Sps getting white tips. Normal?

[jsak1976]

So I just started trying to keep sps in my tank. I started by getting my parameters where i wanted and maintained them stable by dosing using seachem fusion. My cal is 440 alk is 8.6 and mag is 1440. Nitrates is 5 and po4 is reading as zero. When i bought these sps frags they where fully colored but now im noticing white tips on only a few branches and not all of the sps have them. Is this normal?

Looks normal to me, new growth would usually only be seen on a few branches not all. Keep an eye on it over the next week or two if it’s new growth those white tips will color up, if it’s something else it will get worse. If you use GFO rinse it thoroughly before use, what ever your using it in you don’t want it to tumble it will cause it to break up and it doesn’t need high flow through it slow is better.

 

[jsak1976]

Goes from zero -> 0.03 -> 0.1 and up from there.

Don’t follow what you mean, I use a low range Hanna checker it test in the range of 0 - .61 PPM are you using a low range test kit or high range?

 

[James Mikell]

Looks normal to me, new growth would usually only be seen on a few branches not all. Keep an eye on it over the next week or two if it’s new growth those white tips will color up, if it’s something else it will get worse. If you use GFO rinse it thoroughly before use, what ever your using it in you don’t want it to tumble it will cause it to break up and it doesn’t need high flow through it slow is better.

Thank you i will keep an eye on things. I mix my carbon and gfo together currently since i only have one reactor so no nothing tumbles in there.

 

[James Mikell]

Don’t follow what you mean, I use a low range Hanna checker it test in the range of 0 - .61 PPM are you using a low range test kit or high range?

My test kit is salifert it dosent mention high or low range.

 

[jsak1976]

My test kit is salifert it dosent mention high or low range.

So I think you meant your first number after 0 on the test is .03 the the next one is .1 ?

 

[jsak1976]

Thank you i will keep an eye on things. I mix my carbon and gfo together currently since i only have one reactor so no nothing tumbles in there.

That’s what I do also in an upflow reactor, I rinse thoroughly first then put gfo in first on bottom then carbon on top, fill all the way to the top so it can’t tumble and I have a ball valve on the supply line so I can adjust it to a nice steady slow flow and I’ve never had an issue

 

[James Mikell]

So I think you meant your first number after 0 on the test is .03 the the next one is .1 ?

Yes

 

[James Mikell]

That’s what I do also in an upflow reactor, I rinse thoroughly first then put gfo in first on bottom then carbon on top, fill all the way to the top so it can’t tumble and I have a ball valve on the supply line so I can adjust it to a nice steady slow flow and I’ve never had an issue

I mix my carbon and gfo so the gfo dosent turn into a block. I have the brs reactor with the adjustable valve to control flow.

 

[jsak1976]

My test kit is salifert it dosent mention high or low range.

I think you’d be better off getting an ultra low range Hanna checker, it’s what I use. I try to keep my phosphates between .025 - .05 and the one I have reads from 0 - .06. I think your salifert kit must be a low range and really isn’t going to give you the clarity you need. Yours might be reading 0 but probably really just lower than .03 the first reading on your test kit. If you phosphates really are 0 than that’s bad, but the ultra low Hanna checker will show you if it is because it can read down to .01 PPM.

 

[SeaDweller]

Ok i appreciate your input. I may have to just bite the bullet and buy the hanna tester.

A lot of people run gfo, including myself and a lot of successful reefs employ it. Don’t be too quick to change things based off of one reefers experience. I run gfo cuz I have 30+ fish that I feed 2-3 times a day in a 240. I use half of what is recommended to keep phosphate in CHECK. I’m not trying to eliminate them completely. When I see a slight tinge of blue on salifert, I know I’m ok. If I see film algae growing quickly on the tank walls, then I know it’s time to change it again. I wouldn’t change much if only one or two frags showed symptoms.

Do you have any algae growing in the tank?

 

[SeaDweller]

Don’t follow what you mean, I use a low range Hanna checker it test in the range of 0 - .61 PPM are you using a low range test kit or high range?

