Okay guys need some serious input

[Ribo15]

Hello fellow reefers!
I am looking for some help with my coral placements and maybe any tips on what else you might notice. I have been keeping saltwater fish for about 6 months now and have had good luck for the most part. I recently scored a whole tanks shut down of coral about 3 weeks ago. I had 0 experience prior to this and didn’t even know what most the corals I was getting were. To be honest I still don’t know half of them lol. Anyways I have 5 black box LEDs that I’m running quite low like 20% white and 40% blue. I have most my corals on the sand bed still and I am wanting to start to place them in the tank to make it look finished. Could anybody give me some insight on what you think corals can go higher up if any or what you think? I know I have some ugly algae on the sand from not having the best flow but I’m just worried about blasting these corals with too much flow at the moment. Sorry if my pictures are not the best. Didn’t want to crank the whites for the photos but hopefully you get the idea.

 

[dwair]

I guess I've never understood these threads. I determine coral placement upon the actual coral. Reason I never glue the frags down, some corals like higher light/flow, some like it lower. I can't expect to put it where "I" want it and it to flourish. I put the corals where they like it best, regardless of what I want. Guess its a big reason I like Nems. They move wherever the heck they want lol.

 

[Dom]

I guess I've never understood these threads. I determine coral placement upon the actual coral. Reason I never glue the frags down, some corals like higher light/flow, some like it lower. I can't expect to put it where "I" want it and it to flourish. I put the corals where they like it best, regardless of what I want. Guess its a big reason I like Nems. They move wherever the heck they want lol.

I can agree to a certain extent. Initially, I wouldn't glue down frags until I moved them around and found the sweet spot for individual frags. Once they begin to flourish, then perhaps you could glue them in place. Personally, I've never glued frags down, which admittedly can be a problem at times.

 

[dwair]

I can agree to a certain extent. Initially, I wouldn't glue down frags until I moved them around and found the sweet spot for individual frag. Once they begin to flourish, then perhaps you could glue them in place. Personally, I've never glued frags down, which admittedly can be a problem at times.

Yea I don't either.

 

[Cell]

What is there not to understand? Asking vendors for growth conditions is absolutely normal in this hobby.

It does look like a lot of lower light and flow corals. Your first step should be ID'ing everything though so you know what we are talking about. I do see a dying scoly or something that should perhaps give you a warning. What are your current parameters? If you arent dosing alk/calc you might need to start.

 

[Ribo15]

Okay that makes sense about not using glue until you’re 100% sure on placement and thriving. I haven’t noticed anything deteriorate since I’ve had them in there at night they all have their feeding little finger things come out and they brighten up during the day. Maybe I’ll start with just moving some of them up a little and see how they do. I was told 2 of them are meat corals; the bigger ones. Do they stay on the sand bed their whole lives?
Also I am not dosing only doing my weekly water changes. The lady I got them all from said she never dosed anything to keep them alive and had them for years. But I will check params tonight and see if maybe they could be adjusted.

 

[Cell]

Many factors to consider. The bigger corals get, the more they consume. You might not need to supplement now, but may in the future. Frequency of water changes can also determine necessity or level of dosing. Size of tank etc...

 

[Ribo15]

Okay makes sense. Sorry if this thread was stupid. I just literally didn’t know where to start. I try to do a lot of research but when I got so many corals at once (even though they are “easier” corals) I felt way in over my head. I’m trying to do my best to keep them all alive because I’ll be crushed if I kill an expensive coral. Up in northern Canada corals of any king are not cheap lol especially good sized ones.

what makes you say the scoly is dying? I googled what a scoly is and I think I know what one you’re talking about.

 

[Cell]

I'll give this a go, in order of pic left to right on pc, top to bottom on phone

Acan
Not a great softie mind, leather? Willow?
Unhappy zoa colony
scoly or acan?/favites?/bubble coral
favites/almost dead favia/unhappy scoly
symphyllia???
Trachyphyllia/dying acan?
same dying acan
fish
is that 2 bta's with acans above?
backside of same pic with favia
zoa colony
rhodactis colony


Not sure several.

