Why is SPS so hard?

[allboutthe305]

I do it about 2 hours of my day just sit on my bed and stare at it since it's right next to it.

That's what I'm doing. Trying to get this tank complete so I can save and get a big upgrade.

I don't run a refuge in my sump so I don't have cheato or anything like that. I have filter socks, my giant skimmer and my return with extra rock for frags. But I do have hair algae in my corner overflow with a ton of pods that go in and out of my tank i don't know how. And also a million or billion of those tiny snails that come out at night. So I'd say it's pretty healthy.

It keeps me out of trouble. That's for sure.

 

[w.gurney77]

Read the whole thread and no one has mentioned that acropora and other sps like a trace amount of nitrate. I was keeping my water too clean( I need more fish). I have been dosing sodium nitrate to keep nitrates around 2 ppm. Colors and growth are much improved. I also agree with the lighting and flow suggestions. At least 250-300 par and adequate flow. You may want to add more fish or let the nitrates creep up to detectable levels.

 

[allboutthe305]

Read the whole thread and no one has mentioned that acropora and other sps like a trace amount of nitrate. I was keeping my water too clean( I need more fish). I have been dosing sodium nitrate to keep nitrates around 2 ppm. Colors and growth are much improved. I also agree with the lighting and flow suggestions. At least 250-300 par and adequate flow. You may want to add more fish or let the nitrates creep up to detectable levels.

I haven't had my nitrates up since the cycle of the tank a year ago. I don't know how to get it up or if I have enough room for another fish. (2x snowflake clownfish, diamond goby, neon goby, tail spot blenny, chromi who I've had since day 1, and a firefish) I don't want to overcrowd the tank. Maybe I can dose sodium nitrate like you have done?

 

[w.gurney77]

Seems you have plenty of fish. Just slack up on the nutrient removal, or dose a tiny bit of KNO3 or NaNO3. Be very careful use a TINY bit. Make a standard solution so you can measure it accurately. Do not over do it or you will be growing a ton of hair algae.

 

[allboutthe305]

Seems you have plenty of fish. Just slack up on the nutrient removal, or dose a tiny bit of KNO3 or NaNO3. Be very careful use a TINY bit. Make a standard solution so you can measure it accurately. Do not over do it or you will be growing a ton of hair algae.

Well I have a lot of blue legged crabs, snails, a peppermint shrimp and red emerald crab plus my skimmer. So they do spotless cleaning. I'll have to dose some, just got to find it first. Less than a ml? Or is there an amount to follow?

I'm following pretty much any advice I can get except more lighting (budget) right now. Hopefully something works.

 

[Saltwaterwill]

how about phosphates?

 

[w.gurney77]

I ordered NaNO3 from a hydroponic supply place online. It comes dry and I add 2 level tea spoons to a 16 oz bottle with ro/di water. Add a few ml and test nitrates and repeat until you get a trace amount with a test kit (2.5ppm is what I shoot for). Give it a while to circulate between tests. Measure how many ml it takes to get there and wait a few days and test again. My nitrates disappear pretty quickly, so I may dose more often than you.

 

[glb]

Till you get to a point where you are comfortable keep the testing up.
A good way to learn your alk needs is figure out what your daily alk needs are. By recording for two weeks what they are daily at the same time. You can then take the averages of that time span of what the alk need were and predict what your needs will be. You can then say I think I need this ammout and then test to see how off or on you are. With practice you get better. If you keep your schedule the same weekly you cut down on the variances that go on and can better predict things.

Sounds like a plan. Should I not dose during that time? I use Kalk. If not, can my sps tolerate the drop while I do this?

 

[WetWhistle]

If you are worried you can slowly drip Kalk when the lights go out. When the PH naturally drops. So your PH will remain within normal levels. If you do it slowly you will not see much of a change in PH.

 

[glb]

If you are worried you can slowly drip Kalk when the lights go out. When the PH naturally drops. So your PH will remain within normal levels. If you do it slowly you will not see much of a change in PH.

Thanks. I'm actually worried more about the alk than the ph. Will the drop harm the SPS?

 

[Marquiseo]

1. Are the sps pieces you are adding are maricultured and/or fresh cut frags?

Reasoning: Some mariculturedd pieces have a 100% mortality rate when added to a home aquaria. Fresh cut sps have an increased chance of morality even if it is aquacultured.

2. Have you run carbon for some duration of your tank timeframe?

Reasoning: Contaminants may have build up in your tank. It would be safe to run it every now and then for a few days to remove anything added to the tank that may be harmful. Some people choose not to remove jewelry when they stick their hands in the tank which can be a carrier of contaminants because you sweat and take a bath with certain jewelry such as your wedding ring.

