Can you help me diagnose a problem? New guy

[agiacosa]

Hi everyone,

I'm relatively new to SPS and need some help from those more experienced.

My situation:

I have a new tank (60g) that is 2 months old. I used the dry Real Reef Rock 2.1 and dry sand. I have one Radion and it is about 24 inches from the sand.

The Radion is run at 35% using the Coral Lab AB+ spectrum. I have a 12 hour light cycle but it ramps up at the beginning and end. The full 35% is run for only 6 hours.

The tank has cycled and I have some cyano growing on the rock and sand.

I have a skimmer that is skimming wet at the moment and properly sized to the aquarium. I am running Zeovit with a Zeovit reactor and dosing the carbon as directed. I also dose their Sponge Power and Zeobac as directed.

I have two tiny clownfish that get fed once a day with pellets and a peppermint shrimp that scavenges.

The issue:

I added a set of test SPS (montis) and a green star polyp to see how it went. This was done about a week and a half ago. The GSP never opened up. I just see the green heads but no polyp extension.

The montis were fine (brownish) with good polyp extension for about a week. Then I increased the intensity to 45% and most of the montis bleached but have good polyp extension. This took place over 2-3 days. The montis are on the sand bed.

The tank parameters:

Salinity: 35 ppt
pH: 8.02 (measured in the morning)
Ca: 600 ppm
Alk: 7.1 dKH
Mg: 1440 ppm
NO3: 8 ppm
PO4: .04 ppm
K: 434 ppm
Fe: 0 ppm
Iodine: .06 ppm
Temp: 79F

My conundrum:

I can't figure out what's wrong. At first I thought that I increased the light intensity too soon/fast and the monti digitatas quickly expelled the zooxanthellea. I quickly reverted the light but the color has not returned.

I then suspected low traces due to Zeovit. You can see Fe is at zero. I added Fe this morning.

Also curious is the high calcium reading as I have not dosed calcium or alk yet. I've also not done a water change. I'm using Reefers Best from KZ that is supposed to be a good salt so I don't know why those readings are off.

Would appreciate hearing from the experienced to see what, if anything, they suspect.

Thanks in advanced!

Art

 

[vhuang168]

I would chk your refractometer.

Here are the expected values for the salt (based on 35ppt I assume)

Magnesium (Mg): 1.268 mg / l (1236-1300 mg / l)
Calcium (Ca): 408 mg / L (398-420 mg / l)
Potassium (K): 395 mg / L (375-414 mg / l)
Sodium (Na): 10,648 mg / l (10382-10914 mg / l)
Chloride (Cl): 19,280 mg / l (18800-19761 mg / l)
Sulphate (SO4): 2.701 mg / l (2633-2768 mg / l)
Alkalinity (KH) 8.0 - 9.2 dKH

You are high on most elements.

I think you turned up the lights too fast. SPS take a while to adjust to the parameters in your tank. When you start to see new growth, be it encrusting on the plug or rock, or growth tips is when you can start raising the light slowly. I would do a few % points each week.

Your tank is also new, and your parameters will fluctuate as it settles. SPS don't like fluctuations, stability is key to success with SPS.


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[agiacosa]

Thanks. Going to get water tested at the LFS now.

 

[codydemmel4]

your is only 7 but your calc is 600? I am not an expert so just take what I say with a grain of salt but those seem insanely off for me. Usually people who keep around 7-8 want to keep their calc around 400-450.

 

[agiacosa]

LFS tested the water and it showed 1.023.


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[JB NY]

I would do a water change or two to get the Ca down to 420 or so. Also make sure that the alk is the same every day. Last what is the bioload on the tank, I find that new tanks started with dry rock and dry sand need a good fish population for a few weeks/months before the SPS will start to do well in the tank.

 

[agiacosa]

Hey thanks Joe.

Preparing the new water already.

I only have two tiny clownfish. I had a feeling the tank may be too clean because it was not started with any live rock or sand. I don't have microfauna at all at the moment.

I will look into slowly increase the bio load with some fish as well.




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[DivingTheWorld]

LFS tested the water and it showed 1.023.


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Your salinity is 1.023? That's a problem. Most shoot for 1.026, I shoot for 1.0264. That translates to 35 ppt. At 1.023, you're running at around 33 ppt.

Verify your salinity and get it to the correct level, then adjust the rest from there.

 

[agiacosa]

Your salinity is 1.023? That's a problem. Most shoot for 1.026, I shoot for 1.0264. That translates to 35 ppt. At 1.023, you're running at around 33 ppt.



