My setup.

[itzrulez]

"Don't let girlfriend feed. "

thats a rule....
ehiuehoieuhoeiuh

[Vannpytt]

Tap water or RO/DI for water changes?

As tapwater in norway is very clean already, and I'm at 0 on phosphates and nitrates, no really, I'm at unmeasurable in my tank with no algae strains in it I wonder if I either have to dose both or either. (I got algae en mas on the scrubber).

I think this is too effective tbh. My scrubber is built for a heavy stocked 240 gallon system, yet I only have 200 gallon light stocked.

A few weeks ago I did my waterchange (for adding trace and balancing salt) with Tapwater instead of RO/DI and everything virtually set off growing. Everything else is the same, so I'm sure this must be related? That there is something in my tapwater that spurred the growth?

I've heard ppl claim various statements as the tank is reaching 1 year old, but I simply do not believe that. I've seen beaching of SPS ever since I got them, even with heavy liquid feeding.

So, what do you think forum?

[Ace25]

How much chlorine was in the tap water? How much heavy metals like copper, mercury, etc? There is a TON of nasty things in my tap water, a lot of it put in on purpose to make it "safe for human consumption" which in turn makes if very much NOT safe for a reef tank. Phosphates and Nitrates are 2 very small things out of thousands that are in tap water, and even if phosphates and nitrates are present, they are usually not in a high enough amount to cause any serious issues, it is all the other junk in the water that causes the issues. I am just talking about most municipal water in the US though, I have no idea how the water in Norway rates. Here in the states they send out a letter yearly telling you all the stuff that is in tap water, and it is very scary to read, even makes me wonder how it could be safe to drink (high levels of e.coli in my water, higher than EPA says is allowed, not sure how they get away with it).

[SantaMonica]

Tapwater for a reef is not a good idea, unless you start from scratch with frags to see how it goes.

[Vannpytt]

Tapwater for a reef is not a good idea, unless you start from scratch with frags to see how it goes.

I have lots of friends with more than decent reefs who use tapwater only, and with great success.

Anyhow, what else can cause this growth? It's not random, I'm quite sure.

[SantaMonica]

If there is no pest/poisen/temperature/lighting problem, then the sps bleaching is from lack of food, which can also be caused from lack of flow, since it's the flow that brings the food. Remember corals are used to food particles 24 hours a day, especially at night.

But you might switch to distilled water for a few months and see how it goes. Something may have gotten into your tap water.

I topped off with distilled for 4 years before finally getting an RODI.

[Vannpytt]

When I spoke to Adey he said he urged Reef HQ to keep up alk. Any idea how high it should be? I can see alot of improvement by raising it to 9+, contrary to other ulns (because they don't have enought food in there).

Whats your thoughts on the matter?

[SantaMonica]

No opinion. I just try to keep it above 10.

[Dallas reefer]

So what about 14+? I think I may have got a bad sailfert batch.

Everything looks good tho.

[Floyd R Turbo]

When either alk or cal gets too high, it will combine with the other and precipitate out of the tank (and that won't dissolve). I've read that 14 is OK for FO tanks but I wouldn't go higher than 11 for a reef. I keep mine at 9, calcium at 425, Mag around 1350, but higher is fine (mine shot up to 1575 after I overdosed, now it's down to 1500)