[New Reefer] Cycling new tank

[mhcraft]

Hi Fellow Reefers,

Firstly, want to thank everyone as i have been reading a bunch of discussions and it has been extremely helpful however I do need some help  I've been cycling my new tank for a week plus but have not necessarily seen the progress so figure to validate with everyone

Tank Details:

- Fluval Evo 13.5G

- Live Sands & Non-Live Rocks

- RODI water with 0 TDS

- Salinity about 1.025

- I have set the temp to 27C for now, plan to lower it once cycling is done (heard it is faster if temp are warmer)

- Test kit using Seneye Reef Monitor

- Plan is to have 2 clown fishes and soft corals or LPS..no SPS for now.

How did i cycle

- I added Ammonia to about 0.12 ppm as per Seneye NH3 reading

- I then used Brightwell MicroBacter XLM and initially added 15ml as per direction

Problems I have:

1. my PH level has always been low even before I start cycling. Right now it is sitting at 7.25. I read a few articles and was told to ignore it for now until cycling finishes however it makes me wonder if it will impact the cycling. Do i need to worry and if so, how do i bump it up?

2. After a week plus, the NH3 level is still about 0.11. During the week, i have since top up my MicroBacter 3 times (15 ml each) however my NH3 levels are still high. I do see my NH4 level increased to 92.8 ppb or 0.092 ppm however both readings have been stagnant for past few days

Question:

1. I have also did a lot reading about nitrates and there are conflicting views about removing / ensuring it is close to 0. Seeing that i am planning to have fishes & corals, do i need to ensure nitrates remains close to 0 and if so, besides weekly water change, what else can I do to improve it. I read about use Algae Caeto but it would mean i need to sacrifice some of my filter space in the fluval evo compartment. There are 3 compartments, one i am using for pump, another for skimmer and the middle one is for the stock filter

 

Hopefully some gurus can advise

[PulposTriste]

On 3/19/2021 at 10:00 AM, mhcraft said:

Problems I have:

1. my PH level has always been low even before I start cycling. Right now it is sitting at 7.25. I read a few articles and was told to ignore it for now until cycling finishes however it makes me wonder if it will impact the cycling. Do i need to worry and if so, how do i bump it up?

Ph is fine for now, it gets important once you put corals and lifestock in.

 

 

On 3/19/2021 at 10:00 AM, mhcraft said:

2. After a week plus, the NH3 level is still about 0.11. During the week, i have since top up my MicroBacter 3 times (15 ml each) however my NH3 levels are still high. I do see my NH4 level increased to 92.8 ppb or 0.092 ppm however both readings have been stagnant for past few days

You can try to increase the amount of food and add more bacteria (it's ok to overdose most bacteria product, just don't over do it lol)

But really you just have to wait it out. Patience bro. 

 

 

On 3/19/2021 at 10:00 AM, mhcraft said:

Question:

1. I have also did a lot reading about nitrates and there are conflicting views about removing / ensuring it is close to 0. Seeing that i am planning to have fishes & corals, do i need to ensure nitrates remains close to 0 and if so, besides weekly water change, what else can I do to improve it. I read about use Algae Caeto but it would mean i need to sacrifice some of my filter space in the fluval evo compartment. There are 3 compartments, one i am using for pump, another for skimmer and the middle one is for the stock filter

Despite what people say, nitrate is not that big of an issue

If anything it's bad if your tank is too clean, a bit of nitrate is what your coral needs for food. 

What you really want to keep close to zero is phosphate/silicate. Use Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) to keep the levels low.

Try to avoid any aluminium based phosphate removers, they have a whitish appearance.

As for cheato, in my opinion, not necessary for a tank that size.

If you really want you can try macroalgae of the genus caulerpa. Those imo are more effective them cheato and can grow in your display, but depends on your aesthetic.

 

 

[R0B]

Patience.  Your levels are as should be expected.. take your time and all will be well.  Your tank is starting to build up the necessary bacteria it needs to sustain life.. although you may need to give it a nudge in the right direction.

Tools like GFO do a good job of controlling phosphate, possibly too good, as they are rather strong chemicals that not only bind with phosphate but also other important trace elements. The issue is that Nitrates and Phosphates are not horrible poisons that need to avoided at all cost, but rather nutrients that corals need to stay healthy, and should be managed accordingly. As such I would suggest you use the GFO very lightly (if at all), and utilise water changes instead correct any future imbalance. But there are other courses of action you can investigate and potentially take...

