I'm out of sticks

[Sandroni]

Hello everyone, I am just done right now. I am out of options for this tank. As I have said in the past I am running one AI Hydra 26 HD over my 45 gallon Red Sea Max E-170. I have lost 7 pieces of SPS. Flow is high, I do a 2.5 gallon water change a week to keep the spike low. I use red sea coral pro salt the dKH is around 12 out of the bucket. SG 1.025 I recently cut back on my feeding because I thought that would help. I run my lights from 8 am to 8 pm with a 3hr ramp time. Any ideas?​

 

[daelie]

So what are your actual tank parameters then?

 

[Sandroni]

So what are your actual tank parameters then?

I'm going to give you all of the parameters as soon as I get home, their in my test book.

 

[Larry L]

How long has the tank been up and running? Do you have anything other than SPS, and if so, how are those doing?

 

[Sandroni]

How long has the tank been up and running? Do you have anything other than SPS, and if so, how are those doing?

Its still pretty young around 4 months. I also have my acans and favias that are growing crazy.

 

[Sandroni]

I'm going to give you all of the parameters as soon as I get home, their in my test book.

Calcium: 440
dKH: 12
NO3: 0
NO4: 0
given the fact that yesterday was water change day these results are “fresh”

 

[Larry L]

4 months is a pretty short time to get a tank stable enough for SPS - some people might be able to pull it off, but I don't know of many.

Do you know what your phosphates are at? Assuming you don't have much (or any) algae, zero nitrates and/or zero phosphates could mean you are starving the corals.

 

[kamike91]

Calcium: 440
dKH: 12
NO3: 0
NO4: 0
given the fact that yesterday was water change day these results are “fresh”

Whats your magnesium, and ammonia. Alk seems high, which would be especially detrimental if you have low phosphates. Also I'd check your temp too and see if there is a big swing going on.

 

[Chac317]

Are they dying from the tips? 12 alk with no nutrients is probably causing burnt tips that lead to rtn. Just my experience

 

[CastAway]

^^ Agreed. ^^

Let us know what your nitrates and phosphates are. That is very high alk!

Unless you have some actual demand, i.e. established growing colonies of hard corals, the normal Red Sea salt might be more ideal.

 

[Sandroni]

Whats your magnesium, and ammonia. Alk seems high, which would be especially detrimental if you have low phosphates. Also I'd check your temp too and see if there is a big swing going on.

I don’t have a mag test kit yet, ammonia is 0 my temp is 78 F

 

[Sandroni]

4 months is a pretty short time to get a tank stable enough for SPS - some people might be able to pull it off, but I don't know of many.

Do you know what your phosphates are at? Assuming you don't have much (or any) algae, zero nitrates and/or zero phosphates could mean you are starving the corals.

I do have a little cyano on my bottom ledt corner of the tank and I have algae on the back wall.

 

[Sandroni]

Are they dying from the tips? 12 alk with no nutrients is probably causing burnt tips that lead to rtn. Just my experience

No not from the tips, they kind of brown out slowly then bleach

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Nutrients may be too low, starving the corals, but it is hard to be sure since many kits aren't especially accurate at the low end.

Reasonable targets are 0.01 to 0.03 ppm phosphate and 0.5 to 10 or so ppm nitrate.

 

[BigKid4788]

With alk that high and very low nutrients, they are most likely starving.

 

[hart24601]

How are you losing them? Do they pale 1st? How long does it take before they die? Is there good polyp extension before they start to go? If not when does PE start decreasing? Can you show a pic? With the cyano and algae I would be a bit surprised if you were lacking nutrients. What all types of SPS have you lost?

 

[aarbutina]

Red Sea Pro Salt and and ULNS with no detectable nutrients do play well together, the alkalinity is too high. Even the top end of the range of the standard blue bucket can be pushing it if you mix to 1.026.

Also quick question, when you started your tank.... dry rock or live rock?

 

[pirate2876]

I'm going to go with your tank not being stable enough for SPS. I'd wait until around the year point to really start with SPS.

 

[rock_lobster]

Throwing in the towel at 4 months? Your tank has barely cycled it’s almost time to get started.

 

[aarbutina]

I'm going to go with your tank not being stable enough for SPS. I'd wait until around the year point to really start with SPS.

There is definitely more to it than "not being stable enough". I don't mean that to be attacking but, what is not stable enough is the question. We had a very similar thread to this going last week, I don't remember if it was here or in the SPS forum, and i outlined how I have been running my bare bottom 15 gallon frag tank w/o live rock for under a couple months and I get excellent SPS growth. Everything I am doing goes against the its two new to be stable mantra. There is certainly another variable that isn't identified beyond being too new.

As a reference: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sps-keep-stning-need-help-and-ideas.314637/