So I've been doing some research on trace elements and also evaluating my tank historically. I'm convinced that I have a lack of trace elements in my reef and that has been one of the factors as to why my reef is not in its prime like previously.
Background- Tank setup in Feb 2013 as a FOWLR. Tank broke down and moved from TX to GA in Feb 2014. Temporary setup from Feb to Apr 2014. Tank set back up Apr 2014. October 2014 converted over to a reef. October 2014-Mar 2015 reef was thriving. Was in the initial stocking phase of the tank with corals. Great coloration and growth,coralline algae explosion. Was experimenting with how the tank would do without my normal 25% monthly water changes from February 2015-May 2015. April is when I started seeing a negative change in the tank. Overtime coralline algae started to diminish, nuisance algae started increasing on the rocks and sandbed, corals stopped growing so rapidly, and they started to appear to be pale. My fully stocked zoa garden had melted away to only a couple paly colonies (April 2015). June 2015 did a large water change and ended no w/c experiment. Continued to stocked the tank with various types of corals. Old corals started to grow into colonies. Coloration was still looking pale. From then to now its been pretty much the same story.
MY THEORY- When my tank was FOWLR it had an abundance of major and trace elements. When I converted it over to a reef and continued my w/c schedule along with additional major element dosing and the tank was thriving. Tank was lightly stocked so not a high uptake. As I started my experiment with not doing w/c and continued to stock the tank the supply and demand got out of whack. The corals exhausted all the trace elements that were normally being replenished thru w/c. During this time I was still dosing the major elements but a lack of trace caused issues. In June I started back on my w/c schedule in combination with dosing major elements, but have still yet to reach my previous "glory days".
Current status-Reef is 85% stocked with various SPS,LPS,softies, and inverts. Some frags, some colonies. Average growth overall, some minimal, some good. Coloration is still lacking as they all have a pale appearance. Monthly 25% w/c with Reef Crystals. Dosing major elements weekly with BRS Ca, Alk, Mg. Additional dosing- Aquavitro Fuel weekly.
Solution- I plan on for November to perform two 25% w/c biweekly and add to my dosing regiment Seachem Reef Trace. By doing this in theory it should give a good starting point and I will continue to cover all areas of coral demand by dosing major elements (BRS 3 part), trace elements(Seachem Reef Trace), and amino/vitamins(Aquavitro Fuel). On another note in my research I've found out that nitrate and phosphate levels play a factor in all of this as well..... This will be another area that I focus on as well. My current test kits don't allow me to get reading in the really low range as would be needed by a more advanced reefer. With my current test kits I'm able to conclude that nitrates are below 5 ppm and phosphates are below .25 ppm. I will be getting a Red Sea test kit that will give me more accurate numbers and if that's an issue rectify it as well.
Feel free to evaluate my statements and chime in on my theory. Am I hunting in the right area or could there be other factors causing the issue? Suggestions and opinions are welcomed!
Background- Tank setup in Feb 2013 as a FOWLR. Tank broke down and moved from TX to GA in Feb 2014. Temporary setup from Feb to Apr 2014. Tank set back up Apr 2014. October 2014 converted over to a reef. October 2014-Mar 2015 reef was thriving. Was in the initial stocking phase of the tank with corals. Great coloration and growth,coralline algae explosion. Was experimenting with how the tank would do without my normal 25% monthly water changes from February 2015-May 2015. April is when I started seeing a negative change in the tank. Overtime coralline algae started to diminish, nuisance algae started increasing on the rocks and sandbed, corals stopped growing so rapidly, and they started to appear to be pale. My fully stocked zoa garden had melted away to only a couple paly colonies (April 2015). June 2015 did a large water change and ended no w/c experiment. Continued to stocked the tank with various types of corals. Old corals started to grow into colonies. Coloration was still looking pale. From then to now its been pretty much the same story.
MY THEORY- When my tank was FOWLR it had an abundance of major and trace elements. When I converted it over to a reef and continued my w/c schedule along with additional major element dosing and the tank was thriving. Tank was lightly stocked so not a high uptake. As I started my experiment with not doing w/c and continued to stock the tank the supply and demand got out of whack. The corals exhausted all the trace elements that were normally being replenished thru w/c. During this time I was still dosing the major elements but a lack of trace caused issues. In June I started back on my w/c schedule in combination with dosing major elements, but have still yet to reach my previous "glory days".
Current status-Reef is 85% stocked with various SPS,LPS,softies, and inverts. Some frags, some colonies. Average growth overall, some minimal, some good. Coloration is still lacking as they all have a pale appearance. Monthly 25% w/c with Reef Crystals. Dosing major elements weekly with BRS Ca, Alk, Mg. Additional dosing- Aquavitro Fuel weekly.
Solution- I plan on for November to perform two 25% w/c biweekly and add to my dosing regiment Seachem Reef Trace. By doing this in theory it should give a good starting point and I will continue to cover all areas of coral demand by dosing major elements (BRS 3 part), trace elements(Seachem Reef Trace), and amino/vitamins(Aquavitro Fuel). On another note in my research I've found out that nitrate and phosphate levels play a factor in all of this as well..... This will be another area that I focus on as well. My current test kits don't allow me to get reading in the really low range as would be needed by a more advanced reefer. With my current test kits I'm able to conclude that nitrates are below 5 ppm and phosphates are below .25 ppm. I will be getting a Red Sea test kit that will give me more accurate numbers and if that's an issue rectify it as well.
Feel free to evaluate my statements and chime in on my theory. Am I hunting in the right area or could there be other factors causing the issue? Suggestions and opinions are welcomed!
