What the heck am I doing wrong with SPS?

[Spare time]

I personally don't think birdsnests are as hardy as they get credit for haha I have killed a birdsnest sitting next to an acro that was doing fine.

Honestly I think birdsnest are one of the most finicky and difficult corals. They grow fast but getting them to be perfectly happy is actually difficult imo.

 

[kdx7214]

if you are using the photone app on your phone swipe to the left/right in the middle of the square to change from PAR to DLI and back

Cool, and thanks for the info, I'm not exactly cell phone literate (more an old PC geek). It says the PAR is 293 at the surface.

 

[kdx7214]

You definitely don't need to be adding kalk right now.

I thought kalk in the ato was a good thing? What numbers are off that kalk would be raising? Not trying to doubt you, just trying to learn

 

[PotatoPig]

I'm running two Noopsyche K7 Pro III LED fixtures right now. I previous had a 6-bulb T5 fixture with three each of the coral blue and coral+ lamps. Same results. No idea on the PAR.

The weird thing about this coral in that at the shop it was a fluorescent red with yellow bits. It's been this color since it was put in the tank.

What % Power are your Noopsyches on?

/I have the same lights on the same tank

 

[Lavey29]

I can't seem to get the app to show par, but it shows a DLI of 12.6.

You have to set it for your time of lights and tap through to par check

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Just throwing this out there, but maybe there is not enough nutrition in your tank. It takes more than light and good stable parameters to grow coral. You may have a biological deficiency. As someone has said before carbon dosing may help. Macrobacter7 helps some people. Did you start with Ocean rock or dry rock. I am sure over the two years you have had this tank you have brought in different types of bacteria but there may be something that is killing it. If you are doing regular water changes etc., a ICP test is really not going to help you. It will only tell you what you are deficient (or in excess) in. if you’re doing regular water changes and you are not having corals using up your elements. A better test may be a Aquabiome test. That would at least let you know if you have any pathogens or if your bacterium is out of balance.

AquaBiomics – DNA testing for aquariums and aquaculture

aquabiomics.com

 

[Lavey29]

I can't seem to get the app to show par, but it shows a DLI of 12.6.

How to Use Photone

A summary of everything you need to know for optimal lighting

growlightmeter.com

 

[kdx7214]

What % Power are your Noopsyches on?

/I have the same lights on the same tank

The app is garbage, so bare with me here. I don't know what spectrum each color bar on the graph represents but here goes the max numbers: red 20%, gray 30%, burgundy 70%, blue 90%

 

[TokenReefer]

I think some higher flow would benefit ion exchange but that's all I got.

 

[kdx7214]

Just throwing this out there, but maybe there is not enough nutrition in your tank. It takes more than light and good stable parameters to grow coral. You may have a biological deficiency. As someone has said before carbon dosing may help. Macrobacter7 helps some people. Did you start with Ocean rock or dry rock. I am sure over the two years you have had this tank you have brought in different types of bacteria but there may be something that is killing it. If you are doing regular water changes etc., a ICP test is really not going to help you. It will only tell you what you are deficient (or in excess) in. if you’re doing regular water changes and you are not having corals using up your elements. A better test may be a Aquabiome test. That would at least let you know if you have any pathogens or if your bacterium is out of balance.

AquaBiomics – DNA testing for aquariums and aquaculture

aquabiomics.com

That's possible. I do have some Reef-Roids and I put in about 1/8 tsp a week. I didn't want to add more to avoid the NO3 and PO4 increasing too much. I also feed the fish a cube of frozen once a day.

I started with a mix of FL live rock and dry rock. The rocks in the bottom on the front are all live rocks.

I've been trying to do a water change every week (20% roughly), but due to recent surgery it's not been possible every week.

The part that gets me on this is I've had this problem in different tank for 25+ years. Each tank had a different setup and everything.

 

[kdx7214]

I think some higher flow would benefit ion exchange but that's all I got.

I do have a glass canopy on the top of the tank, but the sump has the overflow crashing into the sump and haven't seemed to have any problems with asphyxiation of anything. I'm going to get a clear plastic mesh cover for it, just haven't had the cash for one yet. I'd make one but can't see to locate all the parts here in town.

 

[kdx7214]

I'm pretty sure the coral is on it's last legs now. I'm seeing polyp bailout all over the place and a much larger surface is now white.

 

[BOYERZ]

I thought kalk in the ato was a good thing? What numbers are off that kalk would be raising? Not trying to doubt you, just trying to learn

It is a good thing.

I'm not seeing anything in your tank that would take it up that fast. Water changes should be fine. Stay the course. Many members are vested in this now as we are all confused.

You have a good setup. We'll get to the bottom if it.

 

[TokenReefer]

I do have a glass canopy on the top of the tank, but the sump has the overflow crashing into the sump and haven't seemed to have any problems with asphyxiation of anything. I'm going to get a clear plastic mesh cover for it, just haven't had the cash for one yet. I'd make one but can't see to locate all the parts here in town.

From my 'research' there's a reason sps thrive in high flow and it has to do with the movement of ions - intake/output. They grow towards the flow. I'll see if I can dig up the info

 

[kdx7214]

Stylo flow, this is on the low side of acceptable.

Not talking acropora.

Not sure if I match that or not. I'd never try acropora until I get other stuff to live. They're too sensitive and I know better.

 

[Lavey29]

Cool, and thanks for the info, I'm not exactly cell phone literate (more an old PC geek). It says the PAR is 293 at the surface.

That means probably to low par in your tank for SPS.

 

[kdx7214]

From my 'research' there's a reason sps thrive in high flow and it has to do with the movement of ions - intake/output. They grow towards the flow. I'll see if I can dig up the info

Would that high a flow cause problems for lps or softies? I'm already worried about the gorgonian that is in the tank. It's getting moved around quite a lot.

 

[kdx7214]

That means probably to low par in your tank for SPS.

Hmm. With that light about all I can do is set it to 100% on everything and hope for the best then. Not sure what else I could do with it. The blue spectrum runs at 90% for about 12 hours. All of the comments I've read on here say they have to run theirs at 30-40% to avoid too much. Not sure if my phone is accurate to be honest.

 

[Lavey29]

Out of curiosity have you checked all your equipment for broken parts. Rust, rusty magnets? Check your sump make sure nothing fell inside that would rust.

 

[TokenReefer]

Would that high a flow cause problems for lps or softies? I'm already worried about the gorgonian that is in the tank. It's getting moved around quite a lot.

I think it's possible to find a happy medium that benefits both classes. Including both dialing in flow rate and even nudging the powerhead here and there slightly to make minor adjustments in the water pattern