Sierra Bravo

I was asking because the first few things that came to mind as to why your calcium was decreasing would be an increase in growth, really high magnesium (which causes it to precipitate out), or dilution. For folks to get an idea on why your toadstool is looking bad it's helpful to know if your nutrients are low, and in addition to water quality, your lighting may come into play as well. I'm not going to claim to know the answer to give you guidance, there are people on here that are much more knowledgeable and experienced than I am, but something is out of whack if your calcium is dropping and your Alk is at 6. Personally, I would start with some water changes and begin to work to slowly get your parameters in line with the levels Randal Holmes-Farley recommends, especially for Alk, Calc, Mag, Nitrates, and Phosphorus. Nitrates can be a little higher up to 5 ppm, especially in a softie or LPS reef tank. For alk and calcium look into BRS two part dosing or kalkwasser. It's a lot cheaper than the supplements the fish store will recommend. Hopefully, you'll get some input from some of our more experienced members as well.

If I understand correctly, if you're showing 107.8 ppm then your dKH is only 6.027. What are your magnesium, nitrates, phosphorus, and pH all at? Did you have a lot of coralline growth prior to the decrease in Ca?

WWC Grafted Sunfire monti:

I added a swallowtail angel to the DT and to my surprise, brought the chromis back out into the water column. My purple tang has had them cowarding in the rocks most of the day but the angel has injected them with newly found bravado. Looking forward to adding my bimacs.

I started dosing nitrates today in the form of a sodium nitrate solution. Up until March my nitrates held around 4 ppm using a Red Sea Pro test, but since then they have been barely detectable and I bought new reagents to make sure it wasn't the test kit. I've increased fish load and feeding with no effect except increased phosphates. I'll see if I can get them slowly back up to hold at 4 ppm over the next week. I started dosing nitrates today in the form of a sodium nitrate solution. Up until March my nitrates held around 4 ppm using a Red Sea Pro test, but since then they have been barely detectable and I bought new reagents to make sure it wasn't the test kit. I've increased fish load and feeding with no effect except increased phosphates. I'll see if I can get them slowly back up to hold at 4 ppm over the next week. I started dosing nitrates today in the form of a sodium nitrate solution. Up until March my nitrates held around 4 ppm using a Red Sea Pro test, but since then they have been barely detectable and I bought new reagents to make sure it wasn't the test kit. I've increased fish load and feeding with no effect except increased phosphates. I'll see if I can get them slowly back up to hold at 4 ppm over the next week.

I am worried that my mystery wrasse might make a snack of them, though.

I have so many pods in my rock and rubble I doubt they will ever need to come out. I'm hoping, however, that they eventually find a coral to perch on during the day after they get used to the environment.

Moved my pair of greenbanded gobies from QT to the display. I have a feeling I'm not going to see them much. . . they are so small they were hard to find sometimes in an empty 20-gallon tank. But they are cool little dudes.

What part of SoFla were you from? I came to San Antonio from Pembroke Pines; grew up in Ocala.

Welcome!

Well, if he's a little skittish you could leave the bottle in there to help him get used to it and maybe start feeding him a few pieces of whatever bait you're using to entice him. I think he'd be able to be trapped daytime. No one said it would be easy-peasy. . .er, ummm, yes; ahem. . . 🙄

😋

Sent a PM on the Curacao. Won't be able to take advantage of it today - a great opportunity for a rare fish you'll hardly ever see offered. Good luck on the breakdown - I feel for you.

16 oz plastic bottle, holes around the bottom to help it sink (I put in a small fishing sinker) and a chunk of shrimp or clam for bait. Fishing line to pull it when it goes in. Easy-peasy.

Nah - I bet you have a little notebook on your nightstand where you jot these ideas down. You've been musing on those for a while. . . you don't just come up with "automatic tank vacuum" on a whim! 😃

I've got about 20 gallons in my storage container - 1604 and 281 in San Antonio. What's your need?

Where's your pH at with it that low?

Well, that's encouraging that they match. May I ask why you keep your dKH at that low of a level? I know that natural reefs run 6-8, but most guidelines recommend 8 -12 supposedly to encourage growth. We know from your tanks that growth is not an issue for you.

Your tank is "cycled" when no ammonia or nitrite is measurable and nitrate is present, indicating you have a sufficient amount of nitrifying bacteria available breaking down the ammonia and nitrites. Cyano, algae, diatoms, etc. are not technically a part of cycling but symptomatic of a new tank. . .sometimes. Not everyone goes through it. If your tests are correct than they indicate you have cycled.

Open and pour your reagent package as shown in this video. I've never had an issue getting all to nearly all the reagent into a vial. It also helps to thump/shake the envelope like you would a pack of sugar before cutting it open as well.

Fate reviewed your price list before deciding which coral to take from you. I'm glad it wasn't more than it was, not that it makes it any better. Every time I travel I expect a problem to happen; it's become a pleasant surprise to return home and find everything OK.

Early morning FTS. Yellow watchman already looking for breakfast.

Good job! I'm looking forward to seeing you set this up and how this works for you. What I'm mostly curious about is just how much more stability you can achieve and if you will observe a perceivable difference because of it. I assume that's the end game, using the monitoring function in conjunction with dosing to stabilize the Big 3, right? However, if you are already running a dialed in calcium reactor, just how much difference can it really make? BTW, I chuckled @ 2:40; I was surprised you actually knew what those were! 🤣