0.0-3.0

 

[James Mikell]

A lot of people run gfo, including myself and a lot of successful reefs employ it. Don’t be too quick to change things based off of one reefers experience. I run gfo cuz I have 30+ fish that I feed 2-3 times a day in a 240. I use half of what is recommended to keep phosphate in CHECK. I’m not trying to eliminate them completely. When I see a slight tinge of blue on salifert, I know I’m ok. If I see film algae growing quickly on the tank walls, then I know it’s time to change it again. I wouldn’t change much if only one or two frags showed symptoms.

Do you have any algae growing in the tank?

I had a bad algae mat problem on my sand bed and had been using the gfo and microbacter7 to get rid of it. Its almost finally gone.

 

[SeaDweller]

I had a bad algae mat problem on my sand bed and had been using the gfo and microbacter7 to get rid of it. Its almost finally gone.

Awesome! I dose MB7 twice a week. It doesn’t seem to harm anything!

 

[Makers Marc]

Depends on how it's growing, if all sps grew at the same rate they would look like a big ball. Some branches grow fatter than others.

The conclusion that gfo is bleaching your sps should be backed up with testing evidence.

GFO can strip nutrients too much which all of a sudden causes tip burn (no nutrients, lights still strong). I'm unsure if you think a published study or white paper from higher up is the only way to prove this.

There's thousands of anecdotal scenarios of reefers on all forums. But its not the GFOs fault, its the reefers who sometimes take time to fine tune their systems and understand the rate of nutrient in and out.

 

[bobby.w.hodges]

GFO can strip nutrients too much which all of a sudden causes tip burn (no nutrients, lights still strong). I'm unsure if you think a published study or white paper from higher up is the only way to prove this.

There's thousands of anecdotal scenarios of reefers on all forums. But its not the GFOs fault, its the reefers who sometimes take time to fine tune their systems and understand the rate of nutrient in and out.

Evidence like testing with a quality test kit. If there really were a true zero phosphate in the water all coral would be showing stress signs as phosphate is required by coral to grow. I understand what gfo being used incorrectly can do to coral, i just don't don't think that pulling it all out is the answer, pull half maybe.

 

[SeaDweller]

Evidence like testing with a quality test kit. If there really were a true zero phosphate in the water all coral would be showing stress signs as phosphate is required by coral to grow. I understand what gfo being used incorrectly can do to coral, i just don't don't think that pulling it all out is the answer, pull half maybe.

I think that’s a good idea. IMO, I feel gfo is underrated. If used correctly, it can help maintain levels, and keep it in check. Nothing wrong with using it. It’s just like chaeto, helps to control nutrients. Not everyone can somehow keep a tank naturally low in nutrients, despite “normal”, healthy feeding, so there shouldn’t be an issue using some form of export.

I feel gfo gets a bad rap. Just use “enough” to handle your levels and one should be ok.

 

[ckalupa]

Too many things can get blamed when some things are used. If GFO or other phos strippers are used and a problem develops it is hard to say if the reaction was from the initial condition (high phos), the media used to attempt to correct, or the rate of the correction? Or maybe something else unrelated? Most people tend look to the last thing they did as the major contributing factor I suppose. All tanks react differently as the conditions of everything tank to tank are different. Some say you have to have x level of phos or nitrate yet look at Zeovit and ULNS pages where they are running 0,0 and see some of the nicest reefs- and many of them. Or then look at others that are very high levels well above normal accepted ranges and also see great tanks. Some never even check these levels.

 

[SeaDweller]

Too many things can get blamed when some things are used. If GFO or other phos strippers are used and a problem develops it is hard to say if the reaction was from the initial condition (high phos), the media used to attempt to correct, or the rate of the correction? Or maybe something else unrelated? Most people tend look to the last thing they did as the major contributing factor I suppose. All tanks react differently as the conditions of everything tank to tank are different. Some say you have to have x level of phos or nitrate yet look at Zeovit and ULNS pages where they are running 0,0 and see some of the nicest reefs- and many of them. Or then look at others that are very high levels well above normal accepted ranges and also see great tanks. Some never even check these levels.

Yup, I agree. You just have to really know your tank, and that requires daily observation. Not too hard for us to do, right?!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Generally a sign of growth

 

[James Mikell]

Is this normal?