SPS Problem please assist!

[aaron23]

Hi guys,
So the tank has been running since second week of January. I'm keeping predominantly SPS corals. Everything has looked perfect till I left for the weekend till I came back and saw very slight STN. One maricultured frag lost about 1/4" of skin from base and the other maricultured coral's skin looks a bit more brittle and less smooth.

I've narrowed down the possible culprits of the problem/Possible causes of STN and changes done to the tank:
1. Moved the 6bulb 24w T5 light fixture last thursday night to a hanging light fixture so the corals are getting 4" less of light.
2. Temperature drop from 81-82 to around 76 degrees.

Parameters
Salinity on the high side 1.025-1.026
Dosing 2part -10ml per day is keeping alk and ca stable
Alk - stable 8 dkh
Ca - 460's
Mg - 1280
pH - fluctuates 8.1 at night -8.3 during day
Phosphate .067

Any ideas why some maricultured corals begin to look more brittle? I remember seeing this before they start receding. I hope to fix this problem before that happens..

Thank you gurus.

 

[FarmerTy]

Aaron, have you kept SPS before this tank? Are you just buying new corals (maricultures and frags) or have you had some from a previous tank you're moving over? When you left for the weekend, was someone dosing 2-part for you or is yours automated?

Btw, salinity at 1.025-1.026 is about perfect to me so I don't consider that on the high side.

 

[Battlecorals Verified Sponsor]

That's maricultures. hit or miss for sure especially in a new system.

How long have they been in the system? One month is not much time for a tank to stabilize. it's a safe bet the issues are steming from that.

 

[aaron23]

The tank is brand new never housed any corals. I cycled dry dead rock in the beginning of December. I then used several bacteria products to seed the tank. These corals are both mariculture and aquacultured frags from local hobbyists. The 2 part is automated by a Neptune DOS.

The maricultured frag has been in the system around 2 weeks looking fine since this weekend and the colony has been in the tank for about 3 weeks.

The tank not being "established" can you clarify?I would assume if parameters are stable that a tank can house and grow sps. What am I missing?

 

[aaron23]

I would appreciate more insight from anyone.. much thanks to those who have replied

 

[aaron23]

This is a FTS as of this past friday. It's definitely not entirely established since I'm going through cyano blooms and some green HA but everything else seems fine to me

 

[dbrewsky]

Are you having good coraline growth yet? There is something about applying tincture of time and allowing a tank to establish a little longer that makes sps happy.

 

[aaron23]

Are you having good coraline growth yet? There is something about applying tincture of time and allowing a tank to establish a little longer that makes sps happy.

Yes, there are lots of specks of deep red coralline growth growing on the rocks. I can definitely understand that a more established tank seems to be more stable but I dont understand what exactly an established tank has over a new tank - given that parameters are probably fluctuating less?

My chaeto in the back overflow is growing significantly as well.

 

[aaron23]

Started month of January with 2 quarter size pieces of chaeto now pretty much full and I need to trim

 

[dbrewsky]

the cyano and HA could indicate a nutrient issue, the rocks are most likely still leaching at this time. Do you know what your nitrate levels are?

 

[aaron23]

i shouldve updated nitrates. they are between 10-25 on salifert high test from looking at the top - as of last friday.

I do feed the fish a bit much which i think adds to the cyano and HA problem. 4-5 fish
1 rosy wrasse, 1 midas blenny, 2 neon gobies, 1 helfrichi

 

[FarmerTy]

Are you having good coraline growth yet? There is something about applying tincture of time and allowing a tank to establish a little longer that makes sps happy.

There is much truth to this. I've kept SPS alive for the first year but it really isn't until the 1st year mark when everything starts to take off.

There are probably plenty of microprocesses beyond our knowledge that level themselves out and reach a point of harmonic equilibrium after the first year. Otherwise, I wouldn't run too many SPS the first year, particularly maricultures, as in my experience, it's always been a recipe for trouble.

 

[aaron23]

There is much truth to this. I've kept SPS alive for the first year but it really isn't until the 1st year mark when everything starts to take off.

There are probably plenty of microprocesses beyond our knowledge that level themselves out and reach a point of harmonic equilibrium after the first year. Otherwise, I wouldn't run too many SPS the first year, particularly maricultures, as in my experience, it's always been a recipe for trouble.

I can completely understand this and i've seen this myself all visually provable... I guess since all my parameters seem in-line, i'm just going to see how things go if i see more recession i may start to glue and or frag pieces.

If anyone else has any input on this, specifically why some coral's skin on maricultured pieces look a bit more brittle if you guys know what i mean i'd love to hear it.

Thank you!

 

[dbrewsky]

I think you need to address the known nutrient issue slowly and I wouldn't be surprised to see improvements in the SPS health. Start doing 40% water changes twice weekly until your phosphate/nitrate rating are lower and the cyano and HA start to recede.

Cyano and sps never seem to go well together and I would take steps now to start reversing the nutrient issue.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

There are probably plenty of microprocesses beyond our knowledge that level themselves out

+1
Well + infinity. New tank. Many of theses micro are actually known as well. The amount of buffering of new rock.(the ph you read in the colum may or is not the same on the surface of the rock)
The development of beneficial bacteria and algae. Rotting of organics. rate of Leaching of phosphates and silicates from rock and sand.
You may consider NSW, a less agressive brand of salt or bioassay salt or careful bacterial dosing to stem the tide and reduce your water changes. Id start to think of how to fool the corals into believing it is a mature system.

 

[dbrewsky]

I'd say keep it simple, large water changes when issues arise is a reliable way to reset the parameters of the system. Why try to go with complicated fixes that dont actually address the root of the problem.

Nutrients from a new tank in addition to potential overfeeding will continue to cause issues until you address these head on and change the way you manage your aquarium. Mass water changes will get your system reset, but unless you address the root cause of the issue the cycle will loop. Same thing happens when attempting to change salts or add bacteria, add this supplement etc. These steps address a symptom not the solution.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

simple is best

 

[aaron23]

during my lunch break just now, i went home to see the flesh on the maricultured colony flying off (RTN). I changed 5 gals of water at 1.026 salinity and changed out the carbon. I tried fragging the colony but its gone. Last night the GF sprayed pledge on a wooden console table about 10 ft away. could that be a possibility? Has anyone had this happen before?
The apartment is very small and i'm thinking that may have been one reason..

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I tried fragging the colony but its gone.

Its a new tank my friend. A coral from the wild has a hard time surviving in that, no matter how smart we think we are and what the internet says.

I dont understand what exactly an established tank has over a new tank -

This is something to research. It took me a good while to understand it.

 

[dbrewsky]

there are well documented cases of aerosol cleaners and fragrances entering the aquarium and causing issues. It is a possibility that contaminants from the cleaning product could have caused the rtn. It is hard to say if this is the case or not, however the timing of these events is a compelling explanation.