SPS dying?

[Style185]

I was told that many led fixtures can burn sps less than 15”, especially the units that have fewer, but high powered leds like my hydras. I was told the g4 radions can be mounted closer because they use many more lower powered leds and have a better blending lens. My hydras are 16” and producing 500 par and haven’t burned anything since I raised them 10 months ago. Orphek recommends a minimum of 16” as well.

It's not the light! Its lack of nutrients imo

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

It's not the light! Its lack of nutrients imo

I don’t know enough about the reef breeders light to agree or disagree. I was just replying to @Makers Marc question that was addressed to me.

It most likely is a lack of fish poop combined with an elevated alk.

 

[SeaDweller]

I don’t know enough about the reef breeders light to agree or disagree. I was just replying to @Makers Marc question that was addressed to me.

It most likely is a lack of fish poop combined with an elevated alk.

If they’re photon v2s, they’re strong. I have good coloration using a slightly modded AB+ program even for stuff on the bottom of my tank, and the lights are mounted 13” off the water. My peak intensity is 85% blues and 20% whites/others, but I’m using four units.

I think it’s lack of feeding and the alk too.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I've had the same issue that my montipora were growing great and colour was vibrant.

then by april I had lost the red which has been fading alot then rtn. Then all the other monti followed 1 at a time rtn.

I have now taken out all sps apart from what had encrusted and still has polyps and I put my other lps back in from my other tank.

I dont know what caused the loss as of yet.

 

[bellasdad0911]

PO4 is was too low for those specs. Lower the White light PO4 strive for .05-.1 minimum. I would go with a higher side. Its nutrient deprived. Dealt with this for years. lower the light, Dose PO4. unfortunately those corals will not survive IMO.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I think my issue is also low phosphate as I think my kit is giving me false readings so I'm going to buy a new 1 this weekend.

 

[DraggingTail]

Can you identify what is causing this. I dont see any pests.

Just crush it up and throw it in the sump. It's a goner

 

[ahmedrasoul86]

Same thing with my tank after I reduced the photo period from 12 hours to 7 hours due to some brownish diatoms looks to which i succeeded killing it along with most of SPS tissue [emoji28]

Sent from my BLA-L29 using REEF2REEF mobile app

 

[Dburr1014]

I have the same lights and I'm at 95%at 6" above the water. I do have covers.
So, it's better to ask what your Par is not the running %.

 

[HB AL]

Check for stray voltage with a voltmeter, around a year and a half ago my acros were suffering, couldn't figure it out. Someone suggested checking for voltage and voila, major current in the tank. Had my wife turn off 1 pump at a time while I held the probe in the water and it turned out to be a power head. Within a week every acro was bouncing back. Just something else you might want to try.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I check for stray voltage with 3 different meters and 1 said 104v (I'm in the uk) 1 said 1v and the other 0. With it reading 104v and unplugging everything thing then testing 1 at a time I have these individual readings:
Dosing pump 5.59v (nothing in water)
Light 4.47v (not even touching tank)
Ato 23v (float switches)
Heater off 24.6v
On 30.9v
Jebao rw4 36.89v (24v power supply)
Return eheim 52v
Powerhead 41.8v.
So I have inspected all the cables and have come across nothing that I can see. I understand you get induced voltages. But with all plugged in then removing 1 at a time the value doesn't drop by their individual readings.
I cant afford to replace everything that gives a reading.
I've even made a crude earthing probe with a stainless steel teaspoon and a piece of wire to the earth on the socket and put the whole tank on a gfci to see if there was a fault and it didn't trip.

 

[HB AL]

Mine was reading 104 and when she unplugged the offending power head it instantly dropped to 3.9.

 

[NorCal Reefer]

Running a low/ ultra low nutrient tank with high alk will cause sps to RTN. If you look at the Zeovit and Red Sea ultra low nutrient programs, they require your Alk to be around 7.5. Also, I use the same lights mounted approx 18” above my tank and run an intensity setting similar to TitanCi in my sps dominated tank. They are great lights and put out a lot of par.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Mine was reading 104 and when she unplugged the offending power head it instantly dropped to 3.9.

I wish mine was that easy to find. I will have another go with another meter from work that is a little more accurate and freshly calibrated

 

[Makers Marc]

Check for stray voltage with a voltmeter, around a year and a half ago my acros were suffering, couldn't figure it out. Someone suggested checking for voltage and voila, major current in the tank. Had my wife turn off 1 pump at a time while I held the probe in the water and it turned out to be a power head. Within a week every acro was bouncing back. Just something else you might want to try.

So in your experience, would stray voltage only affect SPS/Acros or would LPS also suffer.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

So in your experience, would stray voltage only affect SPS/Acros or would LPS also suffer.

Well I would like to know also as all my tank has now is lps, zoas and a toad stool that hasn't grown in 2 years of having it. Also what is an acceptable level of voltage that is induced? If zero is the answer I better shut all 3 tanks down as they all show some.

 

[HB AL]

So in your experience, would stray voltage only affect SPS/Acros or would LPS also suffer.

Yes, none of the lps, non acro sps, etc. were not affected, only the acropora's were affected.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Yes, none of the lps, non acro sps, etc. were not affected, only the acropora's were affected.

Thanks I'm going to look tonight when I get home and see if it's anything I can deal with quickly. I'm still thinking my issue is 0-low phosphates and nitrates of around 10 so imbalanced a little. With only 3 fish and not much food going in, I think the sps I had used it all up to grow as I used to have to frag it regularly then alk consumption went from 1.5 dkh per day to less than 0.2 per day so I'm thinking starvation ?!?!

 

[ReefOG311]

UPDATE:
Turned off skimmer
Added 3 new fish
Feed 2 times a day
Stopped dosing kalk
Did a 15% water change with 2.5ml of muriatic acid which brought alk to 7 on water change water
Bought new lights; 2 primes 1 kessil a160

Nitrates are at 15
Po4 is at .3
Alk is at 9.3

Will do another water change this weekend to see if I can drop it into the 8s.

Thoughts?

 

[LARedstickreefer]

I’ve got two hydra26hd over a 24in tank. I have all of my blues maxed out. Lights are just 4in from water. It’s not your lights.

Edit: Your new problem will be those lights. Wait till you get a par meter. Your acros will soon lose all PE, slowly fade to brown, then die. Why did you switch away from the hydras?! How did you measure par? There’s no way they are putting out 500 par unless you were 5 in from the sensor.