Coral skeletons deteriorating, high dKH and nitrates. What to do?

[WarmSensations]

Hello, I usually only come here for help when I don't know what to do so hopefully I am posting this in the right thread. I actually have a lot of questions so I would appreciate if anybody could help with any of them.

Parameters
salinity 1.025
nitrites 0
phosphate ~.25
nitrates >160
dKH 20

The two"emergency" questions I have regard the nitrates and dKH. I tested them with api and according to the test kit I have above 160ppm nitrates and 20dKH. The KH test basically says each drop to change the color is 1 dKH and it takes me 20 drops to go from blue to yellow.

This is actually the first time I tested for KH and I have had the tank for about 7 months so I don't know if this is how its been the whole time. I am looking at my fish and corals and they seem decent and not dying for the most part.

My calcium used to be 200ppm which is probably why the acan skeletons I have had have been breaking down and I lost a couple of them. So recently I bought Kent's liquid calcium and used a calculator to raise it to around 420 ppm within 3-4 days. The acans seem better now and I wonder how long it will take for the skeleton to recover. I am assuming me dosing a lot of calcium is why the dKH raised so much? I am not sure I still need an explanation on that.

As for the Nitrates I have two 20 gallon nuvo filters and I recently took one of the filters and took the filter media out, rinsed it in the tank (where a bunch of stuff went everywhere, so I don't knoe if that was good or bad) because I read somewhere to rinse the filter in the water. I then replaced it with a makeshift DIY Chaeto refugium in which I have a small clump of chaeto powered by a grow led on the side.

These two changes are the most recent things I did and before that I didn't do much except for dose a bit of algae fix from time to time. I am also not the best when it comes to water changes, maybe once a month. I do keep up with top ups

Another thing is I do not have an RODI unit. I simply cant use one since I am in college and there is no hose nearby for me to connect to at my dorm and the faucets dont come off. I would love to get one but I need a solution to use it so any help would be appreciated. That being said I test the tap water I use and there are no nitrates or phospates and I use seachem prime so That is a plus.
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Now for a couple other questions I have.

My rocks are white but develope a brown like film over them which I pictured you can see where I used to keep my hammer on the rock where a white circle is. I have had HUGE hair algae problems which is why I got the chaeto. So far I don't see any long hair algae but I still see the film or beginning of it so I want to know how to reduce it.

Speaking of the Hammer coral it used to bloom and extend all the time but for the past couple months it basically stays how it is pictured. I want to know what could possibly be causing it, I had another hammer that died and one right now that is fine.

I have a 20 gallon tank and I use a current orbit marine light the 18-24 inch and I was wondering if this was enough light for what I have since my corals are at the bottom. I was thinking of buying another one of the same kind because they hook up to the same controller. Would 2 of them be better or should I get something like a kessil a80 or both? Maybe I dont need an upgrade, please let me know.

Thanks for all the help you can provide. I appreciate it.

 

[Saltyreef]

Quickly skimmed thru your post, TLDR to be honest lol.
I would start by posting full parameters.
Cal
Mag
Alk
Nitrate
Phosphate
Nitrite
Ammonia
Temp
Specific gravity.

I gathered you are using tap water and i see you have a couple HOBs for filtration.

I would stop using tap and use water from a glacier machine or your local grocery store machine.

Your calcium level is very low for mixing your own salt....i would look into this issue first before dosing.
How often are you doing water changes? sorry if i missed that...TLDR again lol

Im sure theres more to be said here but ill wait until i see your full parameter check numbers

 

[Saltyreef]

I would work on getting calcium magnesium and alk in check. 20dkh is waaaaay too caustic. 9-11 is acceptable.
I forgot to list PH for your parameter checks too

 

[cancun]

I totally agree with the others, your other parameters would be helpful. RODI water is important, try local supermarkets or your LFS. There are other things in tap water besides nitrates and phosphates that we don't want in our tanks. Also big water changes are in order for sure to get those nitrates down. IMO some 50% water changes several days apart would help the nitrates. Do you have any LFS near you? I am personally not a fan of API test kits, it might be worth taking a water sample up to a LFS to double check your parameters. Keep us posted! [emoji16]

 

[Saltyreef]

Also the stock looks a bit much for a 7 month old tank. Not a lot of bio filter in there either.
Id venture to guess tap is causing your algae...and excess ammonia that the small bio filter is having a hard time keeping up with

 

[MrObscura]

Stocking is fine, as far as bioload vs age of tank, corals add next to nothing to bioload.

