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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : No I hadnt, and I forgot to look...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=597502&amp;title=nitrate-spike#597502</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=5668">jsol12</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> August&nbsp;16&nbsp;2015 at 11:07pm<br /><br />No I hadnt, and I forgot to look that up when it was first mentioned in this thread. I just googled it and I will definitely learn more. Thanks!]]>
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   <pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2015 23:07:05 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : Red sea nitrate and hanna phosphate....]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=597501&amp;title=nitrate-spike#597501</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=5378">Reefer4Ever</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> August&nbsp;16&nbsp;2015 at 10:38pm<br /><br />Red sea nitrate and hanna phosphate. Hanna doesn't make a nitrate test to my knowledge.  ]]>
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   <pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2015 22:38:52 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : Just wondering have you ever thought...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=597485&amp;title=nitrate-spike#597485</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=5450">catchoftheday</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> August&nbsp;16&nbsp;2015 at 5:55pm<br /><br />Just wondering have you ever thought of setting up an algae turf scrubber to help ? ]]>
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   <pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2015 17:55:16 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : What tests does everyone like...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=597477&amp;title=nitrate-spike#597477</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=5668">jsol12</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> August&nbsp;16&nbsp;2015 at 2:44pm<br /><br />What tests does everyone like to use for nitrate and phos? I have the red sea for Ca/Mg/KH which I like ok. &nbsp;But I hate the API nitrate one I have, as well as the SeaChem phosphate test. &nbsp;Anyone use one of those Hanna checkers? Wondering if they are worth the price.]]>
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   <pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2015 14:44:03 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : Pics with the same name won&amp;#039;t...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=596578&amp;title=nitrate-spike#596578</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=4">Mark Peterson</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> August&nbsp;02&nbsp;2015 at 9:56pm<br /><br />Pics with the same name won't load, if that's what's happening.<div><br></div><div>Okay the tank looks nice but definitely looks very new; only four months old. It needs more time to mature. At this point fish are easy because they just need clean water, but stony coral are difficult because they need a more mature tank. Soft coral can become stressed due to a change in lighting from one tank to another and going from one tank to another because of the change in the water and the environment. I'd suggest reducing the photoperiod or turning off a couple more lights for a few weeks.</div><div><br></div><div>You didn't say whether GFO or AA are being used. If so, I'd suspend their use for a little while and let the Refugium algae do it's job.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Here is a rough drawing of one way to set the light at any elevation using multiple zip ties chained together. A screw put into the top of the stand is the short black line. Purple and blue are two separate zip ties holding the clip-on cone reflector light drawn as black. I use a $3 twist PC light the highest wattage possible in daylight color. It's the best light for the money, even better than LED's.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="uploads/4/zip_tie_light_to_screw.jpg" height="672" width="792" border="0" /><br></div><div>Aloha,</div><div>Mark &nbsp;<img src="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/smileys/smiley31.gif" border="0" alt="Hug" title="Hug" /></div>]]>
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   <pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2015 21:56:23 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : Argh I can&amp;#039;t get any of the...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=596554&amp;title=nitrate-spike#596554</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=5668">jsol12</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> August&nbsp;02&nbsp;2015 at 11:54am<br /><br />Argh I can't get any of the other pics to load!!]]>
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   <pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2015 11:54:46 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : I do use that Red Sea test kit,...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=596553&amp;title=nitrate-spike#596553</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=5668">jsol12</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> August&nbsp;02&nbsp;2015 at 11:39am<br /><br />I do use that Red Sea test kit, and I like it fine. It's the stupid nitrate and phosphate tests I hate lol. I think my refugium light may be too far from the water then but I don't know how to rig it differently.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Tank has been set up since 3/28. My first batch of corals are doing well..Duncan, blasto, fire&ice zoas. Those have been in since 6/27. I also added a purple frilly gorgonian on 7/15 and it seems to be doing well, polyps always open. <br />None of the new ones added on 7/24 are doing well except eagle eye zoas. Kryptonite candy coral are all shriveled up and look terrible..I saw the polyps extending at night the first few nights but not anymore. And then I think I prematurely tried my hand at sps..2 montis, one looks kind of browned out and one is bleached. I switched their location in the tank so we'll see. Then there's a red dragon acro and I've n seen any polyps off that. Ugh. It's frustrating, I thought I could do it. The other thing is I had been trying to figure out a light schedule because I have 10 t5's and thought it might be a bit much, which is what one of the guys at the aquarium said. So I've been trying to run just 6. That was because of continued algae outbreaks despite parameters being ok. <img src="uploads/5668/image.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="font-size:10px"><br /><br />Edited by jsol12 - August&nbsp;02&nbsp;2015 at 11:42am</span>]]>
