Need Advice: Nothing is Growing!

[bakbay]

All - I’m out of ideas so turning to this group for help. My 18mos-old 450gal has zero (or stalled) growth - even mushrooms don’t split/multiply! Lighting: 14xOR3 bars, flow: 4xMP60s.

Water params: Alk is super stable at 9dKH, NO3: 38ppm, PO4: 0.24 (was lower before). I’ve shut off the skimmer, ozone, carbon, carbon dosing, and UV. I’m letting nutrients rise on purpose to see any difference. Currently, it’s just a fleece roller. Sent in for ICP test last week, waiting for result.

Any other ideas?

 

[bakbay]

Ok - some of you will ask: when was the last WC? It was a year ago or never - lol. I’ve been dosing TM A/K.

 

[bakbay]

The tank is BB with 50% LR - no uglies.

 

[bakbay]

Angels nipping at the SPS? While true, it doesn’t explain why torches, hammers, and mushrooms don’t grow…angels don’t nip at LPS.

 

[mchain275]

Does your water district use chloramines?

 

[isaacalves]

Have you done an ICP? Oh just read your last line.

I’d wait for the results before changing anything.

 

[mescobar]

Have you done an ICP?

I think OP said he had an ICP in flight. I don't know if he has a good ICP baseline to compare against though.

 

[isaacalves]

Also, what is your pH daily trend line?

 

[drexel]

I hate to say it, but you probably need to do some water changes. If you're dosing traces and not testing them (ICP), then you have no clue if anything is depleted or elevated. Also, higher nutrients will slow growth down unless you have enough lighting to push through it. Also, with PO4 at 0.25, I would lower NO3 to 10 or so, then they're more balanced together. Right now everything is probably out of whack and nothing helps more than a series of water changes.

 

[Jimbo327]

Has it been 18 months already? Time flies! Let’s wait and see the ICP results.

When in doubt, always do a water change. LOL.

If this was my tank, I would run the skimmer to keep the DOC down and aeration/pH up. Since you already have the UV and Ozone plugged in, I would run the UV for 2-3 hours and ozone for 30 minutes-1hr at night just to polish the water and protect your fishies. I wouldn't run Ozone over 350 orp tho. And you can't beat that water clarity with a big tank. I would continue to carbon dose to drop the nitrates to be 5-10 ppm and phosphates to 0.1. Keep up with trace elements (focus on ones that are depleted) and adjust the dose based on ICP. I suspect some of your trace is way low because you run carbon and ozone, and those absorb/facilitate its removal. Most likely need to add iron, iodine, manganese separately as those deplete very fast. I probably wouldn't run carbon unless necessary to remove medication/toxins.

And just leave the tank alone so the corals can get used to the parameters.

 

[wishntoboutside]

I think it is your Apex-). Are you relying on those test and are they accurate. Sometime 10 minutes of salerf test kits can tell a lot. Have you sent in an Icp test lately?

 

[bakbay]

Thanks for all the responses -

pH is not a problem, it fluctuates between 8.1 to 8.3. I run a Kalk stirrer.

ICP: ATI is very slow vs Triton. I’ll share the results when available. My last ICP test was September (see attached) but didn’t come back with anything that was crazy off.

I’ve cross-referenced tests with Hanna last week before I let nutrients climbed (attached). I’ve also increased alk to 9dKH with soda ash.

Iron/Iodine/Manganese - being replaced with TM A/K.

Water clarity: my ORP has always been above 400, even with the ozone off. Ozone is turned off at 450 but never got there - hovered around 417, with/without ozone. I ran at only 30% 24/7. I have a new monster 160W UV, upgraded from 2x57w but never turned it on yet.

 

[mescobar]

When was the last time ORP/pH probe were re-calibrated by chance?

 

[bakbay]

When was the last time ORP/pH probe were re-calibrated by chance?

pH was calibrated 6mos ago and I stopped looking at pH since tbh. ORP: didn’t know you can successfully calibrate it.

Mushrooms don’t even grow - forget about higher pH for SPS right?

 

[bakbay]

I hate to say it, but you probably need to do some water changes. If you're dosing traces and not testing them (ICP), then you have no clue if anything is depleted or elevated. Also, higher nutrients will slow growth down unless you have enough lighting to push through it. Also, with PO4 at 0.25, I would lower NO3 to 10 or so, then they're more balanced together. Right now everything is probably out of whack and nothing helps more than a series of water changes.

I was operating at lower params but it didn’t matter anyway. Water changes (unless I do a 200gal one) will only out a small dent in NO3 but nothing for PO4. That’s why I don’t like doing WCs on big tanks.

Forget about SPS for now but my mushrooms and LPS don’t even grow. They don’t need a lot of PAR and like higher nutrients.

 

[mchain275]

What's the CO2 level in the room? Perhaps consider a CO2 scrubber to push the pH up to 8.3-8.5.

I would look into chloramines. We have the Santa Margarita Water District where I am, and they use chloramines. I was in your boat a couple years ago and found this to be helpful:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-...ID=850&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products

Don't pay full price though, it often goes on sale.

 

[bakbay]

pH: we can cross that off — the fish room is pretty well vented. I can do 2-part and kalk to push this over 8.3. I think I have a different issue — even my coralline algae hasn’t been growing.

Will look for chloramines in the ICP.

However — my 3 other tanks are growing fine! Something is definitely wrong with the water chemistry of this tank.

 

[Jimbo327]

pH: we can cross that off — the fish room is pretty well vented. I can do 2-part and kalk to push this over 8.3. I think I have a different issue — even my coralline algae hasn’t been growing.

Will look for chloramines in the ICP.

However — my 3 other tanks are growing fine! Something is definitely wrong with the water chemistry of this tank.

Almost all local cities have switched to use chloramines in the water. You can pull up Newport's water quality report, and check what is in the water.

https://www.newportbeachca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/76764/638847044042870000

Yup, NB uses chloramine in their water.

 

[bakbay]

The only thing I haven’t changed — lighting. This tank is lit by 12 Orphek OR3 and 2 OR4 blades. I bought 5 Radion G6 Blues for Xmas thinking that it was my problem. They are still sitting on the shelf.

My friend let me borrow his PAR meter but I was too lazy and didn’t care to check - the fact that mushrooms didn’t grow, I have a bigger problem, not lighting.

 

[bakbay]

Almost all local cities have switched to use chloramines in the water. You can pull up Newport's water quality report, and check what is in the water.

https://www.newportbeachca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/76764/638847044042870000

Yup, NB uses chloramine in their water.

Wow - so this is interesting. I thought RODI is good enough? ATI tests my RODI as well so let’s see what they come back with.

Precautions
Fish and aquatic life: Chloramines are toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms. Customers maintaining fish ponds, tanks, or aquariums should adjust water treatment methods accordingly. For more information, visit epa.gov/dwreginfo/chloramines-drinking-water.