At a loss , sps not doing well

[Timidfish]

Ok start at the top I guess. I have had my tank up for about 3 months now. Had a few sps given to me and a few brown outs I found at a lfs. The ones given to me were doing great for a few weeks then they stopped extending polyps and have stayed the bright colors they were for the most part. No obvious stn or rtn that I or anyone else has seen. Now for the tank details.

Lights 48" tek 8 bulb t5 4.5" off water level.
Tank size 125 gallon
Sump 40 breeder
Skimmer bubble magus curve 7
Return pump 800 gph
About 160 lbs of live rock between tank and sump
Flow 2 wp40 one set at w2 s1 the other at w3 s2 both about a quarter of the way off the top of the water line.
Temp is 77.5-79.0

Levels are
Alk 8.5-9.0
Cal 420-440
Mag 1480-1520
Red sea for those test

Phos .00-.03 salifert on this

Ph 8.2-8.4 red sea on this

Nitrate .00-5.0 unfortunately I ran out of red sea test kits on here and had to use my old api test kit.
However when I compared it to the red sea it showed the same last month. So its really close.

I am at a loss of what could be causing these issues. Even my lfs says I should be doing great with sps now.

Not sure what the brown outs are yet but one of the colored up ones are a green hairy mili and the other is a acro of some sort. I have tried moving them to different areas of the tank and nothing helps.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[trueblackpercula]

Got a picture of the tank? Everything looks good on paper.

 

[Scotty freddy]

got a picture of the tank? Everything looks good on paper.

+1

 

[Timidfish]

This is a pic from avout a week ago. I recently added a reef cleaners quick crew setup to it. Lfs said my rocks were high enough since my lights were so low. He has his hanging about 12-16" off his frag tanks if not more and keeps a lot of good frags going

 

[Timidfish]

O I should add the sand is a mix of white and black sand. Came pre mixed wasnt something I did. Not sure if it matters or not but that's why there are two colors of sand. The wife wanted solid black sand and I wanted white so we compromised.

The looking great on paper is what's getting me everything is doing great except ny sps frags. This is the first real attempt I have made at sps.

One other thing I should add is I did build a frag rack and moved the frags up higher in the tank on the off chance it was a lack of lighting issue. All that did was **** off the non browned out ones more. I left the brown outs up there just so they were easy to access if something really terrible happened.

 

[ormet]

Have your levels been stable over a long period of time?

I fail to find your salinity anywhere mentioned so far...

Also, do you dip for pests? Milleporas are real AEFW magnets, at least they have been in my tanks.

I think you have plenty of light, if anything make sure any new purchases gets time to acclimate at the lower half of the tank with the fixture that close to the water.

 

[trueblackpercula]

Well after viewing your picture I would have to say that your ecosystem is still very young. I would wait before adding anymore Sps and try keeping live stock that is more hardy at this time. Buying what you like may just turn into more mortalities. You appear to have a good set up and they cycling process may still not be complet. It takes time to have a thriving reef tank and I am sure in time you will succeed.

Can you talk more about your equipment additives salt brand lighting etc. It may be a while before you can get where you want to be, but I have no doubt you will get there.

Michael

 

[Tweaked]

This is a pic from avout a week ago. I recently added a reef cleaners quick crew setup to it. Lfs said my rocks were high enough since my lights were so low. He has his hanging about 12-16" off his frag tanks if not more and keeps a lot of good frags going

Looks pretty new to me, once your coralline starts popping off, you will be at a better place for sps IMO

 

[Timidfish]

Looks pretty new to me, once your coralline starts popping off, you will be at a better place for sps IMO

Ty. I was wondering jf that had some thing to do with it. But everyone I talked to said it didn't matter. Everything staying constant was all that mattered. Ty again.

 

[ormet]

Mature tanks sure can be a big plus. Myself successfully kept Acropora after cycling was done, a few weeks.

A few months in things tend to go smoother. 3 months should be plenty. Imho.

 

[Timidfish]

See I keep getting conflicting answers on it I know everyone has their own ways to do everything. It is just starting to wear me down.

 

[ormet]

Welcome to the wonderful world of SPS

If i understand it correctly, you have only tried Acropora?

