ATI PM question with SPS

[reefrad]

hi there everyone,
i have a 8 bulb 48" ATI PM about 9" over my 90G SPS tank. i'm also running 1.5liters of BPs, GFO and GAC, a I-tech 200 skimmer (way oversized). my sps, most them at least, are just not popping. some seem kind of brown and others seem kind of pale. my photoperiod is 6 hours all bbulbs and 10 hours of blueplus.

what can i do? i see evidence of browning and bleaching so i wouldnt know whether i need more or less light. i also have some cyano on my sand so, more or less nutrients...

thanks!

 

[jusn317]

Is the PM a new light that is replacing something else you were using? I have the same light you do, and when I first set it up I did bleach a few sps just because it was such a better fixture than the Current one.

What bulbs are you using, and in what order are they? I had to keep switching my around until I found something that I really liked.

 

[reefrad]

nah, have had the fixture for 1.5 years now.

i use AB special, B+, B+, AB special, fiji, B+, B+, AB special

 

[reefrad]

Is the PM a new light that is replacing something else you were using? I have the same light you do, and when I first set it up I did bleach a few sps just because it was such a better fixture than the Current one.

What bulbs are you using, and in what order are they? I had to keep switching my around until I found something that I really liked.

btw, how high is your fixture and whats your photo period like?

 

[fishypets]

What is your PO4 and NO3 like? What is your fish load and feeding schedule like? Might need to bump up the feeding.

 

[reefrad]

po4 is 0.00 consistently using a hannah meter. nitrates are consistently yellow on a salifert kit, although i do have some cyano so its possible that these measurements are falsely low. i have 2 chromis, 2 anthias, 1 6 line wrasse, 1 bengali cardinal, 1 mandarin, 1 medium small kole tang. i feed 1 small cube of mysis daily or a touch of cyclopeeze.

i have 2 vortech 40s for flow...

 

[fishypets]

Sounds like you're starving your corals. Switch to Rod's food and start feeding twice a day. You should notice a positive result in a week or two.

 

[reefrad]

Sounds like you're starving your corals. Switch to Rod's food and start feeding twice a day. You should notice a positive result in a week or two.

but if i'm starving my coral than:

1)why do i have some coral that appear brown?
2) why do i have some cyano?

 

[fishypets]

P04 of 0.00 is the reason your corals are light in color. Cyano doesn't always mean you have nutrients. For your fish load one single small cube is not nearly enough. Good luck!

 

[jgonz_1979]

your photo period is too short you need at least 8 full spectrum light and if you want 10 actinic lighting and with those low paramethers you should be feeding your corals with some reef roids , coral frenzy , rods food or a mix from your favorites. my thank has a 10 bulb power module 39" on 80 gls and i didnt have good coloration till i start to feed the corals. also dont place the pm to near of the surface mine it´s 8" over the water surface

 

[jusn317]

I keep my fixture about 7 inches above the water. Have 2 ati blue pluses come on at 9am, then the others on at 11am to 7pm, then finally the others off at 9pm.

 

[seashark]

i also had the same problem with my sps a while ago, once i started feeding more the colors on my sps got much better in few weeks, i think you should feed more. GL

 

[ryanrid]

but if i'm starving my coral than:

1)why do i have some coral that appear brown?
2) why do i have some cyano?

1 - you may have bugs or inconsistent alk/cal?
2 - cyano is nothing to do with nutrients (P04 N03) but is usually an acid imbalance, many ULNS have cyano issues. Try using some cyano specific solutions to fix this, zeovit do coral snow but there are others out there that have worked for many people.


How old are your bulbs?

BTW your photoperiod is fine as it, i run mine on full for 6hrs/day also.

 

[seashark]

i used special blend for my cyano, it worked, you might want look in to that.

 

[reefried]

whatever you do , do it slow......i would lower the light to like 6 inches above the tank, I know if i had a t5 fixture i would have it as low as possible.....and up your photo period to like 7-8 hours full and 10-12 hours actinic,then wait a week or two and if colors improve your all set, and if your unhappy still then start to feed a little more

 

[ducktales]

u don't want the fixture to be as low as possible. the ATI puts out a lot of light.

 

[fishypets]

I know if i had a t5 fixture i would have it as low as possible.....

This will surely burn your sps if you follow this.

 

[Akrite]

ATI PM lower than 6 inches will cook your corals 8-9 seems to be the norm. You might need new bulbs, have you changed them since you got the fixture 1.5 years ago?

How are your ALK/CAL/MAG levels? And are they consistent? Also since you over skim you need to feed more or add more fish.

 

[JG1]

Sounds like you're starving your corals. Switch to Rod's food and start feeding twice a day. You should notice a positive result in a week or two.

I have Rods food but seems like it pollutes the tank with a lot of very small particles that go uneaten. Also worry about raising PO4 with this food since you can't really rinse it like you can with a frozen food like PE mysis.

I have pale SPS so maybe I need to start feeding more as well.

 

[bobbychullo]

Sounds like you're starving your corals. Switch to Rod's food and start feeding twice a day. You should notice a positive result in a week or two.

+1

my understanding is the zooxanthellae can keep the coral alive but for it to grow and regain color it helps to feed the polyps of the coral.

I don't really understand the idea of not feeding your corals. the polyps have mouths, guts and simple digestive processes (mesenterial filaments), they want food!!!

you can choose to listen to eric bourneman (i know some people do not agree with him) but he believes most aquarists consistently starve their corals.

The way I worked up to larger feedings is I slowly fed more and more over a period of weeks and months to let my biofilter slowly catch up with my nutrient load.

my tank is a year old, i have never had any algae issues and i do not have to run media reactors or bio pellets etc. I feed my fish 2X a day and my corals 3 nights a week (phyto, oysterfeast and rotifiers). I use chaeto, skim heavy, polyfilter 24/7, a bit of mechanical filtration and weekly water changes to control nutrients.