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   <pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2015 11:39:11 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : Okay, that&amp;#039;s good.The color...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=596420&amp;title=nitrate-spike#596420</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=4">Mark Peterson</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> July&nbsp;30&nbsp;2015 at 11:00pm<br /><br />Okay, that's good.<div><br></div><div>The color is okay (5000 Kelvin) but just as important is the intensity. Some hobbyists I talk to <i>don't have enough light</i> over their Refugium. The distance of the light from the algae really impacts intensity. I place Refugium lights as close to the top of the water as reasonable (with the pump off, of course).</div><div><br><div>If the water in the Refugium is being passed through GFO or AA it's possible to strip too much PO4 out of the water, such that algae doesn't grow well. Alk and Ca levels being out of whack can also negatively effect algae growth.</div><div><br></div><div>The best test kit to buy, which IMO every hobbyist should have and use is the Red Sea Reef Pro. It's very much worth the $45 for accurate and immediate testing of Alk, Ca and Mg.&nbsp;</div></div><div><br></div><div>Before we get too far off topic, lets go back and look at the original issue. Coral looking poorly. Which coral are we talking about? How long has the tank been set up? May we see a pic of the tank?</div><div><br></div><div>Looking again at the OP, a Ca level of 400 is not low. It is totally within range. Also, I just realized that I was a little too quick to judge. It looks like Nitrate had been running at 5 ppm but had risen to 20 ppm, right? 20 ppm is not high. It is a totally acceptable level, but sometimes any amount of increase (or decrease) can cause coral stress. Not serious stress. If that's all it was, they should be happy again in a few days.</div><div><br></div><div>The Reefkeeping Tips are a compilation of discussions/opinions by hobbyists here on the forum on the specified topics. They deal with a lot of issues that new hobbyist come up against.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>To quote an old friend, "Keep both arms in the tank and enjoy the ride."</div><div>Aloha,</div><div>Mark &nbsp;<img src="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/smileys/smiley31.gif" border="0" alt="Hug" title="Hug" /></div>]]>
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   <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2015 23:00:37 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike : Thank you everyone. I didn&amp;#039;t...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=596414&amp;title=nitrate-spike#596414</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=5668">jsol12</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> July&nbsp;30&nbsp;2015 at 10:27pm<br /><br />Thank you everyone. &nbsp;I didn't think about taking my h20 to the lfs. &nbsp;I don't like test strips, I don't use them regularly. &nbsp;The nitrate test I usually use is the seachem one, but I don't love or fully trust that one either and I hate arbitrarily matching the colors in these test kits. &nbsp;Maybe I'll start to take my h20 to be tested when I have a doubt. &nbsp;<div><br></div><div>Mark, I should clarify some things &nbsp;First, I do have a 5000k bulb in my refugium that I keep on at night. Actually the reason I increased the feedings was not for the corals sake but for the macroalgae. I was talking to another reefer about how all my chaeto gradually disappeared after about a week or so of putting it in. &nbsp;My nitrates and PO4 have usually been close to 0, so he suggested maybe I feed a little more so that the macro had a little more to grow on. &nbsp;I still don't feed that much where a ton is settling on the bottom. &nbsp;Based on what I've read online it sounds like the tank can be a little too clean in regards to macroalgae. As for mixing new saltwater, I don't have the time or patience to let the saltwater aerate forever and heat up to match my tank temp exactly, so in my limited experience, I have found what you say to be true! I would love your info about feeding your system and I also am going to try reading all your reefkeeping tip posts asap.</div>]]>
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   <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2015 22:27:25 +0000</pubDate>
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   <title><![CDATA[Nitrate spike :   jsol12 wrote:...I haven&amp;#039;t...]]></title>
   <link>http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=76983&amp;PID=596404&amp;title=nitrate-spike#596404</link>
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    <![CDATA[<strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/member_profile.asp?PF=4">Mark Peterson</a><br /><strong>Subject:</strong> 76983<br /><strong>Posted:</strong> July&nbsp;30&nbsp;2015 at 8:04pm<br /><br /><table width="99%"><tr><td class="BBquote"><img src="forum_images/quote_box.png" title="Originally posted by jsol12" alt="Originally posted by jsol12" style="vertical-align: text-bottom;" /> <strong>jsol12 wrote:</strong><br /><br />...I haven't done anything drastically different with feeding, although I have bumped up the amount I feed a little bit since I added the corals. &nbsp;</td></tr></table> Over the years, I've grown tons of coral for a living, but I have never bumped up feeding for a new addition of coral. That additional food is the reason for the spike in pollution, in fact, from what was also said about algae issues, I'm sure the system is being fed too much.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>Coincidentally today, a coworker that has seen my coral farm, asked me about my secret for growing coral. I'm not sure I have any secrets, but my answer to him was that I feed the entire system and let the system feed the coral. Let me know if you want more detail about feeding the system.</div><div><br></div><div>Regarding mixing saltwater:</div><div>1) Most hobbyists don't realize this, but as much as a 10 degree temperature difference doesn't matter.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.4;">I've done it enough to know.&nbsp;<img src="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/smileys/smiley1.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /></span></div><div>2) Newly mixed, well stirred salt water can be added immediately.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.4;">I've used 5 gal buckets where I pour the salt water back and forth a few times to aerate it before pouring into the tank, taking care not to pour directly on a coral.&nbsp;</span></div><div><span style="line-height: 1.4;">3) 10%-20% monthly is an adequate water change schedule. Much more than that is just a waste of time and salt mix. A mature system can go many months between water changes, so long as Salinity, Temp, Alk, Ca, and Mg are kept within range.</span></div><div><br></div><div>Oh, and one more thing... The RDP Refugium should have a large growth of Macroalgae illuminated all night (16 hours) with a bright light or it cannot do one of it's main jobs, that of reducing pollution (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and Phosphate).</div><div><br></div><div>Aloha,</div><div>Mark &nbsp;<img src="http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/smileys/smiley31.gif" border="0" alt="Hug" title="Hug" /></div><span style="font-size:10px"><br /><br />Edited by Mark Peterson - July&nbsp;30&nbsp;2015 at 8:22pm</span>]]>
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   <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:04:55 +0000</pubDate>
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