Brown/Pale SPS WTFFFF

[Reefvet]

thanks for all the replys i really appreciate them..

I think first i am going to try the less expensive stuff before i jump to pohls. i just ordered some reef roids and im going to feed the tank daily but i will keep the media in there to keep algae away. If that doesn't work im going to try slightly less feedings and maybe pull out the purigen. My original reason for having the media is because i am skimmerless at the moment. If i was to keep any of the 3 which should i keep and which should i ditch ?

RR is decent but don't use it every day at first.

Pull the Phosguard. It's not needed and is a highly debatable product. Since you have such a small water volume you may also want to think about pulling the Chemipure and running it only once a week for a day. Keep it in a small plastic container with tank water, don't let it dry out. It's a great product but you've got a new tank that needs some bad stuff to grow the good stuff. Let it get established before you worry about filtering to that level.

Skimmers are a great source of gas exchange and do much more than remove dissolved organics. Something to consider down the road is a small skimmer.

My pocillipora is actually not doing too bad, it keeps growing and the polyps are green, it is on the light side though. the millie is pinkish , its supposed to have blue tips but they are really faint. The echinata in the back i honestly don't even know the true color, i believe its teal but the guy i got it from browned it out as well, it is starting to encrust though.

All just looking for the tank to age and a little more nutrients in the water. If a coral is encrusting it's doing well.

The sad part is that i was always told to have super pristine water quality and even though i did that it only caused me problems esp with the sps. But now that i have all these great answers i will be trying another method. I read that sps seem to like "fish poop" however i only have 1 fish and its a six line and he doesnt poop like tangs, sps seem to like tang poop. is there another nano fish i can get that can aid with this ?

Pristine water with a well established tank, that's 6 months down the road.

SPS need what the fish have broken down and excreted, not only the food's physical waste but the ammonia from their gills that support necessary bacteria on the rocks.

You have a mini ecosystem, complete with a food-chain. Eighth grade biology in real life.

The Six Line now OWNS that tank. Anything you add has to be non-competitive for cave space and able to handle the aggression of the SL.

Yellow clown gobies hold their own and are great characters. You have all sorts of options.

Your actually doing just fine for such a new tank.

 

[matt 76]

[/QOUTE] i don't use a skimmer, i use purigen,phosguard,and chemipure elite and that keeps everthing super low.[/QUOTE]

First get rid of all that stuff mentioned above. The corals need food. Get yourself a small tang such as a bristle tooth. They love to eat algae all day long. If your worried about not having a skimmer you can do small water changes every week. That will help keep nutrient levels in check while replenishing trace elements.
You don't really need to keep the tank sterile. There are critters to clean for you.
Sps corals do like fish poop at least mine always have. I feed my fish at least 2x a day.
A local in my area had the same issue as you are having. He bought more fish started feeding more and coloration is coming back. Nutrients were basically stripped from the system.
Your basically running your tank water through an R.O. Unit taking out all the good stuff. Ease up on it and you will see good results my friend.

 

[Greyson]

RR is decent but don't use it every day at first.

Pull the Phosguard. It's not needed and is a highly debatable product. Since you have such a small water volume you may also want to think about pulling the Chemipure and running it only once a week for a day. Keep it in a small plastic container with tank water, don't let it dry out. It's a great product but you've got a new tank that needs some bad stuff to grow the good stuff. Let it get established before you worry about filtering to that level.

Skimmers are a great source of gas exchange and do much more than remove dissolved organics. Something to consider down the road is a small skimmer.



All just looking for the tank to age and a little more nutrients in the water. If a coral is encrusting it's doing well.



Pristine water with a well established tank, that's 6 months down the road.

SPS need what the fish have broken down and excreted, not only the food's physical waste but the ammonia from their gills that support necessary bacteria on the rocks.

You have a mini ecosystem, complete with a food-chain. Eighth grade biology in real life.

The Six Line now OWNS that tank. Anything you add has to be non-competitive for cave space and able to handle the aggression of the SL.

Yellow clown gobies hold their own and are great characters. You have all sorts of options.

Your actually doing just fine for such a new tank.

Thanks for the post !
I'm not new to salt water, i'm new to sps and i think from all the stuff i read over the years i've always thought pristine water paramaters were the way to go. I also like everything super clean and algae free and a white sand bed lol. i had a patch of cyano for like.. a few days and it was gone. Yes i was considering the skimmer for gas exchange more than pulling organics. Purigen seems to be doing a great job with that. I was considering just getting a biocube skimmer they are like 25 bucks, they skim and they add alot of gas exchange.i don't think i would need anything bigger than that. it's already overkill. But another question...i read a little bit on the zeovit system and there are people who have water paramaters like me where everything is virtually undetectable and that makes a good environment for zeovit. I love the colors of everything with those zeo tanks. It seems pricey though and i am on a budget.

I was considering getting a clown goby, i may look in my lfs if they have one. They are pretty cool to watch.

 

[Greyson]

[/QOUTE] i don't use a skimmer, i use purigen,phosguard,and chemipure elite and that keeps everthing super low.

