Before I try again

[Jl330]

I have no issues in my tank growing lps and softies.

Water params are good but nitrates run around 20 most of the time.

I have a 55 gallon sumpless with a hob skimmer.

I tried growing a digitata and it lasted a couple months before it bleached out and died.

Any tips or ideas for things I can do with my tank so it doesn't kill more sps again? I want a bunch of acros across the top.

Fwiw I'm running black box LED lights mounted 12" above the water with the lenses removed and set on the lowest setting for whites and about 25" for blues.

 

[TX_Punisher]

You said it bleached? May be too much light.

Get your nitrates down as well. Less than 10.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

How consistent are your parameters? Quick changes can stress sps into bleaching.

 

[Zack K]

You said it bleached? May be too much light.

Get your nitrates down as well. Less than 10.

He will see a decline in health in his LPS. They thrive in Nitrates in the teens to 20’s. It sounds like an Alkalinity problem to me.

-Zack, who has grown SPS in 160ppm Nitrates.

 

[Velcro]

Can people please stop saying that nitrates need to be <10 for SPS ?!

 

[CalhounM]

Agree with alk stability. If lights were too strong digitata probably wouldn’t have lasted months. Nitrates shouldn’t have bleached it unless it was a sudden spike. I had some acros die when my tank sitter dumped about a months worth of food all at once. What are you using to dose alk and cal

 

[Velcro]

Agree with alk stability. If lights were too strong digitata probably wouldn’t have lasted months. Nitrates shouldn’t have bleached it unless it was a sudden spike. I had some acros die when my tank sitter dumped about a months worth of food all at once. What are you using to dose alk and cal

Was probably an ammonia spike, not nitrate. Plenty of people that run high nitrates get corals from low nutrient systems without them dying.

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

Bleaching corals can mean a number of things. But we would all be blindly speculating without knowing your water parameters and salinity.

 

[drawman]

@Jl330 what are you currently testing for with your parameters? I tend to agree that Nitrate at 20 will be fine for SPS. I would certainly rather have higher nitrate than close to zero for someone starting out.

SPS are very temperamental especially acros. You will want to make sure that you test Alkalinity regularly. For instance, I test it almost daily. I would suggest starting out in a lower Alk range of 6-9dKH to make things easier for yourself. Stability is key here not the exact value. Make sure you keep Calcium and Magnesium stable as well. You could shoot for 400-450 Ca and 1280-1400 Mg as values but I wouldn't let Ca drop below 380. Start doing these things and I think you will be doing fine.

 

[Jl330]

@Jl330 what are you currently testing for with your parameters? I tend to agree that Nitrate at 20 will be fine for SPS. I would certainly rather have higher nitrate than close to zero for someone starting out.

SPS are very temperamental especially acros. You will want to make sure that you test Alkalinity regularly. For instance, I test it almost daily. I would suggest starting out in a lower Alk range of 6-9dKH to make things easier for yourself. Stability is key here not the exact value. Make sure you keep Calcium and Magnesium stable as well. You could shoot for 400-450 Ca and 1280-1400 Mg as values but I wouldn't let Ca drop below 380. Start doing these things and I think you will be doing fine.

I don't know the exact number off hand, I don't test as often as I should. I don't dose anything, just do biweekly water changes.

I let my water change go an extra week when it died because my wife had our baby so we weren't home for a few days. I came home and it was dead.

 

[drawman]

I don't know the exact number off hand, I don't test as often as I should. I don't dose anything, just do biweekly water changes.

I let my water change go an extra week when it died because my wife had our baby so we weren't home for a few days. I came home and it was dead.

That's okay at least you know where you're at. Make sure your test kits are up to date and buy quality brands you can trust it will go a long way. Get Ca, Alk, Mg where you want them and keep a strong eye on Alk and you will do just fine. Good luck!

 

[USMC 4 LIFE]

Congrats on the baby!

Getting into a routine and staying consistent will solve most of your fish/coral issues. Test weekly and dose daily. I’m sure this is going to be difficult to due right now with your new addition to the family but think of a schedule that suits you best to maintain parameter stability.