Do a still looking like crap...what am I missing?

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Sorry guys...auto correct. SPS still looking like crap.

93 cube, running 2 gen4 radion 15s. Added a CO2 scrubber a couple of weeks ago to stabilize ph. Pretty much everything else is thriving, fish are super happy. I have a UV, carbon reactor, and bio pellet reactor. Tank has good flow.

SG 1.025
Temp 78.9

Ph-8.2-8.3
Alk 7.8 (I dosed 5ml)
Nit- +-5
Cal 440
Mag 1440
Phos .02...working in this. Not sure show to get this higher.

Cory · Feb 28, 2018

Shadowspop said:
Sorry guys...auto correct. SPS still looking like crap.

93 cube, running 2 gen4 radion 15s. Added a CO2 scrubber a couple of weeks ago to stabilize ph. Pretty much everything else is thriving, fish are super happy. I have a UV, carbon reactor, and bio pellet reactor. Tank has good flow.

SG 1.025
Temp 78.9

Ph-8.2-8.3
Alk 7.8 (I dosed 5ml)
Nit- +-5
Cal 440
Mag 1440
Phos .02...working in this. Not sure show to get this higher.

What exactly is the problem with your sps?

Can you tell me how your measuring your pararmeters and with what brands?

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Cory said:
What exactly is the problem with your sps?

Can you tell me how your measuring your pararmeters and with what brands?

No polyp extension, and some look like they're bleaching out. I'm using a Hanna checker for phos and alk, Salifert for Mg and cal, so I got nitrate. Digital Ph tester that has been calibrated. Zoas, acans mushrooms, trachy, lobo, cinerina, psammos, trumpets, etc, all doing great.

Cory · Feb 28, 2018

Shadowspop said:
No polyp extension, and some look like they're bleaching out. I'm using a Hanna checker for phos and alk, Salifert for Mg and cal, so I got nitrate. Digital Ph tester that has been calibrated. Zoas, acans mushrooms, trachy, lobo, cinerina, psammos, trumpets, etc, all doing great.

Could be heavy metals iirc sps hate heavy metals. Fwiw i experienced bleaching with carbon dosing. And experienced bleaching when running an ats when po4 and no3 hit 0 for a week. I akso experienced bleaching when overdoing gfo po4 remover.

Sps cant handle low po4 too well ime, unless there is lots of micron sized food.

Id try two things. Blenderize food and dose that daily. Maybe add some shrimp and other foods. Also raise po4 with sodium phosphate. Id also stop carbon dosing. If you get algae growth, use sea urchins.

Denisk · Feb 28, 2018

Maybe some photos will be really helpful. Are they bleaching right away or over time?

I also noticed you wrote “I dosed 5ml” for alk? What do you mean by that? If you’re regarding two part, than dosing only alk will throw your ca off.

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Denisk said:
Maybe some photos will be really helpful. Are they bleaching right away or over time?

I also noticed you wrote “I dosed 5ml” for alk? What do you mean by that? If you’re regarding two part, than dosing only alk will throw your ca off.

I've only been dosing alk, calc hasn't changed much. Doing tests daily. My alk drops a bit every day, but nothing else.

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Just took this. Water isn't super clear because I just cleaned the glass, but you'll get the idea.

Denisk · Feb 28, 2018

I just sent you a pm so I hope that helps. It was an article regarding two part dosing.

Your tank looks great!

From the looks of it, they almost look like they’re bleaching and or you’re have stability issues. Personally I never chase PH. To much of a headache.

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

I had an alk issue a few months ago (wife was in the hospital so tank wasn't a priority) but been super stable now for a while. Lost all my montis, and my acros took a beating.

Denisk · Feb 28, 2018

Shadowspop said:
I had an alk issue a few months ago (wife was in the hospital so tank wasn't a priority) but been super stable now for a while. Lost all my montis, and my acros took a beating.

Sorry to hear about your wife! I hope all is well now!

Family comes first for me! I’d give it sometime and hopefully your sps will turn around. If they really bleached out and they’re white. You may want just start getting a couple new ones and see how those do.

Best of luck!

Flippers4pups · Feb 28, 2018

How long have you had them? Did you light acclimate them?

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
How long have you had them? Did you light acclimate them?

Some I've had a while, that are probably the worst of them, but others are relatively new. they all still have some life in them so I haven't given up yet. I acclimated them all, dipped them all. It's not an instant problem. They usually seem to do fine for a bit and them gradually start to die off. I was saving the whole top half of the tank for acros, that's why its pretty bare up there.

Cory · Feb 28, 2018

With the hanna iirc its +/- 3% accuracy. So your phos could actually be 0. Id raise it.

Flippers4pups · Feb 28, 2018

Shadowspop said:
Some I've had a while, that are probably the worst of them, but others are relatively new. they all still have some life in them so I haven't given up yet. I acclimated them all, dipped them all. It's not an instant problem. They usually seem to do fine for a bit and them gradually start to die off. I was saving the whole top half of the tank for acros, that's why its pretty bare up there.

I've had the best luck with most SPS with my N03 at 5-10 and P04 at trace.

I light acclimate all my coral by placing them at the sand bed at first and over the course of a couple weeks, slowly raise them to see how they react.

You most likely need to lower your light intensity and increase your nutrients slowly for a couple days. They should recover.

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
I've had the best luck with most SPS with my N03 at 5-10 and P04 at trace.

I light acclimate all my coral by placing them at the sand bed at first and over the course of a couple weeks, slowly raise them to see how they react.

You most likely need to lower your light intensity and increase your nutrients slowly for a couple days. They should recover.

I'll give that a try tomorrow. I hadn't thought about the lights being too high. My par is around 350 where they are now.

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Cory said:
With the hanna iirc its +/- 3% accuracy. So your phos could actually be 0. Id raise it.

My phos has always been very low. I had been using API test, but never even got a ready...Not in the past 6 months. I just started using the Hanna ultra low a couple of weeks ago.

Flippers4pups · Feb 28, 2018

Shadowspop said:
I'll give that a try tomorrow. I hadn't thought about the lights being too high. My par is around 350 where they are now.

Most SPS do very well at 250-200 par.

Low nutrients and high par =bleaching.

High nutrients and low par = brown color.

Shadowspop · Feb 28, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
Most SPS do very well at 250-200 par.

Low nutrients and high par =bleaching.

High nutrients and low par = brown color.

Makes sense, I'll start lowering it tomorrow. What should my ideal phos be for a mixed reef? I know I have some because I have build up in my glass every couple of days.

Flippers4pups · Feb 28, 2018

Shadowspop said:
Makes sense, I'll start lowering it tomorrow. What should my ideal phos be for a mixed reef? I know I have some because I have build up in my glass every couple of days.

A trace of P04, 0.02 or less is best. You should always have more N03 than P04. Stripping P04 from the water can be tricky, as your coral aways need a trace to be healthy. GFO is good to use, but in moderation as it can strip the water completely of it. That can be very bad. When using GFO, I always use half of what is recommend and test everyday it's used until it's at trace.

Upping N03 can be done several ways. Dosing potassium nitrate, skipping water changes for a couple weeks or longer, taking your skimmer off line for a couple days or longer, feeding more (but not too much, as that also brings P04 with it) Test for N03 levels every day or so to see if it increases.