20 gallon tall reef help

[MiniQuaid]

hey everyone so I'm out of ideas on what to do here, my reef for the past few months has been having issues. certain zoas, gorgonians,gsp, and anemones are not doing well! I've had multiple stores test my water along with me testing myself and all my parameters seem to be fine but I can't figure out what is going on. my Xenia, Kenya tree, and some of my zoas, and ultra gsp are doing great. that's why I cant figure out what is wrong cuz wouldn't everything start to show signs of unhappiness? my lighting is a black box led running 10% white and 30% blues.

my anemones are shrinking and becoming pale - I feed them every other day mysis and reef roids
my zoas are closing and shrinking - they are on the sand bed next to other zoas doing great
my gorgonians - are towards the top of the tank and look like they are trying to extend poly
my parameters:
alk - 8
calc - 460
ph - 8.2
phosphates - <.25 ppm
nitrates - <5.0 ppm


by the way does anyone know where I could rent a par meter?

 

[Tanster2]

ARC can rent one to you. https://atlantareefclub.org/boards/index.php?threads/par-meter-rental.1173568/

 

[ActiveAngel]

Where are you located?

Great job including your parameters; what test kits were used for each?

also, what is your temp and salinity? These are the #1 and #2 culprits for coral death issues. and how much do these fluctuate. Given that your 20g is small and tall, this is where my money lies.

 

[ZapataInc]

Where are you located?

Great job including your parameters; what test kits were used for each?

also, what is your temp and salinity? These are the #1 and #2 culprits for coral death issues. and how much do these fluctuate. Given that your 20g is small and tall, this is where my money lies.

I was going to ask the same things.

 

[jcook54]

Parameter look good, do you have an ATO? I'm also curious what you're using to test salinity. Evaporation and manual top off can really swing things but usually it get quite a bit worse in the winter as the air dries out and you've been having an issue for a while now.

My first thought was that the light intensity was set too low but I don't know all that much about the various black boxes available. You should really get a PAR reading to see what your light levels are. To that end, I just-so-happen to have one of the PAR meter's the you helped pay for by being a "Supporting Member" and I'd be more than happy to come by your place in the next week or so and take the readings with you. DM me and we'll work something out. I never pass up the opportunity to check out other member's setups.

 

[MiniQuaid]

im in cumming, and my salinity is at about 1.024 but get down to about 1.023 when my ATO fills it back up every few days, and my temperature is at about 84 degrees currently will monitor more frequently to see if it fluctuates. thanks for the quick responses by the way!

 

[MiniQuaid]

Parameter look good, do you have an ATO? I'm also curious what you're using to test salinity. Evaporation and manual top off can really swing things but usually it get quite a bit worse in the winter as the air dries out and you've been having an issue for a while now.

My first thought was that the light intensity was set too low but I don't know all that much about the various black boxes available. You should really get a PAR reading to see what your light levels are. To that end, I just-so-happen to have one of the PAR meter's the you helped pay for by being a "Supporting Member" and I'd be more than happy to come by your place in the next week or so and take the readings with you. DM me and we'll work something out. I never pass up the opportunity to check out other member's setups.

I do have an ato and my salinity testing is with a refractometer

 

[ActiveAngel]

im in cumming, and my salinity is at about 1.024 but get down to about 1.023 when my ATO fills it back up every few days, and my temperature is at about 84 degrees currently will monitor more frequently to see if it fluctuates. thanks for the quick responses by the way!

Whoa! 84 degrees, I want to say that’s your problem right there!

everyone has different recommendations, but I’d be more comfortable if you were between 76 and no higher than 78 degrees. Around 80 is where I start to see die off due to heat stress.

that said, temperature is a complex issue. This is just a shorthand potential solution.

additionally, 1.023 is also what I consider to be dangerously low. While 1.024 is fine, maybe bump your range up slightly to 1.024-1.025 SG.

 

[MiniQuaid]

Whoa! 84 degrees, I want to say that’s your problem right there!

everyone has different recommendations, but I’d be more comfortable if you were between 76 and no higher than 78 degrees. Around 80 is where. Start to see die off due to heat stress.

that said, temperature is a complex issue. This is just a shorthand potential solution.

I had a feeling that was high! im going to look into a better heater that regulates heat!

 

[ZapataInc]

im in cumming, and my salinity is at about 1.024 but get down to about 1.023 when my ATO fills it back up every few days, and my temperature is at about 84 degrees currently will monitor more frequently to see if it fluctuates. thanks for the quick responses by the way!

That temp is really high. I should be around 77-80 at the most.

 

[MiniQuaid]

my heater has been lying to me! lol it has a "built in" thermostat it says that must be faulty!

 

[ZapataInc]

my heater has been lying to me! lol it has a "built in" thermostat it says that must be faulty!

Yeah, i dont trust those thermostats. i have a glass thermometer sitting in my tank so i can glance at it and tell what the temp is. You can get one from Amazon for cheap.

 

[MiniQuaid]

I actually just picked one up from amazon for .98 cents! lol thanks for everyones responses! im going to gradually change my temperature up and increase my salinity to stay just around 1.024-1.025 and ill update this thread if anything changes! thanks again everyone!

 

[ActiveAngel]

Anytime buddy! We’re happy to help