Innovative marine lagoon 25

[Hinch5]

Hey all. New to the forum though I have come here to answer my questions frequently. I have had my lagoon 25 for 2 weeks now. Transfered my 7 gallon into it and pretty sure i bypassed a new cycle. But since I have had my AI prime Hd on this tank(and my 7 gallon come to think of it) my corals have been suffering. My water Params are in check and stable(I test daily, sometimes twice). I'm thinking the switch to the led from halides and t5's has been stressful. I have dialed down my light to max out at 30 percent through its schedule. Would love if some folks could bounce some ideas around.

[seabass]

Welcome to N-R.

 

How have your corals been suffering? Are they bleaching? What are your parameters?

[Clown79]

Welcome!

 

The condition of the corals is important. How have they been effected?

 

Are they going white, melting away, going brown?

[Hinch5]

Yes kinda melting away, sps pieces have bleached out within 24 hours, and zoanthids have closed up and not opened. Looks like they are shrinking. I have reduced my photo period to 6 hours and reduced the intensity.

 

Params are as follows.

Temp:78f

Sg:1.026

Ph:8.3

Amm:.5

No2:0

No3:10

Po4: 0

Calc: 540ppm

Dkh: 12.9

Mag:1500ppm

[seabass]

Your tank is having an ammonia spike. Did you transfer the old sand? Have you added anything new?

My water Params are in check and stable(I test daily, sometimes twice).

In check?

 

I'd probably dose Seachem Prime to detoxify the ammonia until your biofilter can catch up.

[Hinch5]

I used only brand new Arag alive Hawaiian Black live sand. Didn't use any of my old sand, and do you think the .5 ammonia is the culprit? That's the highest it has gotten. I am going to dose prime twice a day and purchase my skimmer soon. I have the feeling that my light has not helped though.

Not going to add any livestock until what I currently have starts levelling out and perking up. Really appreciate the feedback. Was out of the hobby for a few years

[Hinch5]

By the way, my livestock consists of:

 

1 juvenile percula clown

1 pukang damsel

1 six line wrasse

4 blue legged hermit crabs

1 emerald crab

1 nassarius snail

 

Green sinularia

Sunset monti

Red cap monti

Eagle eye zoas

Yoda palys

Watermelon zoas

Sunny D palys

1 green shroom

2 heads of frogspawn

1 Tyree Toadstool

Unknown green zoas

Gsp

[seabass]

... do you think the .5 ammonia is the culprit?

That's my guess. The light could have been adding to it, but ammonia should be undetectable.

[Hinch5]

Alright I'm gonna get a hold of that and I will repost Params in a day or two. Is that amount of ammonia enough to bleach out corals?

[seabass]

Bleaching and melting can be two different things. I normally associate bleaching with a sudden increase in light. However, like natural reefs, bleaching can be triggered by other things as well. It could be a combination of things.

 

One thing I know is that 0.5ppm of ammonia is not good, and corals could be affected by this amount.

[Hinch5]

Thanks for your feedback! I really appreciate it Seabass

[Clown79]

Definitely get Prime in there.

 

Ammonia should be 0

 

If your lights were too intense it can cause bleaching but like Seabass said there are other variables that can cause it as well.

 

I would worry more about your parameters than the light for right now.

 

Your ca and alk are on the high side but the bigger concern is getting the ammonia to 0

[Hinch5]

Yeah I can't figure out my Ca and Alk. I don't dose anything that would bring those two up. Alk has dropped from around 15 to 12.9 so in happier there, but my CA has consistently been between 500 and 550 which I can't figure out. I use D D H20cean reef salt.

[seabass]

Yeah I can't figure out my Ca and Alk. I don't dose anything that would bring those two up. Alk has dropped from around 15 to 12.9 so in happier there, but my CA has consistently been between 500 and 550 which I can't figure out. I use D D H20cean reef salt.

Assuming that your test results are close to accurate, maybe there was some settling of the elements during shipping. This can result in batches with higher concentrations, and batches with lower concentrations. Did you roll the bucket around to try to mix it up prior to using it?

[Hinch5]

Yeah, I always mix a new bucket around before mixing up water. I switched from Io because I was getting wacky numbers from that. I'm gonna test a bucket tonight after work.

[Clown79]

Yes, I have had the same issues with io. My mag is so low its ridiculous.

[Hinch5]

So good news. Got my skimmer breaking in, producing some tea coloured skimate already, did a 20 percent water change, and levels are balancing out.

 

Temp: 78

S.G: 1.026

Ph: 8.3

Amm: .1

N02: 0

N03: 0

P04: 0

Ca:540ppm

Mag: 1480ppm

Kh: 11

 

Corals are perking up already. Gonna be adding the desktop reactor and an ATO unit in the near future. I believe the combination of the new intense led lighting with the slight ammonia level was the culprit for the corals not looking well. I know lower levels of ammonia barely affect hardy fish but wow, forgot how they could really make corals unhappy.