But your parameters are, well, all messed up. 200 cal, 20dkh, 160no3, I honestly don't even know how that happens.

You'll likely lose pieces, but I'd get a hold of a lot of rodi water, either through lfs(make sure tds is 0) or buy an rodi unit and do a bunch of large water changes until params are in line.

 

[Saltyreef]

Sorry mrObscura, let me rephrase, the stocking look a bit much for a 7 month old tank coupled with a beginner hobbiest. Especially with those parameters listed so far! Lol. I wasnt insinuating coral added a heavy bio load. Dying coral on the other hand does. Could be a reason for his high nitrates coupled with hardly any water changes.

OP, let me ask you this, what kind of salt are you using and with what are you testing with? Swing arm hydrometer?

 

[vetteguy53081]

What brand salt mix?
What type of water ?

Also appears some sediment leached into tank raising nitrate/nitrite. Do take a water sample to a trusted LFS and get a water test for verification and comparison of your readings. Nothing goes fats in this reef hobby, so make any future changes GRADUALLY

 

[WarmSensations]

What brand salt mix?
What type of water ?

Also appears some sediment leached into tank raising nitrate/nitrite. Do take a water sample to a trusted LFS and get a water test for verification and comparison of your readings. Nothing goes fats in this reef hobby, so make any future changes GRADUALLY

I use tap water, testing shows no nitrates or phosphates and I dose with prime to remove the chlorine and stuff. For salt I use normal instant ocean, not the reef salts one.

Stocking is fine, as far as bioload vs age of tank, corals add next to nothing to bioload.

But your parameters are, well, all messed up. 200 cal, 20dkh, 160no3, I honestly don't even know how that happens.

You'll likely lose pieces, but I'd get a hold of a lot of rodi water, either through lfs(make sure tds is 0) or buy an rodi unit and do a bunch of large water changes until params are in line.

The nitrates have been like this for about a week I dunno how it got that high because I used a test strip a couple days before and it said my nitrates were less than 5ppm. I live in a small city and the only LFS I have is petco and petsmart. I did a 50% water change but nitrates are still red from the kit

Sorry mrObscura, let me rephrase, the stocking look a bit much for a 7 month old tank coupled with a beginner hobbiest. Especially with those parameters listed so far! Lol. I wasnt insinuating coral added a heavy bio load. Dying coral on the other hand does. Could be a reason for his high nitrates coupled with hardly any water changes.

OP, let me ask you this, what kind of salt are you using and with what are you testing with? Swing arm hydrometer?

Normal instant ocean, I use a refractometer I got from amazon. I also have an ammonia badge that says I have no ammonia.

I totally agree with the others, your other parameters would be helpful. RODI water is important, try local supermarkets or your LFS. There are other things in tap water besides nitrates and phosphates that we don't want in our tanks. Also big water changes are in order for sure to get those nitrates down. IMO some 50% water changes several days apart would help the nitrates. Do you have any LFS near you? I am personally not a fan of API test kits, it might be worth taking a water sample up to a LFS to double check your parameters. Keep us posted! [emoji16]

I actually dont have test kits for magnesium

but heres are the others Parameters
salinity 1.025
calcium 420
nitrites 0
phosphate ~.25
nitrates >160
dKH 20
temp 78

isn't alkalinity the dKH level?

 

[Saltyreef]

I use tap water, testing shows no nitrates or phosphates and I dose with prime to remove the chlorine and stuff. For salt I use normal instant ocean, not the reef salts one.

The nitrates have been like this for about a week I dunno how it got that high because I used a test strip a couple days before and it said my nitrates were less than 5ppm. I live in a small city and the only LFS I have is petco and petsmart. I did a 50% water change but nitrates are still red from the kit

Normal instant ocean, I use a refractometer I got from amazon. I also have an ammonia badge that says I have no ammonia.

I actually dont have test kits for magnesium

but heres are the others Parameters
salinity 1.025
calcium 420
nitrites 0
phosphate ~.25
nitrates >160
dKH 20
temp 78

isn't alkalinity the dKH level?

Yes. You got it right. Everything looks good besides your elevated nitrate and alk. Large water changes as mentioned, coupled with continued testing to assure the alk is going down to an acceptable level. Keeping your calcium, magnesium and alkalinity in check will yield a good enviornment for skeletal regrowth.
I would hold of on dosing. Replenish any elements with fresh mixed salt and switch to reef crystals if thats all they have at petco.
You should be doing water changes weekly to keep up with coral demand. If that doesnt suffice and you are losing faster than with only water changes thats when you start dosing to supplement.

