How old?

pjdiddy · May 22, 2018

This question is probably discussed several times. I also read few articles and discussion but I want to bring it up again.

How old should be the tank to be able to handle SPS such as acros?

I am asking because I have lost several frags of SPS such as millis, acro and monti due to RTN. The frag came from an established tank that I had no choice but to break down. Current tank is only couple months old. Everything seems thriving except from SPS that I am losing one by one.

Parameters are as follows:
Ph: 8.1
Temp: 78-79
Ca: 490
Kh: 8.7 - 9.0 (i test everyday)
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm
Phospate: 0

vpoiu1263 · May 22, 2018

Because I can get the natural sea water easily in Taiwan, so I just start put SPS in my tank just about 1 month, and they grow well so far about 6 months.
But I do water change about 8% every day for these months.

leepink23 · May 22, 2018

pjdiddy said:
This question is probably discussed several times. I also read few articles and discussion but I want to bring it up again.

How old should be the tank to be able to handle SPS such as acros?

I am asking because I have lost several frags of SPS such as millis, acro and monti due to RTN. The frag came from an established tank that I had no choice but to break down. Current tank is only couple months old. Everything seems thriving except from SPS that I am losing one by one.

Parameters are as follows:
Ph: 8.1
Temp: 78-79
Ca: 490
Kh: 8.7 - 9.0 (i test everyday)
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm
Phospate: 0

I lost the sps I tried in my tank when I first started, I gave up and stayed with soft corals, now at 3 years my sps grow well

Flippers4pups · May 22, 2018

pjdiddy said:
This question is probably discussed several times. I also read few articles and discussion but I want to bring it up again.

How old should be the tank to be able to handle SPS such as acros?

I am asking because I have lost several frags of SPS such as millis, acro and monti due to RTN. The frag came from an established tank that I had no choice but to break down. Current tank is only couple months old. Everything seems thriving except from SPS that I am losing one by one.

Parameters are as follows:
Ph: 8.1
Temp: 78-79
Ca: 490
Kh: 8.7 - 9.0 (i test everyday)
Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm
Phospate: 0

There's some conjecture on what causes this. Of course the health of the coral to begin with, the stresses that fragging has on them and introduction to a new system and it's water pramameters. The other topic is the bactrial strains, good and bad that reside on the surface of the coral. Pests can stress them or even kill them.

Given all of the above, a perfect storm can happen.

The best we can do is acclimate them to a new system. Dip them for pests and obseve them. Drip acclimate them, as we would do with fish. Light acclimate them slowly by introducing them to the new tanks light spectrum and intensity by first placing on the sand bed for a couple of days to observe them. Moving them up as they look okay, so on and so on.... Once at their intended location, leave alone, don't touch or move again.

Stable water pramameters are also key, as is proper flow.

If STN/RTN is observed at the beginning, fragging the healthy portion away from the diseased area and or dipping in Lugols iodine solution and or dipping in bactrial meds has been reported to help, but not one cure is 100% effective. Removal of the dieing tissue is recommended, as some have reported a cascading effect on other healthy SPS from the STN/RTN event.

All things equal, there's other topics to consider like: https://reefbuilders.com/2017/07/08/revisiting-my-elos-tank-after-18-months/

Seems to be some credence to what was observed in Mike's tank during that time.

jda · May 22, 2018

There is no hard rule. A easy rule of thumb, which is still not perfect, it that when the coralline algae is everywhere, then the tank can do really well with SPS. This is a good sign that calcification is in a good place.

BoomCorals · May 22, 2018

jda said:
There is no hard rule. A easy rule of thumb, which is still not perfect, it that when the coralline algae is everywhere, then the tank can do really well with SPS. This is a good sign that calcification is in a good place.

This is the rule I’ve always used. Most times it is accurate!

29bonsaireef · May 23, 2018

If you can, getting NSW for WC will speed up the maturing process. Every WC will be adding new bacteria. I use to only use NSW for WC and I could have SPS in the tank within a month or so. Mixed salts I generally wait at least 6 months to add SPS corals. The rocks you use can also make a difference on how long this process takes.