Regarding macroalgea... whilst this is a more natural way that targets both nitrate and phosphate, it would be difficult to sustain enough macroalgae given the small amount of nitrates your tank will produce. 

So what to do and why are your phosphates high? Well at this stage it's due to biology, more specifically the polyphosphate accumulating bacteria and the sulfate-reducing bacteria are dominating. As they compete with other biological denitrifiers (under certain circumstances) they release phosphate, hence, your elevated levels. What you may want to look into is the likes of Tropic Marin's NP series of carbon dosing. These products promote the correct biological adaptations in your tank. Tropic Marin have a range of dosing liquids that are blended for different phosphate levels, promoting heterotrophic bacteria. In your case, their 'elimi NP' can be used if you have high concentration of phosphate.  More is explained here  

It's all about biology... give it time and the good bacteria will win out (if you let them). Good luck. Sounds like you are on a good path. 

Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

[mhcraft]

5 hours ago, PulposTriste said:

Ph is fine for now, it gets important once you put corals and lifestock in.

 

 

You can try to increase the amount of food and add more bacteria (it's ok to overdose most bacteria product, just don't over do it lol)

But really you just have to wait it out. Patience bro. 

 

 

Despite what people say, nitrate is not that big of an issue

If anything it's bad if your tank is too clean, a bit of nitrate is what your coral needs for food. 

What you really want to keep close to zero is phosphate/silicate. Use Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) to keep the levels low.

Try to avoid any aluminium based phosphate removers, they have a whitish appearance.

As for cheato, in my opinion, not necessary for a tank that size.

If you really want you can try macroalgae of the genus caulerpa. Those imo are more effective them cheato and can grow in your display, but depends on your aesthetic.

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion bro. I will ignore the PH levels for now..the ammonia is steadily reducing..perhaps not at a pace i am hoping for but I will be patient as many bros advised.

Thanks for the confirmation on nitrate as well. There are just too many information / views out there. I just want to make sure i have a good start so my life will be easier down the road...many thanks

1 hour ago, R0B said:

Patience.  Your levels are as should be expected.. take your time and all will be well.  Your tank is starting to build up the necessary bacteria it needs to sustain life.. although you may need to give it a nudge in the right direction.

Tools like GFO do a good job of controlling phosphate, possibly too good, as they are rather strong chemicals that not only bind with phosphate but also other important trace elements. The issue is that Nitrates and Phosphates are not horrible poisons that need to avoided at all cost, but rather nutrients that corals need to stay healthy, and should be managed accordingly. As such I would suggest you use the GFO very lightly (if at all), and utilise water changes instead correct any future imbalance. But there are other courses of action you can investigate and potentially take...

Regarding macroalgea... whilst this is a more natural way that targets both nitrate and phosphate, it would be difficult to sustain enough macroalgae given the small amount of nitrates your tank will produce. 

So what to do and why are your phosphates high? Well at this stage it's due to biology, more specifically the polyphosphate accumulating bacteria and the sulfate-reducing bacteria are dominating. As they compete with other biological denitrifiers (under certain circumstances) they release phosphate, hence, your elevated levels. What you may want to look into is the likes of Tropic Marin's NP series of carbon dosing. These products promote the correct biological adaptations in your tank. Tropic Marin have a range of dosing liquids that are blended for different phosphate levels, promoting heterotrophic bacteria. In your case, their 'elimi NP' can be used if you have high concentration of phosphate.  More is explained here  

 

It's all about biology... give it time and the good bacteria will win out (if you let them). Good luck. Sounds like you are on a good path. 

Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app
 

 

Yep..sounds like i need to be patient. Been 3 weeks but the levels are reducing. I will dose the microbacter again tomorrow just to give it a nudge

My plan is to get a pair of clowns first and once that stabilize, i will start looking at corals..what i noticed as well as i need to buy at least two test kits of everything, even PH and temps...as my seneye is not as accurate as i hope for.

[mhcraft]

Quick update:

After about 5 weeks since I started cycle, my parameters became solid (had to be very patient)

I have since added two clownfishes and 7 snails (although 2 died a couple days after) despite I was being very patient acclimating them - not sure why.

Overall parameters are good after a week although my sand are turning brownish (read some articles and it seems nothing much I can do for now). I also did set up my ATO with kalk just to make sure my PH dont drop too much but it has pretty much been steady at 7.9 - 8.

[dtdream]

Following! I'm cycling just rocks right now as my tank is not here. Seems I'm a couple weeks behind you. My pH dropped like a brick too during 1st week cycling. Lowest at 7 on Seneye! But unlike you I couldn't tahan and added a little kalk to buff it up a little to 7.6. This was about a week ago.

