Rapid Coral Bleaching (SPS), LPS receeding

[evrydayzawrkday]

How much flow is in the tank the tiny sps frags need alot of flow to get rid of waste and also to have a chance at grabbing what they need out of the water.

Woops. Realized I didn't capture that. I had 2 Nero 3 on the left, and one Nero 3 on the right. The Digi and Monti frags are being blown right onto, good movement of water.

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

That’s a ton of light. I don’t know what your acclimation is like but nothing you have requires that high of light. I have XR30s and only run them at 45% peak on my tank and get maybe 300 PAR near the surface but mostly 150ish. Unless you have acros you have way too much light.

I’ll caveat this by saying you can have lighting this high, just causes some other complexities. Higher light intensity will result in higher photosynthetic rates (faster growth), higher absorption of nutrients and tank parameters requiring more frequent/aggressive dosing. Unless you’re adequately keeping up with the other demands that result from higher light, I’d just turn the light down.

So with that being said, 150-200 par at the top is A-OK? I ask because when I was reading into SPS, most were saying 300+, which is why I was trying to shoot for those numbers. I will say I did a ramp over 30 days, but it was originally 200par at the top about a month ago.

 

[Lavey29]

So with that being said, 150-200 par at the top is A-OK? I ask because when I was reading into SPS, most were saying 300+, which is why I was trying to shoot for those numbers. I will say I did a ramp over 30 days, but it was originally 200par at the top about a month ago.

Even though you move stuff from an established tank to a new tank this only creates an instant cycle not the same environment they came from. You essentially have difficult demanding SPS corals in a new 2 month tank so you can expect some losses. Some corals will acclimate and some won't. Have you done an actual par meter on your radions? I was recently shocked to measure mine and discover how low the par output actually was. I now run AB plus at 100% intensity to barely get 350 at the very top. The lights are operated. I would give your tank some months to stabilize again before adding more corals.

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

Even though you move stuff from an established tank to a new tank this only creates an instant cycle not the same environment they came from. You essentially have difficult demanding SPS corals in a new 2 month tank so you can expect some losses. Some corals will acclimate and some won't. Have you done an actual par meter on your radions? I was recently shocked to measure mine and discover how low the par output actually was. I now run AB plus at 100% intensity to barely get 350 at the very top. The lights are operated. I would give your tank some months to stabilize again before adding more corals.

Yea. I have the SQ-420. With immersion mode, I am only reading ~75 par at the bottom, thus the reason I bumped AB+ up to 80%. I was utterly surprised that my old AI Prime 16HD was getting better readings with a similar profile.

 

[ekandler]

So with that being said, 150-200 par at the top is A-OK? I ask because when I was reading into SPS, most were saying 300+, which is why I was trying to shoot for those numbers. I will say I did a ramp over 30 days, but it was originally 200par at the top about a month ago.

Acropora specifically will require higher PAR (300+) and really high flow. Other SPS: montis, cyphastrea, pavona, birdsnest, stylophora, etc. do not need nearly that much and are not that picky. You CAN have them in 350+ PAR, but it’s not necessary.

like I said, the higher PAR will result in the corals growing more, higher photosynthetic rates and require more of everything (trace elements, alk/calc/mag, nutrients, etc.) to keep up with that photosynthetic pace. Without everything in harmony, your zooxanthellae will starve and die and overall the corals will bleach.

I can’t say this is exactly your problem, but in general lower PAR and lower flow is a good place to start to ensure your chemistry is right. If you’re getting gentle movement and 150-200 PAR and stuff is dying (that’s not acropora), lighting and flow aren’t your problem. Start with easy stuff, montis, stylo, birdsnest, and if they grow fine in 150 PAR, then worry about why your acros are bleaching.

I have cyphastrea and burning banana stylo Literally growing under the shade of a overhang, and I grow SPS (montis, cyphastrea, birdsnest, stylo) in a frag tank with 80-100 PAR confirmed with testing. You don’t NEED 350+ PAR. For fastest growth and often times best coloration it’s ideal, but that’s not a topic to be discussing if you’re having issues keeping it alive.

