powerhead. Flow looks good and corals open up well.
Corals that displayed good growth: Pink and green birdsnest, peach digitata, orange digitata, jack o lantern, montipora setosa, Zoas: pink zippers, utter chaos, bambams and some others
Corals that haven't grown: Bali green slimer, unknown acro (brown when I got it, still brown), rainbow monti
Misc/Equipment:
Ghost skimmer that pulls out a decent amount of organics every week. Chaeto chamber at back with shows decent growth.
I have carbon, purigen and phosgard in one of the media basket. Other media basket is basic mechanical sponge, carbon and phosphate reducing sponge.
I do see little strands of algae here and there, but my emerald crab and snails keep the rock-work fairly clean.
Questions/Line of thinking:
1. Nitrates could be too low? Would dosing Acropower be a good idea? Don't want to cause a algae outbreak.
2. Considering shutting down the skimmer for a few weeks to increase nutrients (but those tiny strands of algae make me think there is a trace of nutrients in there)
3. Or maybe removing the Chaeto from my tank altogether.
4. Stronger light? My birdsnest did more than good with this same light over an year in my old tank. Relative distance and intensity from the light is about the same.
Would love to hear suggestions or thoughts. What strategies do you use for getting best coloration?
Some corals have displayed good growth and some have shown no growth at all. But for most part, I am seeing a fading in the coloration for most corals. Most notable color fading is with bali green slimer. My nitrates have always been low.
Sleuthing info:
Tank: Nuvo 20g
Light: Single Kessil A160 runs at a peak intensity of 75% at a height of about 8 inches above water.
Chemistry:
Fairly constant Alk: 8-8.5 dKH, Ca: 380-400, Mg: 1300-1350 (Tested with Salifert kits), Nitrates: Undetetable with API kit (unreliable, I know, but the color is as yellow as it can be).
Water changes: Every 10 days about 2-3 gallons.
Flow: Jebao wp10 at 75% power and a small powerhead. Flow looks good and corals open up well.
Corals that displayed good growth: Pink and green birdsnest, peach digitata, orange digitata, jack o lantern, montipora setosa, Zoas: pink zippers, utter chaos, bambams and some others
Corals that haven't grown: Bali green slimer, unknown acro (brown when I got it, still brown), rainbow monti
Misc/Equipment:
Ghost skimmer that pulls out a decent amount of organics every week. Chaeto chamber at back with shows decent growth.
I have carbon, purigen and phosgard in one of the media basket. Other media basket is basic mechanical sponge, carbon and phosphate reducing sponge.
I do see little strands of algae here and there, but my emerald crab and snails keep the rock-work fairly clean.
Questions/Line of thinking:
1. Nitrates could be too low? Would dosing Acropower be a good idea? Don't want to cause a algae outbreak.
2. Considering shutting down the skimmer for a few weeks to increase nutrients (but those tiny strands of algae make me think there is a trace of nutrients in there)
3. Or maybe removing the Chaeto from my tank altogether.
4. Stronger light? My birdsnest did more than good with this same light over an year in my old tank. Relative distance and intensity from the light is about the same.
Would love to hear suggestions or thoughts. What strategies do you use for getting best coloration?