My suggestion is holding of on the acros and maybe try easier SPS like seriatopora (birds nests) or montipora for starters. They are much more forgiving.

Best of luck!

 

[Timidfish]

Nope I have tried a birdsnest but it was cut and given to me at the same time. So it had all the shock of that plus transport and going into a new tank to deal with and didn't make it. I have a monti cap that in my old tank was doing great. Not growing rapidly but colors were bright and it was growing all be it slowly but was growing. Now its pale and looks like its dying. So I moved it back to the old tank. Maybe it was bleaching I dont know. But I have some oths r samples healing at a buddy who cant keep his stuff trimmed fast enough that he nust gives me stuff. So I am going to try those again. Once they have healed. I knew sps was difficult but dang I hate killing corals.

 

[sahin]

See I keep getting conflicting answers on it I know everyone has their own ways to do everything. It is just starting to wear me down.

Dont feel bad. Honestly, SPS arent hard to keep if you follow some basic principles.

Before I get to that, lets discus your equipment briefly:

Tank; 125G- Nice size.
Lights: 48" tek 8 bulb t5- Excellent! Proven to colour up and grow any SPS.
Skimmer: BM Curve 7- Excellent!
Rocks: 160lbs- Excellent! Too many people dont have enough IMO.
Flow: 2xWP40- Excellent!

You actually have a GREAT setup. Your amount of liverock is really good, excellent lights and very good flow. NO WORRIES THERE. :thumbsup:

Parameters:

Alk 8.5-9.0- OK, can keep around 8-8.5, but is ok.
Cal 420-440 -Just fine.
Mag 1480-1520- High. Lower via water changes and via usage by the tank to around 1350ppm
Phos .00-.03 salifert on this - OK.
Ph 8.2-8.4 red sea on this - OK, but dont dwell too much on this.
Nitrate .00-5.0- OK.

So, apart from your Mg which is in the high side, the rest appear fine. If there is no Polyp extension on non acros as well, it is unlikely to be pests it just means the water quality needs to improve and the tank to mature. Have you checked for pests though by the way? - Just in case.

The presence of Coralline algae growth can be an indicator of a tanks health. Good growth of it means the tank is good enough for SPS. I've seen some old timers say that when Coralline algae spots are around the size of a penny, it means your tank is ready for SPS - and I agree with that observation (however in some situations like ULNS with HIGH light, Coralline algae doesnt always grow as well).

Tank maturation is a factor that cant be measured due to so many variables and dynamic of a reef tank, however, IME a mature tank is almost always better suited to SPS.

So with that said:

1. Keep parameters stable and close to natural saltwater values where possible. Pay particular attention to Alk and keep it stable (but make sure Ca and Mg are inline).

2. Carry out 10-15% weekly water changes, especially in the first 6 months.

3. Dont mess around too much with the tank. Keep hands out unless really required.

4. Run light around 8-9 hours.

5. Make sure you dip all corals coming into the tank. QT if at all possible.

6. Feed the fish well if you have them already, if not, just break up a flake or two into the tank every few days.

7. Have lots of patience. Seriously, everyone needs this with SPS. Not saying you dont have it, just saying that it is one of the ingredients to success when keeping SPS.

Read lots of SPS build threads if you can - lots of great builds out there. Most of my learning came from reading those threads and asking questions.

With regards to conflicting advice, that is a reality of forums and SPS keeping in general. The way to sort out whose advice to take it to look at that persons tank in person or if its someone online, have a look at their build thread. If they have a nice/healthy SPS tank, then their advice is likely to be of merit. But, due to the nature of SO many variables, sometimes all we are doing is guessing the likely cause.

Keep up the efforts and dont feel bad. Let us know how it all goes. Goodluck.

 

[Scotty freddy]

From what I've read your setup is good, let it settle in as it's quite new and get nice and stable. Like sahin said keep your parameters as close to NSW as possible. You have all the right gear and the way your rock work is laid out is also good for flow. With a bit of patience I think you could have a very nice SPS tank. Beautiful tanks are never built in a day, the more you take your time the healthier your system will become and the more rewarding the end result will be