Sps frags death on new reeftank

[Lavey29]

I agree with the above posts. Tank biome is not ready yet. Do you have abundant coraline growing?

 

[Troylee]

Going outside the box here, have you done an ICP test? Is your RODI water at 0 TDS? Maybe something is sneaking in to your tank water when you do water changes that's enough of an issue to slowly kill off the acros.

This could be a option also.. a friend of mine couldn’t keep acros for a couple years and finally figured it out.. he had a brass fitting on his mixing station that was leeching stuff into his water and it never crossed his mind.

 

[Mr. Roboto]

Honestly what I’m leaning too myself.. I hear what chip is saying about not being mature enough.. I think 8 months is more than enough to grow acros.

I can grow acros in a brand new tank post cycle. 8 months is more than enough.

I also dont understand the phosphates on this tank either, most with Marco Rocks ( dont get me wrong great product) tend to have a higher phosphate level because that stuff isnt clean and takes a while to leach everything out and go through its changes.

 

[fodsod]

This could be a option also.. a friend of mine couldn’t keep acros for a couple years and finally figured it out.. he had a brass fitting on his mixing station that was leeching stuff into his water and it never crossed his mind.

It appears the OP is doing everything right enough to keep most acros and for sure other SPS.

It's either something basic that being overlooked or something that will require a in-depth look into everything.

 

[MnFish1]

Honestly what I’m leaning too myself.. I hear what chip is saying about not being mature enough.. I think 8 months is more than enough to grow acros.

Agree. I would consider getting (borrowing) a PAR meter, and sending an ICP test. IME, the cause for not to 'thrive' is either a shifting parameter (alkalinity, light, etc etc). Damage from a shipper is also possible - leading to a bacterial infection. are you carefully matching your salinity, etc with the shipper you're using? Can you ask your shipper/store which lighting they are using and trying to match that? Lastly - are you dipping your corals in anything?

 

[Lavey29]

I can grow acros in a brand new tank post cycle. 8 months is more than enough.

I also dont understand the phosphates on this tank either, most with Marco Rocks ( dont get me wrong great product) tend to have a higher phosphate level because that stuff isnt clean and takes a while to leach everything out and go through its changes.

Yes very experienced reefers can do this because they know how to specifically tweak their biome for success. Majority of reefers don't have the skill set which means it's important for the tank to be completely stable and ready for more advanced corals.

 

[MnFish1]

Yes very experienced reefers can do this because they know how to specifically tweak their biome for success. Majority of reefers don't have the skill set which means it's important for the tank to be completely stable and ready for more advanced corals.

I'm going to respectfully disagree (partly). Even people who have done this for 40 years do not know what it takes to 'tweak their biome'. Instead, people that have done this for 40 years know how to acclimate their corals, where to source their corals, which parameters are important for stability, and many other stumbling blocks to avoid. IMHO - there is no magic as to the age of a tank as compared to another - its the experience of the aquarist (and possibly the equipment an experienced aquarist would choose over a 'beginner'). There are several studies out there suggesting that over time even successful tanks biodiversity is highest at the start when adding new things and then falls off - especially if live rock was used at the start

 

[doubleshot00]

Mp40 isn’t powerful??? They throw some large waves in my 300 lol.. plenty of flow for his tank.. too much if it’s cranked up..XR30 can grow anything also! Those aren’t the issues..

My bad just going by the first post.

 

[Oldreefer44]

Another possibility is pests. Do your corals bleach all at once or more slowly from the bottom up?

 

[MnFish1]

Sometimes - it's the other corals in the tank IMHO. Birdsnest coral is 'a simple SPS'. However I bought several colonies - with <30 minutes time between purchase and placement in tankwater - that was basically equivalent in parameters. Yet within 2 weeks dead. I think there are a fair bit of toxins floating around in a smaller (especially) tank - resulting in more toxic interactions

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I have an XR30 over my 20" cube tank and I run AB+ @ 100% intensity all channels 100%.
I did never light acclimate any acro and have not lost one ever since.

So I dont know...


Any stray voltage or something wrong with your RODI?
Not sure... Maybe something is rusty...

I never touch my schedules either for new coral that's all done by placement, all the existing corals shouldn't suffer for a new coral!

 

[MnFish1]

I never touch my schedules either for new coral that's all done by placement, all the existing corals shouldn't suffer for a new coral!

Curious - let's hypothesize why would a light company add an expensive software option - to allow automated coral acclimation. IMHO you are not correct - for many corals

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Curious - let's hypothesize why would a light company add an expensive software option - to allow automated coral acclimation. IMHO you are not correct - for many corals

well maybe it's when you first get the light on an existing tank, not for every new coral you get. if the tank is used to a certain amount of light per day why would you lower it for a new addition.

I know when I've had 3 of my lights out for 3 days my alkalinity consumption went down.

IMHO you are not thinking about every angle

 

[Mr. Roboto]

well maybe it's when you first get the light on an existing tank, not for every new coral you get. if the tank is used to a certain amount of light per day why would you lower it for a new addition.

I know when I've had 3 of my lights out for 3 days my alkalinity consumption went down.

IMHO you are not thinking about every angle

You are not thinking about every tank either. You said you had three lights out? How about tanks with only one light source?

 

[Lavey29]

I tried some tester SPS like stylos around 8 month mark but they were gone in 6 weeks. After one year my tank went through an evolution where it became much more stable and predictable. I began adding acros and other SPS. 38 frags total and not one loss. They all grew into beautiful colonies. The maturity of the biome is critical to SPS success for the average reefer.

OP you just need a little more time and stability.

 

[ninjamyst]

Just have to keep trying. All your parameters can be spot on but acros will still die. There's so much we can't test.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

You are not thinking about every tank either. You said you had three lights out? How about tanks with only one light source?

I'm just saying when my light intensity lowers my alkalinity level will go up.

3 lights out of 12 sources

if alkalinity is rising growth is slowing down. imo

I have areas in my tank for new corals with lower light intensity, I don't lower a light source that a coral is used to for years because I get a new coral. I slowly bring the new coral up to the tanks natural lighting schedule and intensity.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I tried some tester SPS like stylos around 8 month mark but they were gone in 6 weeks. After one year my tank went through an evolution where it became much more stable and predictable. I began adding acros and other SPS. 38 frags total and not one loss. They all grew into beautiful colonies. The maturity of the biome is critical to SPS success for the average reefer.

OP you just need a little more time and stability.

yup yup

 

[DJF]

Curious if you’ve dipped a rtn’ing acro to see if critters falls off?

 

[MnFish1]

well maybe it's when you first get the light on an existing tank, not for every new coral you get. if the tank is used to a certain amount of light per day why would you lower it for a new addition.

I know when I've had 3 of my lights out for 3 days my alkalinity consumption went down.

IMHO you are not thinking about every angle

That makes sense - since if you lower the light - the alkalinity consumption would drop. However - It is pretty standard - if you're adding new coral to an existing tank with high lighting - that you decrease the lighting somewhat to avoid problems. This IMHO is standard reef keeping. However - I'm trying to think of every angle. There is little or no risk to 'old corals' for a month of decreased lighting - however the new corals exposed to a new higher lighting can be a significant problem - especially considering the alkalinity and the flow in the tank.

well maybe it's when you first get the light on an existing tank, not for every new coral you get. if the tank is used to a certain amount of light per day why would you lower it for a new addition.

I know when I've had 3 of my lights out for 3 days my alkalinity consumption went down.

IMHO you are not thinking about every angle

I'm just following what I do/did. There is no downside to lowering light for some days. If it wasn't a routine setting, my guess is that light manufacturers would not offer it?