 

[Ribo15]

Another question is to do with lighting. If I make an adjustment either moving a coral up for more light or turning up the intensity how long would it take to see a change in the coral be it good or bad? Is it like a day thing or need to wait multiple days before noticing a change? Thanks again for all the help

 

[Cell]

I don't know if it's a scoly or acan. But that's it's skeleton in the middle.

 

[Cell]

Another question is to do with lighting. If I make an adjustment either moving a coral up for more light or turning up the intensity how long would it take to see a change in the coral be it good or bad? Is it like a day thing or need to wait multiple days before noticing a change? Thanks again for all the help

Depends on the coral. Could be almost immediate with some LPS, or take weeks to see with something like an acro.

 

[Ribo15]

Okay well I will do some testing tonight and post numbers and then get some input on where to go next. Thanks

 

[MERKEY]

I don't know if it's a scoly or acan. But that's it's skeleton in the middle.

This is an acanthophyllia

There are no stupid questions just stupid answers.

Its brave of you to open up in a situation you are unfamiliar with and this is absolutely the correct place to do it.

Black box led's can be very strong or very limited depending on the brand.

Renting a par meter for accurate levels of light in your tank would be the first step to correct placement.

You have a lot of different corals that you just picked up that all need different lightning.

I would also pick up a few test kits for the major parameters.

Alkalinity
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphate
Nitrate

Those 5 are the main players in coral health and growth.

If any or all of the parameters swimg a lot corals will ultimately die.

You do have a few corals that look "unhappy" so getting par correct and parameters stable is key.

Going from fish only to corals could be tricky if you haven't been watching your parameters.

Fish only tanks sometimes have a higher phos and nitrate content which is harmful to corals.

See what all your parameters and par are and then you will see what to do next with the corals.

 

[Ribo15]

Thanks! I have all those test kits at home and will run a full range of tests tonight and see where I’m at. I will post the results and be looking for more guidance. I will also rent a PAR meter but can’t do that till next week.

 

[Ribo15]

Okay I just tested my Params. Can someone give some thoughts.
Ca- 530
Nitrate- 10
Ph 8.15
Alk - 10.1
Mg- 1380
And phosphate is .1-.25 but the test kit expired 3 years ago... I’ll have to go buy a Hannah checker for phos to confirm that number.

 

[Ribo15]

What do I do next to better my coral situation?

 

[Cell]

Calcium and alk are a bit higher than most run but not enough to warrant any action imo. Have the corals looked better or worse since you put them in?

 

[MERKEY]

Okay I just tested my Params. Can someone give some thoughts.
Ca- 530
Nitrate- 10
Ph 8.15
Alk - 10.1
Mg- 1380
And phosphate is .1-.25 but the test kit expired 3 years ago... I’ll have to go buy a Hannah checker for phos to confirm that number.

You are going from a fish tank to a reef tank and your numbers have probably been swinging.
Focus on keeping stability on your parameters.

Phos is high...try to get that under .1 you can use items such as phosgaurd to slowly remove those.

Definitely get hannah checkers or at least new test kits.

You need to start testing daily until you find out what parameters are swinging.

Corals need consistent and stable numbers. Your parameters aren't too off right now but you want to use a salt that mixes to what you want to run your new reef.

The main point is you are dealing with a completely different system now and it needs to be kept a little different.

Testing is key to getting your reef coral stable.

Topping off water with fresh RODI water is key to keeping your salinity stable. Corals hate swings of any kind where fish can tolerate them a bit more.

As long as you keep your tanks parameters stable the corals should be ok.

 

[Ribo15]

Thank you for all the input. I will get the new phosphate checker as soon as I can. The other test kits are all current. I top off with RODI and have an osmolator to keep that steady. My salinity is 1.026 and temp stays 78-79.
I will start to test more regularly so I can get a better idea of what might be swinging. I am thinking maybe it has to do with light and flow also. The corals don’t look like they are dying by any stretch just but I want them to be thriving! I’d say since adding them to my tank they went through a slump where I’m assuming they were adjusting to my params. Now they are looking as good as before except maybe 1 or 2 of them.

thanks for the help guys! I won’t panic that my corals are going to all of a sudden die anymore