SPS - over reacting or let it play out?

[bmkid1997]

hey all, new to SPS world so would like some insight!

I know they can be finnicky, and its all about keeping stability. I picked up some frags not too long ago, and they were all doing well for a few weeks. 3 of them are still solid; good color, full extension, and no issues. One is slightly paler, my monti cap slightly browning, and the other having burnt tips. My params are as follow
calcium - 425
dkh 7.5-7.8 range
nitrate - 17
*phosphate - 0.25
temp - 76 / 78F range
lighting is 4 t5 bulbs plus 2 kessil 360X
Flow is 2 gyres plus jabeo pump.
The only thing that shows any indication of out of what to me, is the phosphates. ive always had higher since I only have filter floss and water changes for any export. I do have gfo/NoPox, but frankly have over used in the past and drop to fast. Its a bit tougher for me to manage, and wanted to keep this simple. Should I just let it all sit and relax, or is anything sticking out that might need attention?

 

[Sean Clark]

Those phosphates jump out to me. Seams like the frags came from a system with different parameters and may be a bit shocked. You could let it ride but I would try to drop those phosphates.

 

[bmkid1997]

Those phosphates jump out to me. Seams like the frags came from a system with different parameters and may be a bit shocked. You could let it ride but I would try to drop those phosphates.

Same, its the only thing I can think of. I dont have a reactor since its an AIO tank, maybe just have a small amount of gfo in the back chamber.

 

[Sean Clark]

How long have they been in the tank? Also do you have other livestock? I wouldn't try to make one coral happy only to upset the rest.

 

[bmkid1997]

How long have they been in the tank? Also do you have other livestock? I wouldn't try to make one coral happy only to upset the rest.

Everything has been in there for about 3 weeks. and a total of 6 fish in a 50g

 

[Fishfreak2009]

How long have they been in the tank? Also do you have other livestock? I wouldn't try to make one coral happy only to upset the rest.

Exactly, if the rest are happy try to just keep things stable. Don't sacrifice half your corals just to make 1 happy

 

[Gtinnel]

Are you sure what you are seeing is burnt tips because looking at your parameters it seems unlikely? Usually burnt tips happen in a tank with low nutrients and high alk/cal. The high alk/cal encourage skeletal growth, but the limited nutrients cause the tissue growth to not be able to keep up with skeletal growth.

I'm wondering if there is a chance what you're seeing is tissue recession.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Check for pests or your par
There is nothing wrong with your phosphates
This is my 50g cube with +10 fish

 

[Gtinnel]

Check for pests or your par
There is nothing wrong with your phosphates
This is my 50g cube with +10 fish

I suddenly feel like I still have plenty of room to add some extra frags onto my rockwork.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I suddenly feel like I still have plenty of room to add some extra frags onto my rockwork.

I’m glad one of us does

 

[bmkid1997]

Are you sure what you are seeing is burnt tips because looking at your parameters it seems unlikely? Usually burnt tips happen in a tank with low nutrients and high alk/cal. The high alk/cal encourage skeletal growth, but the limited nutrients cause the tissue growth to not be able to keep up with skeletal growth.

I'm wondering if there is a chance what you're seeing is tissue recession.

It might be, but frankly I have no idea how to tell the difference. I’ll be able to post a photo of the main issue one that’s gotten progressively worse tomorrow

 

[bmkid1997]

Check for pests or your par
There is nothing wrong with your phosphates
This is my 50g cube with +10 fish

I’ll be renting a par meter soon so will Definetly map that out. And lovely tank! Seen photos from it before and always awesome to see!

 

[ScottB]

More fish. It is almost always my stock answer to SPS issues.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

More fish. It is almost always my stock answer to SPS issues.

Yup! Makes more nitrate so the SPS can use more of the phosphate while growing! Going through this with my tank. Got dinos after nitrates tanked and acro color started fading. Added a bunch of fish, color came back, and nitrates are now still low but measurable. And phosphate is coming down now.

 

[bmkid1997]

More fish. It is almost always my stock answer to SPS issues.

Im only in the market for wrasse right now, and its been super hard to find any quality fairy / flasher near my area! No sand bottom so sadly those are the only ones I can really look for right now

 

[jfoahs04]

I'm dealing with a near identical situation as I've been fallow since mid-January. My phosphates went way up (to about .3) when the fish were removed to from the tank and I lost three acros to a combination of RTN and STN which is why I'd guess that you're seeing tissue recession and not burned tips.

Over the past 1.5 months, I've slowly lowered the phosphate from about .3 to about .22 as of this morning. I've done it by reducing the quantity and frequency of feedings to my inverts and CUC who remain, and by switching my chemical filtration from activated carbon to Chemi Pure Blue (about 1/2 of the recommended amount as the full amount would cause it to drop too quickly). I'll add fish again in April which I think will keep the phosphate under control, but I plan to continue to slowly drop it until that point. Hopefully getting to around .15ish by then.

Just don't do anything to drastic. Really go slow with any changes you're going to make. In my case, I think the initial spike after going fishless was the catalyst for losing SPS rather than the high phosphate numbers themselves. Things seem to be much better now that the numbers have stabilized and are slowly declining. Doing anything too fast will probably cause more problems.

 

[landlubber]

another pertinent question is how old is this system? gaining stability in the few measurements we routinely measure just scratches the surface in the spectrum of what it really takes to keep sps happy.
my system chewed through frags until i got through the first 18 months meanwhile my alk, cal and mag were spot on. biological stability unfortunately takes a long time.

 

[bmkid1997]

another pertinent question is how old is this system? gaining stability in the few measurements we routinely measure just scratches the surface in the spectrum of what it really takes to keep sps happy.
my system chewed through frags until i got through the first 18 months meanwhile my alk, cal and mag were spot on. biological stability unfortunately takes a long time.

Definetly a newer set up, 3 months old. Started with only ocean rock, i know bare bottom takes some time to kick in in general.

 

[landlubber]

Definetly a newer set up, 3 months old. Started with only ocean rock, i know bare bottom takes some time to kick in in general.

an ICP test may be a good lead into seeing if there is something your system is missing. the only downside is it takes time to get the result back.

 

[ScottB]

Definetly a newer set up, 3 months old. Started with only ocean rock, i know bare bottom takes some time to kick in in general.

Ah. Yeah that is going to be a relatively volatile biome for a while longer. At least you started with live rock, so that should save you 6-12 months.

My current build thread is essentially an insta-tank with all live rock, a ton of fish and full mixed reef population in 3 months. Can be done. Only a few SPS specie couldn't cut it. A couple acropora valida colonies and all the pavona maldevensis died early. Everything is still plowing along just fine. Heavy fish load with many herbivores.