Yea my Seneye reef doesn't seem to be as accurate as I hoped to too. Wondering if its a faulty slide or not. I bought a separate PH meter and it read higher than the Seneye (eg. Seneye reading 7.2, pH meter read 7.8). But no idea if the meter is accurate also, lol. Your current pH reading of 7.9-8 is on the Seneye?

7 snails seems abit much though. Are you using dry or live rock? Won't the snails have nothing to eat?

 

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by dtdream

[mhcraft]

Yea...best is buy another PH meter and get some calibration liquid to make sure. Don't worry about the PH now - after extensive research and going it through myself, once cycling is done and your bacteria brought down your ammonia levels, PH will rise. The other thing i learn is that to ensure there are sufficient water flow as that would also help increase the O2 level which helps with PH levels as well.

Yea - i went to SAS and they recommended 7...the fact that 2 of them died a couple days later, i don't think its related to food...maybe i didn't go a good job acclimating them (although i did for 30 mins and mixed the water).

As you can see in the picture, diatoms are also growing so pretty sure sufficient food. I just need to see how to deal with diatoms and will feedback. Most posts are saying to be patient as it is normal for new tanks but some are recommending to remove phosphate or use vibrant to kill it...for now i am not doing anything and will monitor further

[dtdream]

Yea I read quite abit too, but from what I read, the more “normal” ph drop is to 7.5 or 7.6, less than that is uncommon. But in any case, my ph level is now back to more normal levels, currently 7.8, so I’ll just have to be patient too. 

Not too sure on the snails, I read on other US forums, it seems we don’t need that many snails unless the tank is fairly established. A new tank apparently not much to eat. But yea I would agree prob not food, since dying from hunger in only 2 days seems abit too quick haha! Maybe just suay. 

Did you use only dry rock as well? Apparently most tanks go through the  “ugly” phases if using purely dry rock. I’m still contemplating seeding my tank with a little “real” live rock, like maybe a small or medium piece, to introduce more biodiversity. Apparently it can help skip or minimize the ugly phase. But chance of introducing pests like apitasia is also higher.. choices choices!

[JiaEn]

IMO,  one key idea of tank cycling is to match the three important aspect of the aquarium:

Livestock

Feeding

Biofiltration

Ideally these three factors should build up at around the same pace. If any of these lags behind, or increase too fast, it's inefficient and may cause some problems .

 

As for the ugly stage, be patient,  it will pass. Allow it to expend whatever excess nutrients/elements in your aquarium, and you will have a good foundation for the build up. 

[PulposTriste]

3 hours ago, JiaEn said:

IMO,  one key idea of tank cycling is to match the three important aspect of the aquarium:

Livestock

Feeding

Biofiltration

Ideally these three factors should build up at around the same pace. If any of these lags behind, or increase too fast, it's inefficient and may cause some problems .

 

As for the ugly stage, be patient,  it will pass. Allow it to expend whatever excess nutrients/elements in your aquarium, and you will have a good foundation for the build up. 

Agree with the bro above, the ugly phase is one all must go through. 

You are, at the end of the day, creating a closed ecosystem. The only reason something is wrong (algae/Dino/cyano blooms) is because the delicate balance has been disrupted.

Personally I would not attempt to fix any form of blooms with chemicals.

I've met lots of different forms of pest algae including the rare ones (chrysophytes, pink cotton, various wild hitchhikers like padina, sargassum, etc)

None of them did I ever have to resort to chemical means (Sole exception is bryopsis, I pray you never need to experience this haha)

Even stuff like dino and cyano can be beaten by letting other algae outcompete them, like hair algae for example. Then after, use snails or sea hares to control the gha.

You must not forget a healthy thriving system will always have algae, the reason they get out of control (and become what we call "pests") is pretty much always because the balance is disrupted.

Finally, be cautious when adding food/nutrients, because whatever goes in, much come out. Unless you want to feed the algae 

It's gonna be a bumpy ride but it's part of the experience, don't get discouraged yeah. And do make a thread so we can see your progress + help you out 

[Noobie Reefer]

On 4/8/2021 at 12:14 AM, PulposTriste said:

Agree with the bro above, the ugly phase is one all must go through. 

You are, at the end of the day, creating a closed ecosystem. The only reason something is wrong (algae/Dino/cyano blooms) is because the delicate balance has been disrupted.

Personally I would not attempt to fix any form of blooms with chemicals.

