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

[mandyplo]

Whoah sorry guys I guess all the pics I linked earlier didn't work?

Here is my frogspawn yesterday when he was still ticked off



Here he is today, much happier from what I can tell



Here is my clam yesterday not fully open (It is much more open today sorry I didn't get a pic of it today)



My unknown Favia frag



Here is my overall set up with lights over tank - some before/some after corals & clam were purchased (Are the lights too high?)





Panda can has corals?


Edit: Please ignore the ugly mesh disaster DIY top It is being replaced asap......... lol

[MMAX]

I would say your lights are too high. I'm not familiar with these LEDs that you have but from the picture they seem like they're quite a ways away.

[Spyd]

I would definitely lower the lights more. I would say a good 6" or so. It is amazing how much that will increase your par levels at the bottom of the tank.

You have very little rock in there, but, that should not be a problem because you have very little livestock in there. If you do decide to start stocking heavier, I would suggest running bio-pellets to help with the denitrifying process. Your perameters look good though. ALK is a little high but everything else is in a good range. I doubt from the pictures that you have any phosphate issues as you would see some nusience algae by now. I would suggest purchasing a Hanna checker though when you get the chance.

Definitely stop feeding the zooplankton. Your corals and clam will get enough food from the fish food. Excess zooplankton can decompose and cause all sorts of problems.

It looks as though everything is back on track for you.

[Shifty203]

Looks like you're off to a good start.

I'd agree with lowering the lights. They'll probably work at that height, but you're probably wasting some power lighting the floor.

I notice you have a glass thermometer in there. Personally I'd remove it, as they tend to break, and can cause lots of issues if it does.

[mandyplo]

Thanks for all the input - I'll lower the lights tomorrow morning. Any tips on how to lower my Alk??

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by mandyplo

Any tips on how to lower my Alk??

I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it. It should naturally come down as organics build up, although if it stays that high and bothers you, switching to a lower alk salt might be your only easy option.
But 11dkh is fine for now, certainly not the cause of your concerns.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it. It should naturally come down as organics build up, although if it stays that high and bothers you, switching to a lower alk salt might be your only easy option.
But 11dkh is fine for now, certainly not the cause of your concerns.

Agreed
Try performing 10 instead of 15% weekly changes, or do 15-20% every 2 weeks
This will let your Alk level drop some through usage as you are most likely adding more Alk to your tank with WCs than your tank is using right now
Of course, this is barring you needing to change water due to Nitrate or Phosphate issues

Your corals and skimmer will let you know when you need to change water, so don't fret so much about doing weekly changes to start with
I notice I need to do a WC when my skimmer starts to act up/create less foam/overflow, or my LPS corals start acting as yours have with lots of clamping/closing
I'm not saying this is when I change my water, just that this is what I've noticed as I've gotten used to my tank

I also know when I need to do a carbon change for the same reasons as, when the organics from corals fighting builds up in my mixed reef, I start seeing signs such as less skimmate and clamped/closing softies/LPS, and new algae growth