Can’t keep SPS

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

My tank is full of LPS doing great, but I have a few frags of sps that I can’t keep alive. My digi, small acro frag and another frag I can’t remember the name all are kicking the bucket. I have a Monti that’s not dead but has been just surviving for months now. It and my birds nest were my fist sps coral. Speaking of the birds nest it’s doing the best growing and looking good. Pictures attached.

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

I did a water change to get some of my levels up. The tank is only 32g i wouldn’t need to be dosing right? Looking for any advice or tips.

helmsreef · Jun 5, 2023

Your N03 and P04 are both 0 and the your Calcium should be around 420-450. You will need p04 and n03 for growth or just to survive in your tank. Your DKh is fine for acros, I personally like 8 DKh but you are fine at 7.5

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

helmsreef said:
Your N03 and P04 are both 0 and the your Calcium should be around 420-450. You will need p04 and n03 for growth or just to survive in your tank. Your DKh is fine for acros, I personally like 8 DKh but you are fine at

Them being at zero is bad? I mean all other corals are doing good. Should I feed more, or do less water changes to get them up? I have 5 fish and feed twice a day. I also dose phyto, and AB+ every other day

Kasrift · Jun 5, 2023

helmsreef said:
Your N03 and P04 are both 0 and the your Calcium should be around 420-450. You will need p04 and n03 for growth or just to survive in your tank. Your DKh is fine for acros, I personally like 8 DKh but you are fine at 7.5

Agree with this. 250 calcium has to be an error in testing because nothing would like that. What test kits are you using?

bradreef · Jun 5, 2023

You need to dose 2 part for lps and sps. You can get away with water changes at first until they grow.

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

bradreef said:
You need to dose 2 part for lps and sps. You can get away with water changes at first until they grow.

So up my dosage? And yea my LPS grew like crazy and may be consuming the majority of the nutrients. And I got back and forth with the ab and Pytho when I dose. Never both on the same day.

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

Full tank shot.

Tuan’s Reef · Jun 5, 2023

What test kits are you using?

Chris4reef · Jun 5, 2023

Unless that is a typo your CA is way low. Sometimes tanks are just better for different types of coral. I am in the opposite camp. SPS does well for me but LPS usually doesnt do well.

Everyone style is alittle different so dont get discouraged. I run low nutrients tanks with no sand. SPS does well for me but super clean doesnt do well for some LPS.

SaltwaterandLime · Jun 5, 2023

Your parameters list nitrite at 0.... but I'm not seeing a reading for nitrate? Nitrate is the important one

Never mind, I'm seeing it now.

But it's also zero. What type of test kits are you using and what is your lighting?

gbroadbridge · Jun 5, 2023

Your

Isiah1820 said:
My tank is full of LPS doing great, but I have a few frags of sps that I can’t keep alive. My digi, small acro frag and another frag I can’t remember the name all are kicking the bucket. I have a Monti that’s not dead but has been just surviving for months now. It and my birds nest were my fist sps coral. Speaking of the birds nest it’s doing the best growing and looking good. Pictures attached.

Nitrate and Phosphate are too low.
Nitrate aim for 5-10ppm and phosphate 0.05-0.10
Your Ca is way too low and is probably a test error. Should be around 420-450

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

Red Sea is the test kit I use.

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

gbroadbridge said:
Your

Nitrate and Phosphate are too low.
Nitrate aim for 5-10ppm and phosphate 0.05-0.10
Your Ca is way too low and is probably a test error. Should be around 420

How should I go about raising pho and nitrate? And I’ll retest my Ca.

SaltwaterandLime · Jun 5, 2023

Isiah1820 said:
How should I go about raising pho and nitrate? And I’ll retest my Ca.

Definitely retest calcium, do you have a LFS that can test your water for you also to confirm?

Before you start changing things to add nutrients you should be certain you are truly at zero.

Also do you have much green algae? That can cause a false zero as well.

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

Chris4reef said:
Unless that is a typo your CA is way low. Sometimes tanks are just better for different types of coral. I am in the opposite camp. SPS does well for me but LPS usually doesnt do well.

Everyone style is alittle different so dont get discouraged. I run low nutrients tanks with no sand. SPS does well for me but super clean doesnt do well for some LPS.

I can see that. Cause my LPS flourish, even with the zero pho and nitrates. I will say my GSP growth did slow, it’s one of my corals that I can really gage growth. Since looking at the tank every day it’s hard to see growth without looking at old pictures of coral when I first got them.

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

SaltwaterandLime said:
Definitely retest calcium, do you have a LFS that can test your water for you also to confirm?

Before you start changing things to add nutrients you should be certain you are truly at zero.

Also do you have much green algae? That can cause a false zero as well.

I can have my lfs test for me I use to do that until I got my own test kit. And I will say I don’t like doing it myself I always second guess if I’m doing it right lol. And nope no algae, other than a small patch near my RFA. I felt a sense of pride when I did get rid of the GHA I had. My tank is a little under a year old now. You guys can go to my post history to get a idea of my tanks history if you will.

Isiah1820 · Jun 5, 2023

And I will say I’ve tested low in nutrients for a few months now. I just got my own test kit. And even when my LFS was testing for me I was getting zeros. I never thought it was a issue, they would tell me just to feed more.

BiGGiePauls33 · Jun 5, 2023

How old is the system? Was dry rock used or live rock? If dry did you soak/seed it before adding it to the tank? How many fish do you have and how often do you feed? What type of lighting are you using and what cycle of light meaning how many hours per day are they on and what spectrum? Do you have access to a local reef club, if so don't hesitate to join, one of the best things I've ever done way back in 2004.

I scrolled through some of your older posts and maybe you still live in the Orlando area. Here's some clubs in Florida: