need some advice for stn

[tjnorthdakota]

New to sps and I bought a bargain stag frag that has some stn at the tips, hoping to save it and bring it back but unsure of what to do. Was browned when I got it, is it better to leave the affected areas or cut off the stn and hope it heals up? or is there other things I can do, thanks.

 

[TUSI]

Cut the tips off. Make sure you dip it or quarantine it

 

[tjnorthdakota]

 

[tjnorthdakota]

Cut the tips off. Make sure you dip it or quarantine it

thanks for the advice, do you find that once the stn starts cutting it off is the only way to stop it? I also have a question about alk, mine is 13 right now even after doing water changes, guess my question is if thats to high, not running a uln system, cal is 475, mag 1300, ph 8.2. If it is to high how do I decrease it, I dont add anything yet that would raise my alk. numbers per red sea test kit

 

[samba_dad]

That is high alkalinity, but stability is critically important as the actual value. I would slowly decrease to a lower level around 11 and try to reduce over a few weeks by reducing the dosing amount. Don't change it too quickly or you could have problems with the SPS. Randy has a great article on how to get the right values - it is about balancing it with the Ca level. Here is the link - it has helped me a lot! Randy is generally happy to discuss specific questions and he is a highly trusted resource.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/11/chemistry

 

[sticky polyps]

Do you know the alk of the tank it came from? Stn from the tips could likely be an alk issue. Was it like that when you bought it? If it came from a tank that had kh closer to nsw it could have a long road ahead of it.... You may want to consider running your tank around 8.1-8.4 DKH, that's where I keep mine. Hope it gets better.

 

[Diesel]

If you don't dose yet what kind of salt are you using?
What kind of test kits you using for ALK, CAL and MAG?
Tell us what light you run on this tank and the tank dimensions.

 

[TUSI]

thanks for the advice, do you find that once the stn starts cutting it off is the only way to stop it? I also have a question about alk, mine is 13 right now even after doing water changes, guess my question is if thats to high, not running a uln system, cal is 475, mag 1300, ph 8.2. If it is to high how do I decrease it, I dont add anything yet that would raise my alk. numbers per red sea test kit

That's alk burn for sure. Maybe I responded to quick without a pic. your alkalinity is high, I keep mine at 8.5 dkh, cal 440, mag 1350. Don't dose any thing and keep an eye on the levels. Try to bring the alkalinity down slowly, no more than a fraction a day. When you do a new water mix check the alkalinity in it before you do the water mix to make sure it's the same as the tank water. What salt are you using ?

 

[samba_dad]

That's alk burn for sure. Maybe I responded to quick without a pic. your alkalinity is high, I keep mine at 8.5 dkh, cal 440, mag 1350. Don't dose any thing and keep an eye on the levels. Try to bring the alkalinity down slowly, no more than a fraction a day. When you do a new water mix check the alkalinity in it before you do the water mix to make sure it's the same as the tank water. What salt are you using ?

I am surprised your alkalinity is that high and you are not dosing. The highest alkalinity salt that I know about is Red Sea Coral Pro Salt that has about a 12dKH for new saltwater. I use that salt, but maintain my Alk at 9dKH through dosing. I just automate a 2 gal water change every day to avoid swings. Stability of alkalinity values is very important for your corals.

How big of water changes do you perform? Note that as PO4 (<0.02ppm) and NO3 (<2 ppm) are low then you want to lower your alkalinity substantially. Depending on those values you may set the alkalinity as low as 8dKH. The higher the alkalinity the more demands on the coral and you need measurable levels of NO3 and PO4 at those levels of Alk to not kill corals.

I have been there and done it wrong myself and killed corals as a result. Randy is an awesome resource for these issues and helped me tremendously through my similar issues. He is much, much, much more knowledgable than myself and he replies quickly to posts. I have a couple of threads where he helped me. Here is one of them that may help you.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/stabilizing-alkalinity-calcium-levels-help.226911/

 

[tjnorthdakota]

Do you know the alk of the tank it came from? Stn from the tips could likely be an alk issue. Was it like that when you bought it? If it came from a tank that had kh closer to nsw it could have a long road ahead of it.... You may want to consider running your tank around 8.1-8.4 DKH, that's where I keep mine. Hope it gets better.

It came from a petco tank, so the alk was probably not where it ahould be. Paid $5 for it though, think it is either a turqouis, miami orchid or stuber stag since thats what they had ordered, couldnt tell me which though.

 

[samba_dad]

Your PetCo sells SPS? Wow!

 

[tjnorthdakota]

If you don't dose yet what kind of salt are you using?
What kind of test kits you using for ALK, CAL and MAG?
Tell us what light you run on this tank and the tank dimensions.

so, the numbers I gave you were kinda from a couple weeks ago, from when I didnt have any sps or lps corals in the tank yet, now that I am starting down that road though will be testing more often and adjusting the levels. I retested last night with red sea kit, alk is 10, cal is 340 and mag is 1400. I have kalkwasser but havent used any yet because my alk was so high, just been dosing calcium til the alk drops to acceptable levels. have been using omega sea and kent salt mix, did a 15 gallon water change a week ago, probably why levels changed so much

 

[tjnorthdakota]

If you don't dose yet what kind of salt are you using?
What kind of test kits you using for ALK, CAL and MAG?
Tell us what light you run on this tank and the tank dimensions.

I run a 4 bulb t5 aquaticlife with ati bulbs,
2 blue plus
1 coral plus
1 purple plus
it is a drilled 55 gallon tank jebao wp40 and ecotech mp40. 40b sump with jebao return pump(which will be upgrading soon since it only returns 180gph) ro/di water and tunze ato. sca 301 skimmer and apex jr controlled

 

[tjnorthdakota]

 

[sticky polyps]

Sounds good... Don't know if you ever have before but try to avoid any kind of reef ph buffer, they will raise the alk.

 

[tjnorthdakota]

 

[tjnorthdakota]

my ipad doesnt take the best pics but theres the setup

 

[samba_dad]

I would encourage daily testing of the Alk to ensure it is stable - every day. You have an SPS now and until you know that Alk is stable it is likely to struggle. Believe me - I am speaking from experience with SPS and swings in Alk. I wish someone would have given me that advice when I started.

Follow the advice on the calculator below. It is based upon Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley recommendations. Good luck to you!

http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html

 

[tjnorthdakota]

Your PetCo sells SPS? Wow!

haha, yeah its by special order only and they usually get quite a bit for their 20% off sales which this stag was a leftover for. our petco has a tank just for corals and if you can get them near when they get the shipment they are pretty decent for the most part here. the store manager just asks that if you get sps, you pick it up within a couple days because he realizes the tanks really arent set up for it.

 

[Diesel]

Get your ALK under control.
When you mixed your saltwater did you ever run a test on ALK, CAL, MAG?
You might need to change to a different salt that holds lower # on the ALK, CAL.