Question about why my sps isn't doing well

[Jaysushi]

Yeah you’re right lol. And yes I will be picking up an alk test. I wont change salts just yet. Im going to keep using the blue bucket. Like mentioned earlier it does have lower all and mine right now is pretty high.

 

[ChrisOFL]

With nutrients as low as yours I would try dropping my alkalinity to around 8, this lower alkalinity seems to be be better for coral health. If you are using any phosphate removers I'd remove them as well. Acros are tricky as I've just started having success the past 6 months after trying for over a year.

 

[reefndude]

Are you sure they aren't rtning. Bleaching doesn't happen over night

 

[Jaysushi]

@Cronicreefer I don't run any GFO or anything to remove phosphate from my system. How would I go about to lowering my alk?

@reefndude that's what is probably happening then, sorry I'm still fairly new to the hobby and also new to keeping acro's.

 

[Straight.Reefin]

I’d let the alk drop naturally and let corals absorb it and just keep checking

 

[Jaysushi]

@Straight.Reefin drop naturally like don't do water changes or keep doing them?

Also do you guys think feeding reef roids would be beneficial for sps?

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

As others have mentioned, buy your own alk kit and test daily for a few days to at least get an idea of your rate of change, test before/after your water change as well.

How was the phosphate level tested? I wouldn’t worry about increasing phosphate unless the level was tested with a Hanna ULR colorimeter. If it was tested with kit, the resolution isn’t low enough and your level isn’t really 0.00.

 

[reefndude]

Yes let it drop on it's own. Alk test kit is very important when keeping sps, especially acros. If alk is dropping then a big upswing when doing water changes could cause problems

 

[tdileo]

Just a recommendation from experience, buy the Hanna Alk checker. It gives you an exact number rather than a chart where you match colors. Soooo worth the extra like $40 compared to a normal alk liquid test kit.

 

[ChrisOFL]

@Cronicreefer I don't run any GFO or anything to remove phosphate from my system. How would I go about to lowering my alk?

@reefndude that's what is probably happening then, sorry I'm still fairly new to the hobby and also new to keeping acro's.

There is indeed a way to drop alkalinity with an acid but I'd just let it come down on it's own with using the blue bucket salt and water changes. It is a good quality salt but calc or mag can sometimes be a little inconsistent so I'd make sure to mix the bucket before using it and make sure you test alk/calc/mag of the new water so you can make sure parameters are where you want them to be, this will be important also when you start keeping acros again because alkalinity swings are an easy way to kill all your SPS. Wait till your alkalinity drops below 9 dkH before you try any new acros. You will also need to make sure you can keep your alkalinity at a consistent value once it gets closer to 8 as consistency of water parameters is very important for healthy SPS. Feeding more can help but is not always a solution.

 

[reefndude]

Stability is the single most important thing when keeping acros

 

[Jaysushi]

Phos was tested at my LFS using a hanna ulr checker. I'm about to order me one of those and a alk test kit. I will let the alk naturally drop, test and test and see where I am at from there.

Thank you guys so much for your wealth of knowledge and help

 

[Jaysushi]

Is dosing something that is required for keeping sps? I don't plan to keep a lot. I want to say once things are stable I want to maybe have 4 frags and let them grow.
Dosing isn't something I want to look forward to. If I keep up with tests and do my weekly water changes to adjust the params accordingly you think that should be enough?

 

[tdileo]

It depends. If your alk and Ca consumption isn’t major and you do weekly water changes, you will be fine without dosing. However you will see better growth, color and PE with multiple small doses throughout the day to keep params extremely consistent.

 

[Jaysushi]

@tdileo got it.

Do you guys know if the API Alk test kit is pretty reliable and accurate? Or if you'd suggest something else.

 

[madweazl]

If money is a bit tight, the Salifert alkalinity kit works just fine and isn't hard to use (the Hanna is really easy to use so that is what I end up using). Outside the Hanna ULR for phosphorous, I'm not aware of another kit that can read this range. I've never use the API kits so I cant provide any info on how they compare to the the previously mentioned kits (though I never see API recommended).

If you're using the blue bucket mix and it does indeed mix up at a lower alkalinity than your tank (this is a question, not a statement), water changes would reduce your alkalinity. As others have mentioned, letting it drop naturally is a good way to bring it down without making things worse with a large variation in a short period of time (1 dKh per day seems to be the generally accepted rate).

 

[Jaysushi]

@madweazl I don't mind spending a little extra money on some test kits. I just want to make sure that I'm going to get good test kits. I know I'll be buying the Hanna ULR Phos checker. Now it narrows down to Salifert or API for alk.

 

[madweazl]

The likelihood of anyone recommending API over Salifert is slim to none. For what it's worth, I'd grab the Hanna alk checker and not bother with the phosphorous checker. I've checked phosphates maybe three times the past six months; not worth investing the money in the kit.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

@tdileo got it.

Do you guys know if the API Alk test kit is pretty reliable and accurate? Or if you'd suggest something else.

API alk kit is not precise enough for SPS. It reads in whole dkh units, and movement less than 1 dkh can still bother SPS depending on how quickly the change occurs.

 

[Jaysushi]

@madweazl in that case I will pick up the Hanna alk checker then