struggling sps need help !!!

[Alan600]

So I started a sps tank about a month ago . I got some amazing sps from Adam at battles corals . There where doing well till 4 Days two turn brown already and the rest are starting two do the same thing . They had some great color but idk what I'm doing wrong ! Can anybody help me out! I run a 20 gal frag tank with t5 2blue + 1 coral + 1purple + . they sit 12inchs under the lights I run them for 8 hours .
Water parameters are
Alk 9.0
CA 420
mag1240
No3 0
Po4 0.2

 

[RalphsReef]

I am going to go out on a limb and guess your frag tank is plumbed into a system with live rock, etc?

 

[Alan600]

I don't have no lr in that system

 

[Alan600]

I have sand

 

[RalphsReef]

How long has the tank been running?

 

[Alan600]

Well that tank is new but my water is 4 years old . I have a bigger system and what I did was I took 10 from my big system and add 10 fresh salt water so it can balance out

 

[Tahoe61]

I would let the tank age for a while longer, I have a 3 month old tank and it's a challenge, this is not my first rodeo. Your phos is high and mag is on the low end. Do you have a pH value?

 

[Alan600]

Well I bought the tank from my lfs he had it running for a year be for I got it of him . On my last post I meant to say I had it for 3 months . No I don't have a pH value . Sorry for asking what is that for to check pH ?

 

[Alan600]

What should I have my mag at ?

 

[Tahoe61]

Well I bought the tank from my lfs he had it running for a year be for I got it of him . On my last post I meant to say I had it for 3 months . No I don't have a pH value . Sorry for asking what is that for to check pH ?

Not a lot of hobbyist test for pH anymore with good reason, but newer systems especially nano tend to have swings in pH. The pH will drop at night when the lights are off and then slowly climb back up during the photoperiod, if the difference in the low value and higher value is significant it can cause issues with sps. You want something between 7.8-8.2-4 typically.

What should I have my mag at ?

I like mine around 1350, you can bring it up 100 ppm every 24 hours.

You need to look at your phos as well. 0.2 is too high, it may very well be browning your corals or contributing to it.

Over all I would not buy any expensive frags until those issues have resolved.

Good Luck

 

[Alan600]

I see what your saying . The messed up part is I bought a pack like a week ago an this happens .I don't wanna lose them two

 

[Alan600]

To keep pH in check what do I do just check every day

 

[Tahoe61]

Since you have a sump you can add a cheap light (grow light) and start some macro algae in the sump on a reverse lighting schedule, you can add more flow to the display with the flow aimed slightly towards the surface to improve gas exchange, you can do a kalk drip or manual into the sump. You need to start with checking the pH value right before the lights go on in the am and just before they go off in the pm to get an idea what the value and difference actually is.

If you find you do indeed have a pH issue once you rectify that you really only have to spot check pH every couple months or when you notice a problem.

Hanna pH pen checkers are relatively cheap.

 

[RalphsReef]

For all intents and purposes, that tank isn't cycled. The water doesn't carry the cycle from tank to tank. Live rock and sand help with that. I would be willing to bet your water parameters are fluctuating wildly. See if someone can house the corals for you until you can get it squared away.

 

[Alan600]

Okay yeah I'm going to do that I have lamp and micro algae in my other sump . If that doesn't fix the problem what esle can I look for

 

[RalphsReef]

The biggest key to SPS is stability. If the parameters shift too much, you get unhappy pieces. Sometimes you can make them happy, other times you can lose them. I'd get the tank set up with live rock, whether it's in the tank or in the sump. Then add a couple fish; maybe a pair of clowns if that's your thing. Let the tank settle in for a few months. While it settles, keep track of you parameters. When the numbers seem stable, get a relatively hardy and inexpensive piece of SPS and see how it does. If you have to dose, do it early in the morning; the same with testing. Once you get SPS to settle in and get used to your tank, they will take off even if your parameters are not perfect. Stability, once again, is the key.

 

[Alan600]

Yeah I been trying to stable them . I don't have any where to put the frags I already have . I tried putting one in my big tank and it didn't do so will in there . How many pouns of live should I do 10 or more

 

[Alan600]

Pounds of live rock

 

[Alan600]

Yeah I have a pair clowns in there

 

[Tahoe61]

1-2 lbs per gallon of water is common practice. You can also put the rock in the sump if you want to stay with the frag tank look.

Make sure your top off water source is good and think about doing a gallon water change every week until the tank stabilizes.