First get rid of all that stuff mentioned above. The corals need food. Get yourself a small tang such as a bristle tooth. They love to eat algae all day long. If your worried about not having a skimmer you can do small water changes every week. That will help keep nutrient levels in check while replenishing trace elements.
You don't really need to keep the tank sterile. There are critters to clean for you.
Sps corals do like fish poop at least mine always have. I feed my fish at least 2x a day.
A local in my area had the same issue as you are having. He bought more fish started feeding more and coloration is coming back. Nutrients were basically stripped from the system.
Your basically running your tank water through an R.O. Unit taking out all the good stuff. Ease up on it and you will see good results my friend.[/QUOTE]

Thanksfor the post, i actually do weekly water changes and test my water regularly. I use reef crystals. i think my tank is too small for any tangs, in 2007 i had a 75 with a bunch of them and i loved them but they are huge. Not to mention i have no algae lol. I have 3 blue legged hermits,2 red legged,a female emerald crab, 1 turbo snail, 3 stomatellas,some collonista snails for my cuc.

 

[Jim Z.]

Feed those corals and the colors will return. Your setup looks pretty good. Once you get some fish in there and you set up a feeding program, the corals should look pretty good......................Jim

 

[ceramik]

I had the same problems that you have with pale and brown corals. I added seachem fuel and colors improved. It's a cheap alternative compare to other forms of coral food. It's worth a try.

 

[Greyson]

I had the same problems that you have with pale and brown corals. I added seachem fuel and colors improved. It's a cheap alternative compare to other forms of coral food. It's worth a try.

I'm going to look into it, i personally like seachem products.

 

[trueblackpercula]

Lower intensity and feed your sps nutrients in small doses at a time and in 30 days you should see improvement. Also you are stripping the water to clean skim on the dry side and reduce the PO4 remover or at least lower the amount you use.
Michael
also what temp is you tank? 77 to 81 is best

 

[Greyson]

Lower intensity and feed your sps nutrients in small doses at a time and in 30 days you should see improvement. Also you are stripping the water to clean skim on the dry side and reduce the PO4 remover or at least lower the amount you use.
Michael
also what temp is you tank? 77 to 81 is best

Cant lower intensity i have a a150 ...
i started feeding my coral reef roids, and i'm trying hugo's milk dosing at just 1 drop EOD for aminos since it's kind of pricey.
i can't skim because i don't have a skimmer ...
can't lower the amount i use because its a pre packaged pouch, i don't add the media to the bag.
temp 81-82 , best is a matter of opinion i would say 76-86 would suffice.

 

[redadeath]

low nuutriens + intense light = that results
u have either to lower the light intensity or raise ur nutrients but not to mess

 

[trueblackpercula]

86? is way to high

 

[Greyson]

low nuutriens + intense light = that results
u have either to lower the light intensity or raise ur nutrients but not to mess

Yes i am aware of that.. i have already been feeding heavily for the last few days. If you noticed in an earlier post i increased the height of my lighting. Corals look alot happier right now.

 

[Greyson]

86? is way to high

I wouldn't say its "too high" , my tank looked better at 85 then it did at 82 ...for sps the temp is not an issue, its mostly fish + softies

 

[rfgonzo]

I was considering getting a clown goby, i may look in my lfs if they have one. They are pretty cool to watch.

Clown goby are cool but they hide 99% of the time, and some will nip at SPS.

 

[ffeschultz]

Nutrients. Feed fish more. Just went through the same thing. Don't get so caught up in ULNS. Hope that helps

 

[triggerman71]

Feed more, I would guess you have low nutrients in tank.

 

[Greyson]

yes as stated several times in this thread i have low nutrients.. i have been adding more for the last few days and i have been seeing better color and polyp extension in my stylo, other coral are showing more polyp extension. soft coral look puffier and more colorfull.

 

[dr.dator]

Feed more and shoot for .5 ppm nitrates and .05 phosphates. It will probably take at least a month to show any major improvements.

My green monti used to look like this:

now it looks like this:

Took about 6 months with heavy feeding and AA dosing.

 

[Greyson]

Thanka for the reply.. I actually lost the millie colony i had it RTN'd on me last night. However my other coral looks a little better, my garf bonsai receeded a little on the edge of the frag plug where it encruated.. Should i be worried? The polyp extension is okay and it has sweeper tenticles out when i feed and it even looks like it may be growing a bit. I started feeding reef roids daily and i add .5 ml of whole milk to my tank daily the same way hugo did. Seems to be okay. I still have 0 nitrates though, not sure of my phosphates im going to ask a friend to meqsure it for me i'm curious to know where i am. I'm sure i have a tiny bit because i get occasional specs of diatoms. I never really have any cyano. I've had a tiny bit on my clove polyps but it doeant aeem to last since i am always using a turkey baster to dust off coral and rock of detritus.

 

[dr.dator]

Keep an eye on your garf bonsai as it could be a sign of STN, in which case the only way to save it would be to frag it. I had a millepora that STN'd and it was a really slow process. Just a few mm a day, but eventually half the coral was dead so I decided to frag the healthy parts. I have 7 tiny milleporas now