High Alk with low nutrients = sps death???

[Reefhaven]

is there a correlation that with having high Alk 10-11 along with having low nutrients = sps dying. I have been dealing with sps death for a while and want to fix the issue before getting more stuff. sps dying from tip down as well as bottom up. parameters are listed below. This is related to another thread i started this week.

alk 10.5
cal 410
mag 1300
salinity 1.025
ph 8.2
phosphate 0
nitrate 0

lots of flow...dual overhead, wp60 and hydor 400
2 evergrows A8 nova with 1 d2120

Thanks!

 

[blackgate]

YES take your alk dwn to 8 or even in the 7's, if you plan on keeping your nutrients that low. Obviously you must do this gradually!

 

[Reefhaven]

YES take your alk dwn to 8 or even in the 7's, if you plan on keeping your nutrients that low. Obviously you must do this gradually!

i am using a buddle magus dosing pump and i turned the alk dose off and just let it go down naturally

 

[Russ265]

shamelessly cues his writeup

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/help-my-sps-are-paling-and-i-dont-know-what-to-do.210035/

 

[Reefhaven]

shamelessly cues his writeup

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/help-my-sps-are-paling-and-i-dont-know-what-to-do.210035/

thanks Russ! awesome writeup. I turned off my dosing pump for Alk and let it go down naturally. What can i do to add some nutrients to the tank or should i just leave it when it gets to a desirable level 8? and maintain it there? thanks again for all your help!

 

[Russ265]

thanks Russ! awesome writeup. I turned off my dosing pump for Alk and let it go down naturally. What can i do to add some nutrients to the tank or should i just leave it when it gets to a desirable level 8? and maintain it there? thanks again for all your help!

its all in the writeup bud.

seachem flourish nitrogen is what i do to get nitrates up. i turn gfo off. and i keep alk in the 7s.

you can go calcium nitrate potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate as well

 

[Reefhaven]

its all in the writeup bud.

seachem flourish nitrogen is what i do to get nitrates up. i turn gfo off. and i keep alk in the 7s.

you can go calcium nitrate potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate as well

Thanks!!!!

 

[Tahoe61]

My acropora do significantly better at an Alk between 7.5-9 dkh. I used to try to drive up the alk to 10 and 11, I saw no benefit what so ever. Let the value drift down and you should see a vast improvement in a couple weeks if not sooner.

 

[evolved]

I get real uncomfortable going above 9. Somewhere in the 8's is always my target.

 

[Reefhaven]

I get real uncomfortable going above 9. Somewhere in the 8's is always my target.

i turned off my dosing pump for alk a couple days ago and when i tested my water my alk actually went up .5...weird. I will retest in a couple days. should i still add seachem flourish nitrogen?

my current parameters...

alk 11
cal 430
mag 1350
salinity 1.025
nitrate 0
phosphate 0

thanks!

 

[evolved]

and when i tested my water my alk actually went up .5

Testing error; the first and/or second time.

 

[Reefhaven]

Testing error; the first and/or second time.

ok i will retest when i get home tonight.

 

[Russ265]

i would run lights at half schedule until that alk drops a lil.

+1 on testing error

 

[Reefhaven]

i would run lights at half schedule until that alk drops a lil.

i went to my LFS and told them too and they said my light schedule is too long. on at 8am and off at 10pm with 1 hr intervals.

 

[evolved]

with 1 hr intervals

What do you mean by that?
But 14 hrs is too long for sure.

 

[Russ265]

i went to my LFS and told them too and they said my light schedule is too long. on at 8am and off at 10pm with 1 hr intervals.

perfect storm of no nutrients, high alk, and forcing sps to grow in a sterile environment w tons of light.

 

[Reefhaven]

What do you mean by that?
But 14 hrs is too long for sure.

I have a programmable led. I will definitely tune it down tonight. thanks for all you guys help! I am definitely learning a lot. have been throwing money away and losing high end (reef raft) corals because of this issue. now i can fix it!!!

 

[Russ265]

I have a programmable led. I will definitely tune it down tonight. thanks for all you guys help! I am definitely learning a lot. have been throwing money away and losing high end (reef raft) corals because of this issue. now i can fix it!!!

ouch. expensive mistake.
get a birdsnest. if you can keep him alive for a couple weeks with polyps extended, you have a good foundation. make sure you wait the full 2 weeks.

i wouldnt be throwing funky designer/le corals at a tank unless i was sure the animal would live. (hence the test subject)

plus if the birdsnest ever looks bad later he will give you warning before the rest die.

if the frag dies, check parameters, wait a week and try again.
i think i killed like 6 frags on a biweekly basis until this one stood strong and i got parameters right.

 

[Reefhaven]

I am on it now. changing lighting schedule and adding seachem flourish nitrogen this weekend. hopefully everything will start to get better.

Question, does this issue affect all sps??? the reason is because I have some sps that are doing great and some that are not. didn't know if this affects all sps. thanks Russ!!!

 

[Russ265]

I am on it now. changing lighting schedule and adding seachem flourish nitrogen this weekend. hopefully everything will start to get better.

Question, does this issue affect all sps??? the reason is because I have some sps that are doing great and some that are not. didn't know if this affects all sps. thanks Russ!!!

some are more sensitive than others. thats why i suggested the birdsnest. he will tell you if you have no nitrate or high alk

your water affects all sps