I've met lots of different forms of pest algae including the rare ones (chrysophytes, pink cotton, various wild hitchhikers like padina, sargassum, etc)

None of them did I ever have to resort to chemical means (Sole exception is bryopsis, I pray you never need to experience this haha)

Even stuff like dino and cyano can be beaten by letting other algae outcompete them, like hair algae for example. Then after, use snails or sea hares to control the gha.

You must not forget a healthy thriving system will always have algae, the reason they get out of control (and become what we call "pests") is pretty much always because the balance is disrupted.

Finally, be cautious when adding food/nutrients, because whatever goes in, much come out. Unless you want to feed the algae 

It's gonna be a bumpy ride but it's part of the experience, don't get discouraged yeah. And do make a thread so we can see your progress + help you out 

should we add coral before or after the ugly phase?

[PulposTriste]

48 minutes ago, Noobie Reefer said:

should we add coral before or after the ugly phase?

Always after, ugly phase means the system is not balanced. Let everything settle first, then test for the essential chemicals.

[SubzeroLT]

On 4/6/2021 at 12:23 PM, mhcraft said:

Quick update:

After about 5 weeks since I started cycle, my parameters became solid (had to be very patient)

I have since added two clownfishes and 7 snails (although 2 died a couple days after) despite I was being very patient acclimating them - not sure why.

Overall parameters are good after a week although my sand are turning brownish (read some articles and it seems nothing much I can do for now). I also did set up my ATO with kalk just to make sure my PH dont drop too much but it has pretty much been steady at 7.9 - 8.

Exciting days ahead!!

I noticed you commented about using kalkwasser with ATO. In your case, as you do not have corals, Ca & KH should not reduce as it is not consumed. But by adding kalk, you may be continuously increasing Ca & Alkalinity. Personally, i won't be bothered with pH (don't chase the numbers). Without corals, just use fresh water for ATO.

Regarding biodiversity, don't add live rocks from LFS. They are loaded with pests and risk doing more harm than good. In any case, once you add corals, you will get 'new' bacteria anyway. If you are 'kiasu', just add different brands of bacteria along the way. Microbacter7 is good. Prodibio BioDigest or Fauna Marin Bakto Blend are also other good products.

Regarding the ugly diatom phase, just wait it out. Diatoms are actually algae in a silicate (glass) shell. Don't stir or blow it off. Siphon out the diatoms when you do water change to export them permanently. Phosphate reducing media (GFO, Rowaphos) are known to bind silicates.

The old school of thought from many years ago is to have close to zero nitrate/phosphate (similar to natural sea water). The current common practice is to have slightly elevated levels since the home aquarium environment is different from the ocean. Again, recommendation is not to chase numbers to get close to 0 nitrate/phosphate. Fish & most corals are tolerant. Even if you have 25ppm nitrate of 0.1ppm phosphates, the tank will do fine.

 

 

[JiaEn]

Agree with @SubzeroLT that diatom is really not a huge problem,  and waiting for it to pass is probably the best course of action.  

I think what you should try next is to start managing the potential algae issues.  Two actions to consider:

1. Introduce competition:

Nothing in your aquarium competes with algae for nutrients at this point.  So most of the available nutrients will be take up by algae eventually. This is not ideal. Start with some less demanding corals,  and allow them to settle down and start taking up nutrients, goes a long way towards curbing algae bloom. 

2. Introduce herbivores:

I saw that you have introduced some snails.  But it is not realistic to expect them to graze on all types of algae. Start to diversify your clean up crews,  and also include some detrivores. 

Rather than having 5-7 snails of the same type, having 5-7 different type of clean up crew will be much more effective. It also reduces the chance of them starving. 

[mhcraft]

Thanks everyone. Lots of information here so it is a very good topic and lots of digest.

Just a quick update

1. The two clowns are doing very well. Diatoms are somewhat stabilizing with weekly water change however I took advise by a fellow reefer to introduce phosguard and i will report back if that further reduces diatoms in my tank

2. I proceeded to add my first anemone as I am very keen to see my clowns hosting the anemone (that's the reason i bought the anemone anyway). The rose bubbletip anemone is doing well...opening up in the day and closing up at night. Sometimes it hides under the rock but sometimes it comes up - did a lot of reading and that seems normal so i leave it alone however i must say i am a bit worried about adding coral until it fully settles down.