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

Acropora specifically will require higher PAR (300+) and really high flow. Other SPS: montis, cyphastrea, pavona, birdsnest, stylophora, etc. do not need nearly that much and are not that picky. You CAN have them in 350+ PAR, but it’s not necessary.

like I said, the higher PAR will result in the corals growing more, higher photosynthetic rates and require more of everything (trace elements, alk/calc/mag, nutrients, etc.) to keep up with that photosynthetic pace. Without everything in harmony, your zooxanthellae will starve and die and overall the corals will bleach.

I can’t say this is exactly your problem, but in general lower PAR and lower flow is a good place to start to ensure your chemistry is right. If you’re getting gentle movement and 150-200 PAR and stuff is dying (that’s not acropora), lighting and flow aren’t your problem. Start with easy stuff, montis, stylo, birdsnest, and if they grow fine in 150 PAR, then worry about why your acros are bleaching.

I have cyphastrea and burning banana stylo Literally growing under the shade of a overhang, and I grow SPS (montis, cyphastrea, birdsnest, stylo) in a frag tank with 80-100 PAR confirmed with testing. You don’t NEED 350+ PAR. For fastest growth and often times best coloration it’s ideal, but that’s not a topic to be discussing if you’re having issues keeping it alive.

Ironically my cyphasterea is growing beautifully I did turn down the flow AND the lights today, along with stop dosing. The goal of this tank is...

1) massive zoa garden
2) anemone
3) gsp all over (which is growing super well)

I wasn't expecting all of that to have RTN that quickly, but reading this thread makes a lot more sense. I appreciate you all!

 

[Sidsreef]

Icp test

 

[Spare time]

Sorry to hear about the problems,
It’s tough to make a judgement but very simply I think the tank is prob a little too new for sps especially, and tougher for some LPs as well because of this,
I’d also stop dosing 12ml of ab+ into 40g that’s too much imo especially if daily and I wonder if it has anything to do with your current bleaching problem, just a guess

It shouldn't be too much reef energy since the nitrate is low.

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

It shouldn't be too much reef energy since the nitrate is low.

The AB+ is keeping my nitrates traceable (I am having some GHA issues, easily removable though) but I am having a little spike in Phosphates. I think doing daily feedings of shrimp may be needed (vs. every other day).

 

[evrydayzawrkday]

Acropora specifically will require higher PAR (300+) and really high flow. Other SPS: montis, cyphastrea, pavona, birdsnest, stylophora, etc. do not need nearly that much and are not that picky. You CAN have them in 350+ PAR, but it’s not necessary.

like I said, the higher PAR will result in the corals growing more, higher photosynthetic rates and require more of everything (trace elements, alk/calc/mag, nutrients, etc.) to keep up with that photosynthetic pace. Without everything in harmony, your zooxanthellae will starve and die and overall the corals will bleach.

I can’t say this is exactly your problem, but in general lower PAR and lower flow is a good place to start to ensure your chemistry is right. If you’re getting gentle movement and 150-200 PAR and stuff is dying (that’s not acropora), lighting and flow aren’t your problem. Start with easy stuff, montis, stylo, birdsnest, and if they grow fine in 150 PAR, then worry about why your acros are bleaching.

I have cyphastrea and burning banana stylo Literally growing under the shade of a overhang, and I grow SPS (montis, cyphastrea, birdsnest, stylo) in a frag tank with 80-100 PAR confirmed with testing. You don’t NEED 350+ PAR. For fastest growth and often times best coloration it’s ideal, but that’s not a topic to be discussing if you’re having issues keeping it alive.

Could cyano cause this sort of problems?

I ended up dosing chemiclean to clear up a cyano outbreak, three days later did a 5g (of 40g). EVERYTHING is doing better, my hammer is looking like a hammer again, zoa are opening up fully, and my mushrooms are full of color.

I also had removed Brightwell Purit... maybe that?

I am lost for words :| lol.