Start add corals in the tank they slow die

[serega]

Hello just start new tank 4 weeks ago, so everything is looks fine exept the corals die.
Tank don't have any thing toxic, exept PO4 that slowly go down every day (I put vodka in my tank). Only thing is kh13 and Ca 520 showing in the test, so question is this numbers gonna go down or do I need to put some chemicals to drop it down? I did't test magnesium lvl test kit is expensive. I changed 25% of water in next day test showing same numbers. Any suggestions? or leave it alone? Currently 5 fishes in there looks happy.

 

[bjohanson1234]

What kind of lighting do you have?

What are the corals you have tried?

Are you using RO/DI water or tap water to make up your salt water?

What is you salinity?

How are you acclimating them?

Vodka dosing can be very dangerous if not done properly. Why are you dosing it?

 

[serega]

I have x2 t5 one is 10k other is blue and two panels leds 12x12 each blue and withe
corals is mashrums and polyps and I really don'n know name in pet store they told me is good for beginners.
Water is RO with instant ocean salt 1.025
I really don't know how to acclimate them just put on top of rock
Vodka I use 40 drops every day I read the post on google that easest and chippest way to remove phosphates from the tank

 

[bazza1979]

i acclimatise my corals by slowly adding some of my tank water into the bag oer the space of a few hours and fine a place in my tank with turbulent water flow and not directly in front of wave maker you really need to introduce them slowly or u will end up shocking them !!!

 

[little_fish]

On a 150 that isnt enough light to grow any corals, i think that is your first issue.

The second would be how you acclimate them. You should be adding a little bit of water over the course of a few hours until the coral is in water that is mostly your tank water. This isnt as important with corals, but with fish and inverts, it is critical.

I would always start the corals on the bottom of the tank to acclimate them to your light, which is not your problem at this moment, just something to keep in mind for the future. Then slowly move them up to their permeant placement. Each different coral will want a different type of flow and lighting.

What do you have for flow in your tank? Flow is super important for good coral health.

Also you should stop dosing carbon ASAP, you could be doing more damage than good. Plus there are many better ways of reducing nitrates and phosphates.

 

[serega]

Oh I did't know that corals need to be acclimate I just put them in, for flow I use a wavemaker, also I did add a small internal filter with same directions as wavewmaker. The point is the kh and ca gonna go down or stay at this lvl?

 

[little_fish]

that depends on the type and number of corals you have, I highly doubt that is something you need to worry about right now. Also how much flow you do have? You want a minimum of the tank's volume turned over 20 times per hour.

But your biggest issue right now is that you dont have good enough lights to keep any corals

 

[serega]

So how I understood the leds not good for corals and need to be replaced with t5?
Is any meterment of lumens available to see inough light or not? Any how I like to hear about water parametrs, is Ca and Kh gonna go down or stay same lvl?
I see some purple starting grow.

 

[Ulta]

Its not gonna go down because you have no corals...

Your issue lies in the fact that you can't even keep "mashrums" alive or zoas.

Like lilfish said I would upgrade your lights first and see if that helps.

Your gonna need some Stronger Metal Halides or quite a few T5's for a 150g tank.

 

[serega]

All right just check craiglist 1 guy selling 36"x4 HO T5 will see what gonna happened, if I put bunch of small corals in tank that gonna make a sence?

 

[little_fish]

For a 150 you need either metal halides or a reputable LED setup (such as AI SOL) or keep corals. I 4 T5 setup will hardly grow any corals either.


Also if you cant list another parameters other than salinity, then I cant tell you how that will effect your coral growth.

 

[Bifferwine]

Your tank is just too big for the lights that you have. Your lighting is nowhere near strong enough. A 150 is typically too deep for T5 lighting. Like others have said, metal halide will be your best option. And metal halide is expensive (the MH lights for my 240 gallon tank cost $2000).

Unless you get better lights, that are suitable for the tank size you have, you won't be able to keep corals, unfortunately. This is an old rule of thumb, and is outdated by new technology, but for MH and T5, a general rule is to have at least 4 watts per gallon. In a 150 gallon tank, you will need at least 600 watts of light to keep even low-light corals. Two 48" T5 bulbs are about 100 watts together. Not even close to what you need. 36" T5 bulbs put out even less light.

 

[serega]

This is parametrs of water
salinity1.025 KH 13
ammonia 0 CA 500
nitrite 0 phosphate 1.0
nitrate 0 PH 8.2
Do I need to have other tests too or this should be enough?
Will try put corals closest to top of water and see what gonna happened with light

 

[Ulta]

Corals need close to Zero phosphates aswell. 1.0 is too much, 0.25 is deadly enough to kill things.

 

[serega]

So today I did my light fix. I'm not so crazy to by $2000 lights for aquarium that total with all equipment cost $700. So I shop around Lowes and Home depot that what I got
4x5k 1100 lumens flood lights -$36
4x24'' t8 950 lumens GE aqua lights from Lowes $28 plus kit to install it $40
and my 36'' t5 10k daylight and blue one plus 2 panels 12x12 leds blue and white
so total I have around 12000 lumens on my tank that equialent of 1320watt will see what gonna happen)))

 

[Bifferwine]

Ummm... Sorry to say it but those lights are not for aquariums so they aren't going to work. Corals need PAR -- photosynthetically active radiation. Since they are photosynthetic, they only use a special type of light to convert to energy. Regular household lights and flood lights do not provide the type of light that photosynthetic animals need. Research before you buy. If it was that cheap and easy to keep a reef, then all the companies selling expensive lights would be out of business. There's a reason Home Depot and Lowe's lights aren't used over aquariums.

 

[serega]

Ok I understaining that but no one on this forum did't meter a spectrum from grossery store lights.
other thing according to chart from pet store actinic coralife blue light 21watt t5 36" $20 it have a peak425-435nm 80-100 watt +550nm 35watt
so Lowes lamp $6.54 t8 24" have 430nm 60watt 550nm 60watt 625nm 100watt total lumens 950 that coralife don't tell u about the lumens u have so I can install about 15 lights of them for no more $200 for 150 gal tank
So at this point this issue I think done
Other thing is I have brown algae tank is 4 week old any suggestions about it?
Like to see fishes they go against to stream all the time

 

[bjohanson1234]

I think you need to stop and do a bit more research before you keep going. If the lights from the hardware store worked, we would all be using them.

You will waste more money trying to save a few bucks than if you just bought the right equipment to begin with.

If you can't afford propped lighting, I suggest sticking with only fish until you have saved up for lighting.

Also, check fishneedit.com they have decent pricing on lights.