Sps help!!?!!

[kid976]

So I just tested my parameters:
Salinity 1.026 (Milwaukee salinity tester)
Alk 7.5 (Hanna) 7.3 (salifert )
Ca 440( salifert)
Po4 .04 (Hanna non ulr)
No3 10 (salifert)

So I’m the end stages of Dino’s. I just a very small pieces bubbling up here and there randomly. I bought a few tester sps. When I buy them, full polyp extension looking great. I get them in my tank and they open for a day then after a day or two the polyps slowly retract and a few more days pass no extension sps show signs of burnt tips and stn of the base. This has happened in the time frame of two weeks or so. I’m waiting from my Triton test kit to come in I can send my water out for testing.
REEF2REEF fam have ideas what could be going on? I mean my parameters aren’t perfect but I do t think they’re way off either

 

[tdileo]

Dying off that soon makes me think it’s an acclimation problem. When you get them, do you just drop them into the tank and put them into where you want or do you start them off at the bottom to adjust to your lights and then after a few weeks you move them up?

 

[Zagreus]

A couple more questions please?

1. How old if your tank?
2. What is your tank size?
3. What type of lighting do you use and at what setting?
4. What is your water change schedule, percentage and salt
5. Did you start with live rock or dead rock?
6. Do you dose with anything and how?
7. What corals are growing well in your tank and how long?

 

[BoomCorals]

What size is your tank and what do you have for flow?

 

[kid976]

What size is your tank and what do you have for flow?

I have a caights 100 gallon with 2 mp40s running at 70%

 

[kid976]

A couple more questions please?

1. How old if your tank?
2. What is your tank size?
3. What type of lighting do you use and at what setting?
4. What is your water change schedule, percentage and salt
5. Did you start with live rock or dead rock?
6. Do you dose with anything and how?
7. What corals are growing well in your tank and how long?

Before my Dino issue I had lots frags of assorted acros all growing well encrusting and coloring up. The tank was doing great. Then the Dino’s came and wiped everything out it’s been about 4 months to get to this point where I am now with just a get single strand Dino with tell tale air up popping up randomly. I’d say they’re 95% gone. So my tank is 100 gals, 2 g4 radion pros, 2 mp40s , I change 20% about every two weeks with Red Sea coral pro. I get the water from my lfs. I dose esv alk and ca and I run a small gfo reactor and a bag of carbon in the sump. I have a block of marine pure and growing chaeto in the fuge. The tank was been up for over a year. The sps went in a few weeks after the rank was set up cause I upgraded from a 50 cube and all the live rock was transferred over. The tank did great for 9 months everything growing then I got dinos. Now after the Dino’s is where I’m at and sps don’t seem to like my tank.

 

[kid976]

Dying off that soon makes me think it’s an acclimation problem. When you get them, do you just drop them into the tank and put them into where you want or do you start them off at the bottom to adjust to your lights and then after a few weeks you move them up?

They’re on a frag rack and I acclimate to the usually procedures of sps acclimation.

 

[kid976]

This was my rank around 6-7 month mark before the Dino’s came

 

[Zagreus]

Hey buddy I'll respond more later but one thing I would point out is if you're having a low phosphate problem.... you're running GFO which is stripping your water of them. So there's absolutely no way I would dose with phosphate until I tried gradually removing the GFO I had. You can start by halfing the dose amd measure its effect over a week or two taking out more as needed. Then the feeding as everyone's recommending above will yield more phosphates in your tank.

 

[kid976]

Hey buddy I'll respond more later but one thing I would point out is if you're having a low phosphate problem.... you're running GFO which is stripping your water of them. So there's absolutely no way I would dose with phosphate until I tried gradually removing the GFO I had. You can start by halfing the dose amd measure its effect over a week or two taking out more as needed. Then the feeding as everyone's recommending above will yield more phosphates in your tank.

My p04 is .04 as of when I tested yesterday but it .16 about 3 weeks ago. I feed my fish pretty heavily I have about 20 fish in total, chromis, wrasses and anthias make up the bulk of the live stock and a few angels and tangs. The algae growth it pretty good I have to clean the glass every two days or so.