 

[Saltyreef]

And absolutely find a new water source!
Anything besides tap water! My local glacier machines are at 15ppm so i go there in emergencies or for quarantine purposes.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Many pet stores sell RO water. I have tap but use an RO unit as Tap has fluoride, chloramines and other compounds for purification. Remember tap water is in essence recycled and filtered water from a treatment plant.
If you really have been thinking about an RO unit, PM, and I will cut you a great deal on a Brand new Aquatic life twist on unit. It is never used and has everything you need to start making your own RO water. Will pay for itself in 3 months or less

 

[w2inc]

My Alk is accidentally at 12.2 DKH and my hammer and frogspawn hate life. Retracted polyps that are shrinking and color is off. If yours is 20 DKH, that would be the first place I would head. Pour some acid in that thing. Check in with the chemistry forum and get some real numbers for dosing and how fast to do it. The other levels can cause nuisance but I think the alk can wipe thinks out.

 

[Hillbillyreefer]

Don’t wash your sponges/media in the tank! Rinse in “Tank water” means the water you’ve siphoned out into a bucket and are discarding. It’s pointless to filter out detritus and then put it all back into the tank, you may as well have left it in the tank to start with.

Get some decent test kits, or get a friend or LFS to test for you. Red Sea, Salifert are decent brands. I doubt your dKh is 20.

Has your refractometer been calibrated?

Upgrade your basics like buying good test kits, and get your water parameters in check before worrying about new lighting, at the end of the day water quality is the most important part of reefkeeping.

Your tank actually looks pretty good, I doubt the water is as “off” as your tests show, but it is off.
Good luck getting things sorted out!

 

[Clanger]

I use tap water, testing shows no nitrates or phosphates and I dose with prime to remove the chlorine and stuff. For salt I use normal instant ocean, not the reef salts one.

The nitrates have been like this for about a week I dunno how it got that high because I used a test strip a couple days before and it said my nitrates were less than 5ppm. I live in a small city and the only LFS I have is petco and petsmart. I did a 50% water change but nitrates are still red from the kit

Normal instant ocean, I use a refractometer I got from amazon. I also have an ammonia badge that says I have no ammonia.

I actually dont have test kits for magnesium

but heres are the others Parameters
salinity 1.025
calcium 420
nitrites 0
phosphate ~.25
nitrates >160
dKH 20
temp 78

isn't alkalinity the dKH level?

There's a lot af reference to api and test strips before you do anything get a decent test kit, minimum jbl but salifert is the best mid range .. ph nitrate kh and calc about 40 quid , you've paid more than that for a coral..do you have a shower in your room with decent cold water pressure, attach ro unit to that

 

[vetteguy53081]

Tap water already an issue. Its NOT worth it. With so many sales on RODI units- worth the now small investment.
For starters, the amount of Alk in tap water can potentially double this number easily and affect CA and PH not to mention content of heavy metals, chloramine, polluants. flouride and other elements not contained in sea water. tap water also offers no ph buffering and note many areas have copper in their taop water which you do not want in your system. Next will be phosphates in water which will cause further issues.
As you can see - Risk is the issue
Other causes. . . . often a change in salinity, temperature and salt mixes. Additionally, Elevated phosphate, light and even new light and elevated alkalinity levels will be a higher risk to coral. Other minor factors will be low Dissolved oxygen, new corals especially leathers (which emit a toxin known as Terpenes), false test kit readings and newly added rock can alter chemistry.

 

[Clanger]

Tap water already an issue. Its NOT worth it. With so many sales on RODI units- worth the now small investment.
For starters, the amount of Alk in tap water can potentially double this number easily and affect CA and PH not to mention content of heavy metals, chloramine, polluants. flouride and other elements not contained in sea water. tap water also offers no ph buffering and note many areas have copper in their taop water which you do not want in your system. Next will be phosphates in water which will cause further issues.
As you can see - Risk is the issue
Other causes. . . . often a change in salinity, temperature and salt mixes. Additionally, Elevated phosphate, light and even new light and elevated alkalinity levels will be a higher risk to coral. Other minor factors will be low Dissolved oxygen, new corals especially leathers (which emit a toxin known as Terpenes), false test kit readings and newly added rock can alter chemistry.

I see SO many people boasting about using tap water and how well their tank is doing blah blah blah , just because you can ,should you ??? Why the hell take the risk when r/o units are so cheap ?.? Beggars my brain ha ha ,great post sir