3. My main issue now remains to be PH as it drops to levels that i feel critical - the swing between day & night is huge (i read that this is due to  photosynthesis but i don't have any corals in my tank so I am confused) but more importantly, it is heading downwards. I left it to my ATO to top up the kalk (my DKH is still not too bad about 8 DKH) as one reefer pointed out, I am conscious that nothing is consuming the alk but again very worrying about my PH levels & swing. Right now it is about 0.3 swing with the lowest is at 7.6!

- Any advise? I am thinking to start adding some basic corals to help with photosynthesis & dkh consuming. I attached my seneye dashboard - i just recalibrated my PH meter a week ago but will do it again to make sure it is still accurate.

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2021 by mhcraft

[PulposTriste]

Bro haha, anemones need a very mature/established tank one, they sibei sensitive.

Not to say undoable (done it before, not easy) but keep a close eye on it and feed it regularly.

Lighting may also be an issue if youre using the stock fluval light, but ofc continue to monitor.

Biggest threat I can see now is your AI Nero, those things are mini blenders haha. You should try to get something to guard the intake. Try wrapping it with something like this. Just in case your anemone decide to go on a trip.

 

Also day/night pH swings are normal. You can try to stabilise it with borate buffers like Aquavitro eight.four. 

Another possibility is low magnesium, test it out and let us know.

 

[mhcraft]

So far the BTA doing well...yea the nero 3 comes with a guard and I have installed it...was very nervous about it.

Yea i bought additional ca and mg test kits...this hobby not cheap XD

Whats wrong with my lighting? I have seen a lot ppl changing the stock fuval lights

[JiaEn]

On 4/16/2021 at 10:56 AM, mhcraft said:

My main issue now remains to be PH as it drops to levels that i feel critical

Hey. Sorry if I have missed out the info.  Are you using a protein skimmer?  Without it, you may be facing some gas exchange issues. When the carbon dioxide is not adequately removed from the water, it really drives the pH down. 

Another possiblity is got to do with the room. If the room is poorly ventilated (for example,  due to use of air con), the carbon dioxide level is gonna be high. This will impact the tank pH as well. 

On 4/16/2021 at 10:56 AM, mhcraft said:

the swing between day & night is huge (i read that this is due to  photosynthesis but i don't have any corals in my tank so I am confused)

The various micro algae photosynthesize in the presence of light. So even without any corals,  there could be a sizable population of photosynthetic organisms. 

Another aspect to consider, is your personal routines. If more people are indoors at night,  and doors and windows are tightly closed,  then the carbon dioxide level in the room is gonna increase. This could also contribute to the trend you see. 

 

32 minutes ago, PulposTriste said:

borate buffers

I'm a bit weary about borate buffer though.  They may interfere with the alkalinity measurements down the road when the root cause of low pH is addressed. 

[PulposTriste]

30 minutes ago, mhcraft said:

Whats wrong with my lighting? I have seen a lot ppl changing the stock fuval lights

The stock fluval light a is bit too weak, it's designed for Softies/LPS.

It could work, but i recommend replacing/supplementing.

Here's a very good example:

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/381724-fluval-evo-135-crazy-sps-growth-after-lighting-upgrade/#comment-5490433

Unfortunately the Truelumen LEDs appear to have been discontinued but im sure there are other LED strips available on the market. Just make sure they can fit under the hood.

And if all else fails, you can always DIY very simple LED strips, all you need to know is basic electronics. I can help you make one if you interested haha. 

 

27 minutes ago, JiaEn said:

Hey. Sorry if I have missed out the info.  Are you using a protein skimmer?  Without it, you may be facing some gas exchange issues. When the carbon dioxide is not adequately removed from the water, it really drives the pH down. 

Another possiblity is got to do with the room. If the room is poorly ventilated (for example,  due to use of air con), the carbon dioxide level is gonna be high. This will impact the tank pH as well.

As for gas exchange, since you already have a wavemaker, just point your return nozzle higher for more surface agitation. Ofc like JiaEn said, poor ventilation can affect the system too.

Protein skimmer, I still think it's absolutely unnecessary ($80 for the Fluval PS2), might as well get an wood airstone and put it into the sump haha.

That being said, my Pico 5 Gallon has about the same pH reading (if not lower) as yours. I keep my BTA and SPS inside just fine.

[JiaEn]

15 minutes ago, PulposTriste said:

wood airstone

A simple and effective approach! Just make sure there is no excessive splashing and salt creep,  this will go a long way to help gas exchange,  which is very important. For export wise, I agree that for very small tanks, protein skimmers may be not essential.

 

Once more corals and other living things are added. The demand for gas exchange will be even greater during dark hours. 