 

[kid976]

Btw thanks for all responses and info. I’ve been a lurker on REEF2REEF for awhile absorbing all the info I can. Before my Dino issues my tank did great. I’ve been reefing on and off for about 5 years. Just trying to get my tank back in order like it was before.

 

[kid976]

Here’s a pic of stn and burnt tips. Given from what I’ve read of member threads and posts my parameters aren’t bad. Most of the successful reef tanks on here have similar parameters. I guess I’ll just have to wait till the triton test comes in the mail for a more in depth look at my water

 

[Zagreus]

My p04 is .04 as of when I tested yesterday but it .16 about 3 weeks ago. I feed my fish pretty heavily I have about 20 fish in total, chromis, wrasses and anthias make up the bulk of the live stock and a few angels and tangs. The algae growth it pretty good I have to clean the glass every two days or so.

Yes your params are good then. Sorry might have confused you with another thread. Anyway I will keep thinking. You know Red Sea pro alk is set at 12. I switched to red sea blue bucket for that reason to avoid alk swings. Have you ever used a par meter on your tank?

 

[kid976]

Yes your params are good then. Sorry might have confused you with another thread. Anyway I will keep thinking. You know Red Sea pro alk is set at 12. I switched to red sea blue bucket for that reason to avoid alk swings. Have you ever used a par meter on your tank?

No I don’t have access to one or know anyone who has a par meter. But my radions are on the coral ab+ schedule and at 45% intensity. I guess the intensity could be low but they grew corals just fine up til now

 

[dodgerblew]

You mentioned you buy your water at your lfs. Have you tested the tds of their water? We've had people here in SoCal check the tds of the lfs water they're using for ready made seawater and it's alarming how high the tds has been at some stores. In the 100's. You should check yourself and not rely on what they tell you. For the money your spending by buying SW invest in a good rodi and make your own with the salt of your choosing.

 

[kid976]

You mentioned you buy your water at your lfs. Have you tested the tds of their water? We've had people here in SoCal check the tds of the lfs water they're using for ready made seawater and it's alarming how high the tds has been at some stores. In the 100's. You should check yourself and not rely on what they tell you. For the money your spending by buying SW invest in a good rodi and make your own with the salt of your choosing.

I’m in the process of getting a tds meter to check the ro. But out of process of elimination the lfs uses the same water they sell and they’re tanks and frags holding tanks are all fine. But I’m going to check to make sure. As for RODI I’m thinking about. Just don’t where to put a water making station in a small apartment without being an eyesore or in the way

 

[Scott.h]

Water from the lfs could be a problem. Second thing I noticed is your tank alk compared to the coral pro and doing a 20% water change causing a swing. You might find the triton test to come back with elevated aluminum from the marine pure which could cause a problem for sure. Maybe your lighting intensity.. hard to say. Your p04 was high, better now. That's a big jump in 3weeks. This issue was prior to the Gfo I assume?

 

[dodgerblew]

I'm not in an apartment but I am space limited so I don't have a water making station either. I make and store my bottles of rodi and then when I run out I make more but I understand your situation and although your lfs says you're getting the same water doesn't make it true.

I don't know your lfs and I'm not insinuating all lfs do this because I do know stores that are honest and have clean water. But I've also heard of the stores that say how clean their water is and it's dirty when tested, maybe not even intentionally. Membranes wear out, DI gets exhausted, meters are out of calibration and employees get busy and/or lazy and forget to test themselves. But you mentioned high po4 and algae outbreaks and buying your water third party coupled with sps health issues so it shouldn't be overlooked.

 

[kid976]

I'm not in an apartment but I am space limited so I don't have a water making station either. I make and store my bottles of rodi and then when I run out I make more but I understand your situation and although your lfs says you're getting the same water doesn't make it true.

I don't know your lfs and I'm not insinuating all lfs do this because I do know stores that are honest and have clean water. But I've also heard of the stores that say how clean their water is and it's dirty when tested, maybe not even intentionally. Membranes wear out, DI gets exhausted, meters are out of calibration and employees get busy and/or lazy and forget to test themselves. But you mentioned high po4 and algae outbreaks and buying your water third party coupled with sps health issues so it shouldn't be overlooked.

Just tested my ro ,the tds meter read 14ppm so I guess that has something to do with it

 

[dodgerblew]

Is the tds meter recently calibrated?