Why can't I keep SPS alive?

CKI · Oct 11, 2013

EW_Fish said:
even if his lights were at 30 they wouldnt bleach. its his natural gas. I can promise thats the problem all of my testing came back perfect everytime and still sps would bleach and lps were fine. I even thought it was my lights.

No natural gas... only propane lines from my tank

EW_Fish · Oct 11, 2013

They do the same thing.

IBEW41 · Oct 11, 2013

EW_Fish said:
I lived in a townhome that had gas stove and heat and when I moved there every single sps I had over the years bleached... And I can bet any money its the gas... I also talked to a few local reefers and they had the same problem with gas stoves. Try opening windows running your skimmer intake outside. its not your tank. I even bought new sps and they all died I now bought a house without gas and everything is back to normal.

I have a gas furnace ,gas stove and gas insert fireplace ,never had a problem with any coral if it was a co problem he would have cryno algae

CKI · Oct 11, 2013

Of course, just when i go to test my Alk the half the numbers on the syringe from Salifert has rubbed off ... looks like ill not be testing for the weekend... Called Dr.Macs where i purchased it and they are sending me a new kit

CKI · Oct 11, 2013

Dan_k said:
CKI don't you know Tim aka dunk from Delaware I'm sure he can help you out with this problem

Yes Dan, i know Tim. Some of my zoas,duncan and frogspawn has came from him. When we spoke he figured it was Alk swings, so i purchased the Salifert kit. He also said, its possible my tank is not "mature" enough for SPS ... it just erks me seeing people with a tank set up for a month and have sps and doing well! ... I am pretty much holding off on corals until i can figure this SPS stuff out ... sadly enough i love the way SPS looks and in my eyes nothing else compares... so frustrating i tell ya

Reef Fever · Oct 11, 2013

CKI said:
Sorry, was trying to reply from my phone ... My tank is 6 months old.

that very well might be a contributor to your bad luck. your tank may not be mature enough for SPS

kacrocorals581 · Oct 11, 2013

That's terrible all your stuff dyed I do think a little more nutrient well help

mike007 · Oct 11, 2013

First of all what are your water parameters? Sps do like lots of light. You need to test your alk levels and make sure they are not too high. I f you are running a low nutrient system you will need to feed more.

Gillman · Oct 12, 2013

CKI said:
I tried first with my quad t5 lighting and no reactors ... I know...not enough light... but worth a try...so after they die, i order my lights and reactors all in the same day...try the upgraded stuff...and die....If it wasnt for this forum i would be at a complete loss i tell ya

A four bulb t5 is more than enough light for SPS. If anything LED's are the worst for growing SPS.

ritter6788 · Oct 12, 2013

Gillman said:
If anything LED's are the worst for growing SPS.

What? ??? Lol.

CoryC · Oct 12, 2013

unless it's a super shallow tank, a 6 bulb t5 at least is needed for sps. there are some very nice sps tanks with led lights.

CKI · Oct 12, 2013

mike007 said:
First of all what are your water parameters? Sps do like lots of light. You need to test your alk levels and make sure they are not too high. I f you are running a low nutrient system you will need to feed more.

Parameters are posted on page 1... my first post

CKI · Oct 12, 2013

Reef Fever said:
that very well might be a contributor to your bad luck. your tank may not be mature enough for SPS

That would be my luck! lol ... just erks me seeing people having a sps tank in 2 months ... guess everything is different ... ill keep a eye on things and maybe just pick up a green slimer and monti. digitata and see if i can get them to take....if they dont, ill just not worry about it until next year

Bustyraker · Oct 12, 2013

What is your temp swing in 24 hours? I've noticed that temp has killed most of the SPS I have ever had trouble with

CKI · Oct 12, 2013

Bustyraker said:
What is your temp swing in 24 hours? I've noticed that temp has killed most of the SPS I have ever had trouble with

79.5-80

reef4beer · Oct 20, 2013

Wow that's pretty hot temp.

flowflezy · Oct 20, 2013

Hi temps. Also u don't have a ato? This would avoid ph difference. U want everything to be stable no change in the water.

DSP · Oct 20, 2013

Gillman said:
A four bulb t5 is more than enough light for SPS. If anything LED's are the worst for growing SPS.

Well this is the truth honestly lol if the 3 main types of lighting were ranked right now by reefers it would be halide and t5 above led just because there more tried and true so far

Pappy · Oct 20, 2013

I didn't read through entire thread but with your ca being 500 you may have trouble keeping alk up. R u sure it is 8.6? What kit? Sorry if I missed it? My api was reading 10-11 when I got Hanna it was 6-7.

As far as rowa and bio pellets. Dr Tim told me you're not supposed to run both together as the bio pellets do both anyway. Something to do with the bacteria actually needing phosphates.

Hope this helps and good luck.