[Mochi]

Very interesting and useful tips, keeping track for more update (:

[mhcraft]

Hi Fellow Reefers,

It has been almost 2 months since i started cycling my tank. Some quick update:

1. I have been hit with diatoms & green algae. Taking advise from fellow bros, i started introducing phosguard into my chamber and have just started dosing reasea nopox. My phos has since went down to zero (i dont have accurate measurement, using salfert) and I have not measure my nitrate yet (was 10 ppm).

2. To deal with algea, i reduced my lighting schedule. I was doing 12 hours and I realize it was too long so i reduced it to 8 hours (using standard fluval evo lights - not sure if it matters or different lights can help with algae management?)

3. I am still struggling with my PH and it seems to get worst since i did point 1 & 2. I am planning to recalibrate my PH meter, just to be sure (calibrated 3 weeks ago) but I couldn't even reach 8.0 now...it is doing about 7.6 to 7.9 which is very bad. I have also been dosing my tank with kalk via ATO (dKH is around 7) - it helps a bit but feels like losing battle.

Need advise:

1. One thing i think i can do better is the placement of my tank. Right now, it is on top my shoe cabinet, next to my main door. The airflow is kinda limited there (I have the standard fluval ps2 skimmer running 24/7) plus my chiller is just next to the tank (not sure if this makes CO2 worst)

2. I have wavemaker agitating the water surface in the attempt to stimulate gas exchange but not sure if it is helping. I have my standard fluval cover - not sure if that would prevent proper gas exchange?

Pictures:

PH Levels in past week

Tank Photo - changed to bluelight for better picture - as you can see, Seneye is not very happy with my ph  :

[SubzeroLT]

Its important not to let either nitrates or phosphates hit 0ppm for prolonged period as the imbalance can trigger dinoflagellates which is much harder to resolve. For phosphate resins, its best to put it in a reactor where you can tune the flow rate depending on the requirements.

Lighting period. What kind of corals do you have in there? When you say 8 or 12hr lighting period, how much of it is strong lighting? How long is blue light? Typically a 4-5hr bright lighting is sufficient. But again, it really depends on your coral type. Its best to get a PAR measurement to take away guess work.

Regarding pH. You do need covers else the clownfish will jump out. You can try lifting the cover a tiny bit just to allow more air exchange. My suspicion is the pH is inaccurate. What kind of meter are you using?

 

 

[mhcraft]

2 hours ago, SubzeroLT said:

Its important not to let either nitrates or phosphates hit 0ppm for prolonged period as the imbalance can trigger dinoflagellates which is much harder to resolve. For phosphate resins, its best to put it in a reactor where you can tune the flow rate depending on the requirements.

Lighting period. What kind of corals do you have in there? When you say 8 or 12hr lighting period, how much of it is strong lighting? How long is blue light? Typically a 4-5hr bright lighting is sufficient. But again, it really depends on your coral type. Its best to get a PAR measurement to take away guess work.

Regarding pH. You do need covers else the clownfish will jump out. You can try lifting the cover a tiny bit just to allow more air exchange. My suspicion is the pH is inaccurate. What kind of meter are you using?

 

 

Thanks for the advice. 
 

Yea mine is fluval evo so cant afford a reactor. I just place it in the chamber next to my pump so the flow should be good. I think i might remove the bag if tested zero again. Thats my worry as I read alot about the issues with double zero.

i just have xenia and another easy coral (cant recall name) so lighting not important i guess. The issue is I am using stock so its either white (full power I guess) or blue and I have to manually adjust...maybe time to upgrade to AI Prime..sigh, more $$ again.

For PH, it is Seney Reef. I just recalibrated and it missed by 0.1 so it is considerably accurate...any other advise? I thought of removing the top and put a nett but then need upgrade my lights...

[mhcraft]

All

 

Quick update:

My tank has stablized nicely in the last few days and I am not sure what i did…diatoms and algae problems are gone and most importantly, pH swing has been minimal and stable. The stuffs I have done:

1. Had Phosguard in my bag in one of my evo chamber for 2 weeks now

2. Dose nopox everyday

My phos and nitrate is now double zeros which is bad as well so I need to figure out how to fix that….however my conclusions are:

1. Nopox helped with my diatoms & algae problems. This could explain my ph reacting very badly as my level was 10mg and now it is zero…i suspect it is nopox doing its job thus impacting the ph

2. In turn, since not much happening on the nitrogen cycle since it is zero, pH remained stable

My immediate aim now is to try to get out of the double zeros scenarios..not sure how yet….