Verify your salinity and get it to the correct level, then adjust the rest from there.

Thanks. The 33 assumes the LFS is correct. They just calibrate with freshwater. I use rodi and a 35 ppt solution to calibrate. I'm probably more accurate than they are.

However, with the water changes I will be doing, the salinity should get corrected.

Thanks again


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[nmotz]

I had similar bleaching issues with LEDs so just turn them back down and slowly walk them up after a few weeks. IME, really good coloration is a long-term goal. Like 6 - 12 months for some corals.

Like others said, first step is to get your parameters right, then get your dosing routine established. Test, test, test.

New tanks are honestly not great for SPS, I was in the same boat you're in about 10 months ago. My tank hit the 1 yr mark and just started to take off. It's certainly not TOTM quality, but I like it! Be patient, establish routines, learn what works and what doesn't and your tank will eventually look amazing, no worries.

 

[agiacosa]

I had similar bleaching issues with LEDs so just turn them back down and slowly walk them up after a few weeks. IME, really good coloration is a long-term goal. Like 6 - 12 months for some corals.

Like others said, first step is to get your parameters right, then get your dosing routine established. Test, test, test.

New tanks are honestly not great for SPS, I was in the same boat you're in about 10 months ago. My tank hit the 1 yr mark and just started to take off. It's certainly not TOTM quality, but I like it! Be patient, establish routines, learn what works and what doesn't and your tank will eventually look amazing, no worries.

Thank you. Great advice!

 

[Jim Z.]

Hi Art,

Zeovit systems work the best at natural sea water levels of chemical composition. Your alk is fine at 7 and you want to shoot for a calcium level at 400. Take a water sample in to your local petshop and see if your test results are consistent. If not, your test kit could be bad or you have user error--it happens. 600 for calcium is high and could be a result of a poorly mixed up batch of salt too. So get another test done to see whether that 600 calcium is real. With zeo, follow your basic dosing schedule and yes, LED's can be quite powerful. Lower the intensity of your lights and let the system mature and the corals will adjust. Right now, weekly water changes will be sufficient to replace trace elements. Once your corals become acclimated to your system, you will see calcium and alkalinity get used up quickly. Keep testing the water and go slowly--you cannot rush your corals.....................Jim

 

[agiacosa]

Thanks, Jim. Very helpful.

I couldn't believe the calcium so I tested with the Hanna Checker and the Red Sea Pro kit. Both showed calcium off the charts. I suspect a bad batch of RBS.

I am mixing up a new batch to do a 50% water change. I'll test calcium in the new batch to see if it's the salt.

 

[agiacosa]

Well, spent a day mixing up a fresh batch of salt water (40 gallons) to do a 50% water change to bring the calcium down. I used the same Reefers Best Salt I used originally.

I decided to test the calcium of it after I confirmed I was at 35 ppt. Turns out calcium in the new batch is 537. Mystery of the high calcium solved. So much for Reefers Best Salt... :mad2:

What would you do? Use it anyways or dump it, go buy a different salt at the LFS and start again?

Thanks.

 

[agiacosa]

Well, I dumped it and purchased some Red Sea blue bucket salt from the LFS. I used the two bucket method to dry mix it well. Interestingly, this mix did not have the same clumps that the RBS did.

I used 1.6 lbs per 5 US gallons and it mixed up very clear with no residue. I tested it and it was spot on 35 ppt with an alk of 7.8 and calcium of 430.

I did about a 40% change on my 60 gallon system. Now I'm going to work on keeping the water stable for a week or two before I try again.

 

[rovster]

I say chill out, grow your bio load and be patient. Too soon to be setting off alarms. If this is bothering you you may not make it. Lots of crap headed your way that is perfectly normal. Leave tank alone and get some good test kits. Don't go chasing numbers but try and get a feel for where your tank is. Good luck!

 

[nmotz]

Good decision to switch salt. I had to switch from Red Sea Reef Pro because the alkalinity was way too high for my tank. But try not to change anything else for a while. Let the tank settle. It's hard to do, I know.

 

[agiacosa]

Thanks, guys. Good advice.

I'm working on building the bioload and stabilizing parameters. I know the different algae phases are incoming. As a freshwater planted tank guy, algae is something I'm not afraid of.

 

[agiacosa]

So a few water changes in and the attached are my numbers. I added some potassium and iron because I thought they were low.

With these measurements, when would I start adding amino acids for the corals?


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