What am I doing wrong? Or am I just being impatient ?

[albert_dao]

Probably your salt mix. What brand are you using? Can you test the salt after you've mixed it overnight prior to adding it to your tank?

[mandyplo]

Originally Posted by albert_dao

Probably your salt mix. What brand are you using? Can you test the salt after you've mixed it overnight prior to adding it to your tank?

Oh no I just bought two big 40lb tubs of Red Sea Reef Salt from BRS and thats what I've been using for my last couple water changes - before that, when I got the tank set up at my house from the move from my bf's I used Instant Ocean (I think the Reef Crystals was the one)

This exact stuff I am using now http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/red-se...-pro-salt.html

How can I bring the alk down? Is that the only parameter that seems out of place/bad?

[albert_dao]

Well, to be honest, it's probably not your alk that's causing the issue since you're not running probiotic.

FYI, natural SW kh is between 7-8.

I don't have any beginner-friendly ways to bring down alk, so I'll just keep my mouth shut there.

In any case, test the freshly mixed (ish, 24 hour mix) water first and we can panic after.

[Reefer Rob]

Your tank is too new and unstable to be keeping invertebrates. I would try to get them into someones tank that is more mature.

First priority should be to get your skimmer hooked up, and don't use chemicals to control things like green water...Keep it simple and take your time.

[mandyplo]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

Your tank is too new and unstable to be keeping invertebrates. I would try to get them into someones tank that is more mature.

First priority should be to get your skimmer hooked up, and don't use chemicals to control things like green water...Keep it simple and take your time.

Ok. As far as I know I'm not using any chemicals I don't know what you mean about that?

I thought my system was simple: dual carbon gfo reactor, water changes weekly, top of the line lights, no dosing, skimmer, RO/DI water. What am I doing wrong?

I feed 1 frozen cube of food a day, but I split it up into 3 different feedings throughout the day. This is literally all the maintenance I do with my tank, as well as testing with test kits and using a magnet cleaner...

[Aquattro]

I'm going to possibly disagree with Rob, I think if the tank has been running 14 months with a move 2 months ago, it's probably fine. Maybe not stable, but in a state that you should be able to keep what you have.
You mention you don't think the reactors are working right..why?
Also, get the skimmer going today, it's going to help a lot. Pics of the tank and corals will give us a better picture of what things look like. I don't see any chemicals, just the zooplankton..if this is a liquid food, stop using it for now.
What is the intensity of the light? Should be fairly high to cover than much tank.
What is your water change schedule? Changing to a new salt can sometimes throw things off a bit.

[reefwars]

Humm frogspawn and clam...two animals that react to flow, have you tried moving them around? What are u using for flow??

The clam will handle any volume of flow but may be ****ed while getting use to it.

Also what type of clam and where do you have it sand or rock??


Cheers

[mandyplo]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I'm going to possibly disagree with Rob, I think if the tank has been running 14 months with a move 2 months ago, it's probably fine. Maybe not stable, but in a state that you should be able to keep what you have.
You mention you don't think the reactors are working right..why?
Also, get the skimmer going today, it's going to help a lot. Pics of the tank and corals will give us a better picture of what things look like. I don't see any chemicals, just the zooplankton..if this is a liquid food, stop using it for now.
What is the intensity of the light? Should be fairly high to cover than much tank.
What is your water change schedule? Changing to a new salt can sometimes throw things off a bit.

I talked to the guys at BRS today they are sending me a new carbon canister - they think its faulty. I am having almost no flow coming out of the product line - its coming out drip by drip, and when I take the carbon canister out, the GFO tumbles perfectly and the flow is much faster, so any ways they're replacing the carbon canister for me hopefully that fixes the problem.

Okay so the lights came on this morning, everyone was looking much happier than yesterday. The clam was open a lot more its inhalent siphon wasn't gaping open, the frogspawn open a lot more, I could actually see the frogspawns mouths. A few hours later (now) the clam has closed up a bit a gain, its inhalent siphon is wide open (I don't know if this is a sign of stress but it seems that when the clam closes up and pulls its mantle in its inhalent siphon always seems to be wide open aswell) The frogspawn however still looks happy and a lot more open than yesterday.

the skimmer is now running. I have stopped using the zoo plankton I didn't use it yesterday or today at all.

I'm really sorry I don't know a whole lot about lights - I just read up on the kessils and saw great reviews about the A350W and was recommended to buy 2 for my tank so I did. Here is a site that talks about the intensity of the lights, but I can't really make out much from what they are saying, so maybe this link will answer your question regarding their intensity, sorry I couldn't be more helpful However I am now determined to learn about them to further my understanding about my lights and set-up as a whole. Keep in mind I have the A350W (wide angle lights) 2 of them.
http://blog.aquanerd.com/2012/04/kes...a350w-led.html

My water change schedule is once a week every sunday and I change about 10 gallons of water which would be almost 15% water change. Is this too much or too little, or is this amount okay? Could I reduce the water changes to once every 2 weeks with this amount, or is once a week better?

In the pictures attached in my album, tell me anything you think. Corals / clam look happy sad? Lights positioned ok? Anything else lol?

In the pictures, the first pictures are old (from yesterday) of the coral and clam when they looked unhappy. The pictures at the bottom (the newer ones) are from today, where the corals and clam look much happier and more open.

Note: In the third picture (the clam when I was drip acclimating) has what I think are sponges (2 different kinds) One large colony on the right and another large colony on the left - growing all over the clams shell. It also seems to have 2 barnacles on it, and as you can see some bubble algae, and on pics 6 and 7 you can see a bright pink thing on the top left part of the clam, could be another sponge not sure. Are these things that can irritate the clam? As of right now he is more open again and the inhalent siphon is not gaping anymore.

Update: The Frogspawn is even more open now than in the pic I took about an hour ago, looks way happier than yesterday.

[Reefer Rob]

Originally Posted by mandyplo

Ok. As far as I know I'm not using any chemicals I don't know what you mean about that?

I thought my system was simple: dual carbon gfo reactor, water changes weekly, top of the line lights, no dosing, skimmer, RO/DI water. What am I doing wrong?

I feed 1 frozen cube of food a day, but I split it up into 3 different feedings throughout the day. This is literally all the maintenance I do with my tank, as well as testing with test kits and using a magnet cleaner...

I say unstable because this was happening in your tank less than a month ago. You need to give this tank some time.

Definitely get something to test phosphate, a Hanna Checker would be best.

[mandyplo]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

I say unstable because this was happening in your tank less than a month ago. You need to give this tank some time.

Definitely get something to test phosphate, a Hanna Checker would be best.

It was only completely green at my boyfriends house - when we did the move, and I did the huge water change it has done nothing but improve since then and there is no trace of cloudy-ness / green water in the tank now.