Soft corals not doing so well hard corals look great

[K-pow]

So I have a reef set up in a 55 gallon. My soft corals are not doing well but my hard corals look great. All my water parameters are good and I’m running coral life t5s. Temp is at 76
Ph 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nirtrite0
Nitrate 0
Calcium is 400
Mag is 1200.
Does anyone have any ideas. I’m stumped and so is my LFS

 

[Euphyllia97]

Where are your soft corals placed in the tank? Did you test for iodine?

Also, Softies need some nutrients (Nitrate and phosphate) to thrive. Would be better for all tour corals to keep a little bit of nitrate and phos in the system.

 

[S2G]

Nitrate 0. What's your phos? Probably too clean if I had to guess

 

[jeffchapok]

Softies like dirtier water. I'd say your 0 nitrates is the problem. What are you doing to export nutrients?

 

[Mical]

You might want to up your temp to 78-79 degrees.

 

[K-pow]

My phosphate is in between 0 and .25. And I have a refuge set up with all kinds of algae in it. So if I want to have a little dirty water would I just cut back on water changes? And I supplement essential elements, strontium & molybdenum. And I haven’t ever tested my iodine. And I do two part dosing as well.

 

[K-pow]

And my soft corals have all been placed in the tank in places that I was best told would suit the individual corals. So they are at different depths, lighting, and water flows of the tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Add ChemiPure blue carbon to system. Some Hard corals let off toxins which affect softies and Vice versa. Also add Amino acids

 

[S2G]

0 -.2 is a wide range. Anyway you can get a tighter reading? My guts saying your tank is too clean but running carbon is always good imo.

 

[K-pow]

I have carbon in my sump. I change it about every 3-4 months. I also run a protein skimmer. I do water changes currently about every two weeks. Is that something I should cut back on? Maybe go 3 weeks or even a month?

 

[K-pow]

What is best for adding amino acids?

 

[Surfandturf]

Tank is too clean! I had that problem before. Don't be afraid of a little dirtiness lol

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Your softies are starving. It can be really hard to have hard corals and softies together, they have drastically different needs. Yes people do it, but it takes talent.

 

[K-pow]

Your softies are starving. It can be really hard to have hard corals and softies together, they have drastically different needs. Yes people do it, but it takes talent.

is there anything I can do to correct that? Do you have any suggestions? What seems odd is they were fine for about a year and now they aren’t doing good at all.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

is there anything I can do to correct that? Do you have any suggestions? What seems odd is they were fine for about a year and now they aren’t doing good at all.

They were probably able to photosynthesize enough for a while but eventually they can't keep up. Feed them. Add phytoplankton to your water on a regular basis a long with some reef roids or go the cheap rout and don't always wash your fresh food before feeding. Also if you're not dosing iodine I would start.

There is just one down fall. Depending on the type of coral you have, they could take off and then they will be competing with your hard corals. More than likely the hard corals will not win. Not all soft corals are that aggressive, toadstools and sinulara, in my experience, are usually the worst. Mushrooms don't usually poison their competitors but they will burn the snot out of them.

 

[K-pow]

I do feed plankton about every other day and I use reef roids about once a week(which I can up that) and I have a green toadstool, a Kenya tree some different polyps, and a few others. Also my anemones aren’t open they are shrunk up. I’m not sure that it’s a related problem. I do spot feed them.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

What are you dosing your tank with? What kind, if any, reactors are you using and what's the media? I would think the anemones being shrunken is definitely a sign of something. If you don't feed live plankton I'd switch to that, and probably every day. I feed a lot. And I do mean a lot, but I have so many softies that eat and gorgs that don't photosynthesize, that I have to. My zoas have never been happier, same with my mushrooms. I wouldn't think the lack of nutrients would affect the anemone, rather there might be something else going on in the tank.

 

[Surfandturf]

is there anything I can do to correct that? Do you have any suggestions? What seems odd is they were fine for about a year and now they aren’t doing good at all.

I keep a mixed reef. Just feed liberally and do a larger weekly water change.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

I keep a mixed reef. Just feed liberally and do a larger weekly water change.

Yup, this is the kinda dedication it takes

 

[K-pow]

Yup, this is the kinda dedication it takes

I do 20-30%water changes. And my LFS told me to change water every 2 weeks. Instead of weekly. And I do not feed live. Other thank the pods that are in my fuge. But it is loaded with them.