3. Did you acclimate the SPS (photo and tank water)?

Reasoning: bleaching can be a direct cause of non-photo acclimation or little to no nutrients available. This can also can RTN/STN.

 

[joekool]

2 Kessil 160we lights are plenty for a 55 gallon. Second using a par meter to measure usable light used by corals under led will give you improper representation of the capabilities of the Kessil lights. More accurate terms of measurement would be in PUR not PAR. The Kessil lights produce the cleanest light quality I have seen yet out of a led fixture. I would look at other areas to keep sps than your lighting.

 

[joshbbert]

2 Kessil 160we lights are plenty for a 55 gallon. Second using a par meter to measure usable light used by corals under led will give you improper representation of the capabilities of the Kessil lights. More accurate terms of measurement would be in PUR not PAR. The Kessil lights produce the cleanest light quality I have seen yet out of a led fixture. I would look at other areas to keep sps than your lighting.

good to know ty

 

[fred garvin]

I would say lights . I know a few friends that have kessil and they say the same thing why don't my corals grow. Try supplementing some t5.

 

[702]

All of the softy's and lps in there and now added SPS to the system there could be a chemical warfare going on in there, Another thing is if you have zoas and there still opening up then you just might not have enough flow for SPS.

 

[wow]

Having about 60 years in the hobby. I keep everything separate and have large tanks. For fish 400 Gallons no coral live rock only and macro algae
For SPS 300 Gallons = to keep heat down we only use LED so no chiller needed .. 4 Ecotech Pros - plus 4 Kessil 360WE for light concentration on specific corals
NO FISH NONE Zero Water flo by 4 MP40's
150 Gallon Sump - LED lighted - GHL doser We do water changes every 6 months. And we do add suppliments. All Monitored Apex
SPS growth rate is fantastic And problems are zero. Fish do not belong in a dedicated high end SPS tank period. My opinion!

 

[slip66]

I run 2x Kessil A360WE in shallow setup.

Not everything is perfect of course! but I have seen good growth and color on a number of sps. I just wanted to show you can grow sps under the brand of lights. Of course this is much more powerful setup than the OP setup AND in a shallow setup. I run my lights with a peak of 30% intensity during the day so take that into account.

Here is a frag (bali slimmer)I took from a friend that wasn't doing well in his 200 gallon under a different LED manufacture ( well known). I suspect it was due more to phosphates than anything else. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a40/slip66/shallow reef/IMAG0577_zpsvtt0rfhv.jpg

Here is the same frag under mine. You can see that it is recovering nicely and encrusting again. Don't pay attention to the color as it's more pronounced since I used orange cellophane to cut down the blue light in this particular photo. It does have great color though in person. http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a40/slip66/shallow reef/IMAG0653_zpsffepegfw.jpg

Look at the brown sps on the left rock near the bottom here, its nearly unnoticeable to your eye at first:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a40/slip66/shallow reef/IMAG0318_zpskn9w2boc.jpg
Same frag a few months later:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a40/slip66/shallow reef/IMAG0623_zpso5hcgdeh.jpg


Check phosphates as mentioned, goes hand in hand with using a TDS on R/O from store or home make. Try higher placement as well and see how they react. In your setup you will most likely need to keep them as high as possible. Agree with Marquiseo. Avoid maricultured until you have success. Even then I stick with aquacultured personally. Pick 1-2 CHEAP sps that people generally have known good success rates with. I travel so my tank has seen it's share of ups and downs. I just moved so a number of the more sensitive sps aren't happy at all. others are doing fine. Once you have success you will start to find your tanks happy zone and which corals can give you the best indication of the health of your tank. Do not blow off phosphate levels with SPS!

 

[allboutthe305]

I think it's a mixture of light and flow like everyone says. Since my tank is already dedicated to growing LPS and zoa's I'm just going to stick with those until I can upgrade to a larger tank and more equipment. So I can either run a mix reef or a full SPS tank. It sucks. But that's part of the hobby. Just want to thank everyone in the support and help given. It sure has taught me a lot more and what to expect in my upgrade. Thanks again!

 

[EpicWin]

What kind and how are you doing your carbon?

 

[ps2cho]

Ive had the same problem for the past year and only in the last 3-6mo have things improved significantly.

First your flow is far from enough. If you can afford it, get an MP40 and call it DONE!

I run 1 mp10, and 2 Jebao's in wave mode which is pushing 75x turnover. Its difficult keeping my sand on the bed, but I have a pretty shallow tank.