Coral Colours and Amino Acids

bowkry · #1 11-19-2009, 02:13 AM

I went through the same thing I never could get the realy nice colors so I switched over toa full zeovit system and in 6 weeks my tank has chaned so so so much.Every one of my corals got color to them that I didn't even now they had. Imo amino acids without full zeovit gave me a huge alge bloom.

Ron99 · #2 12-25-2009, 08:48 PM

Well, after some more time and trying to keep ALK more stable I am fairly certain it was a voltage leak issue. After a bit of reading at RC I figured less than one volt shouldn't be a problem as many people seemed to have several volts with no ill effects. While my multimeter only showed less than one volt I don't think it was reading correctly. The other day I put my hand in the tank with a cut on my finger and felt a strong buzz in the cut. So there was obviously more voltage then I read. So a new heater and a ground probe later no more buzzing in the cut and some positive signs in the corals. The zoas seem to be opening a bit more where before they were melting and the sps that was in serious decline is now showing a bit of PE for the first time in weeks.

So it looks like voltage was the problem. Something to think about for those having issues with no other obvious water quality issues etc.

hillegom · #3 12-25-2009, 11:59 PM

Ron99 did you build your own probe? If so what metal did you use for the probe?
Thanks

fkshiu · #4 12-26-2009, 12:12 AM

Ron, anytime you dip a cut finger in SALTwater you'll feel a buzz voltage or not

Have you tried unplugging each electrical device one by one with the multimeter in the tank to see if you get any variance?

FWIW I run the gamut of ZEO additives (incl. AA and LPS AA) except for the actual main ZEO system (go figure) and found that less is more - i.e. you need very little; anything approaching the max dosages on the bottles leads to an algae bloom.

Ron99 · #5 12-26-2009, 04:47 AM

I did unplug items and found the buzz in my cut went away when I unplugged the heater and came back when I plugged it back in. It wasn't just a product of putting it in the water but was obviously electrically related. I've been shocked before and it felt similar to that or to putting a 9 volt battery on your tongue. The voltage showing on the meter did change with unplugging things but the magnitude on the meter was obviously less than reality. I doubt I would have felt less than a volt in my cut but this was quite noticeable. The proof is in the pudding as the corals started to look a bit better within hours; i.e zoas opening more and some PE starting in the SPS that had none before and were in fact bleaching and dying.

As for the probe, no I just bought the $13 titanium one at J&L. I probably could have built one for a few dollars less than that but this was easier; buy it and plug it in.

Ron99 · #6 01-20-2010, 03:43 AM

Things are doing much better now. Consistent PE on the SPS which is starting to show some colour again. Zoas are opening up and seem happy. The other softies and LPS look fuller and are open almost all the time and my pulsing xenia has started growing like a weed again. Sadly I did loose a couple zoa colonies and frags of SPS in the process and the jury is still out on one or two others that still don't look great.

So definitely worth checking for voltage leaks if you are having issues that don't have another obvious cause. Probably doesn't hurt to have a ground probe as well.