coral deterioration, starving or high phosphates?

[20 gallon]

I can't figure out why my sps are fading so hard in my 20 gallon tank, polyp extension is good however.

Ca- 450
DKh- 9
pH- 8.1
Nitrate - 0

Algae still grows on glass however, and the only thing that comes out of my HOB 90gal protein skimmer is a faint green liquid, im assuming algae from the water column. I was wondering how to feed corals while decreasing algae growth? Use GFR or????

 

[BvN]

I can't figure out why my sps are fading so hard in my 20 gallon tank, polyp extension is good however.

Ca- 450
DKh- 9
pH- 8.1
Nitrate - 0

Algae still grows on glass however, and the only thing that comes out of my HOB 90gal protein skimmer is a faint green liquid, im assuming algae from the water column. I was wondering how to feed corals while decreasing algae growth? Use GFR or????

Is you phosphate level also 0? Is it only SPS that is dying? What kind of lighting do you have
Can you post pictures so we have a better indication of how your tank is doing.

Edit: I see in your sig. that you have a Chinese led armature. Which one is it? Could be it's not able the keep SPS

 

[20 gallon]

havent checked phosphates but even my lps are'nt doing so hot

 

[BvN]

I see the leds are 3watts each so that would be ok to keep most corals. Best is to measure your phosphate levels. Use a good testing kit. To mention, DON't use salifert. It's a well known testkit but not usable for measuring the level of Po4 we want in our reef tanks. Best is the Hanna Phosphorus ULR but that's not the cheapest. I don't now what other good sets are available in te US

 

[20 gallon]

but could high phosphates be the sole reason for the demise of my corals?
because its really the only "important" parameter i haven't tested. algae does grow fairly quickly on my glass though...

 

[BvN]

Yes it could be. Too high is as destructive as 0. For SPS the level should be around 0.03ppm. LPS can have a higher level but it shouldn't be higher than 0.15 to keep healthy LPS corals. Softies can have a level up to 0.2ppm but having this for a long time this is deadly for most SPS. If your Po4 is to high you will notice this 'cause the SPS getting brown. If it's to low, they will bleach out. Not like RTN but the tissue will become white because the lose the zooxanthellae.

 

[20 gallon]

well my corals are definitely not brown, they are loosing color and becoming pale, however, the algae growth comes back fast on the glass

 

[BvN]

If they're getting pale I bet on a zero phosphate level. Algae will grow on the glass unless you have RO water. This kind of algae can grow with near 0 level of both No3 and Po4.
I asume u do a regular water change btw? If not it also can be that other levels are getting to low.

Feeding you're fish some frozen food without rinsing the frozen cube helps you to raise Po4 level but be careful because in only a 20g it can get to high fast.

 

[macdaddynick1]

your problem is your nitrates IME when my nitrates go below 2 ppm I start having problems. Another problem i ran into is that phosphates go up when you have limited nitrates that thing hits sps from both sides, po4 slows down the grown while your acros are already starving, if both are 0 try feeding regular food, if your po4 is high try dosing amino acids.

 

[nmotz]

If you are seeing pale colors that is usually one of two things: too much light or not enough nutrients in the water. It's a balance because if the nutrients are too high your corals might begin to turn brown.

I see you have a RO bH-1000 on your tank. That's a lot of skimming for such a small tank so my bet is that you've stripped the water of nutrients and your corals are starving. Try adding a little supplemental coral food perhaps. Also, they might be getting blasted by those LEDs, which are notorious for burning coral. I still have trouble dialing in my LEDs without bleaching the coral.

 

[reefmutt]

Looks and sounds to me like you have too low nutrients in your system.
But, it would be prudent to get a decent po4 test kit before feeding more..
If you really want to go sps, you must have a good po4 test kit in your tool box.

 

[20 gallon]

would turning off the skimmer help? it really doesnt do much anyways, probably because the water is, like you all said, too clean

 

[reefmutt]

The protein skimmer is an excellent gas exchanger, if not a nutrient reducer. I'd be inclined to leave it running.

 

[nmotz]

yeah I don't think the protein skimmer is the problem, it's good that it's cleaning the water. But it is scouring the water of nutrients so you'll need to add some coral supplements probably. I'm in the same boat as you. I don't have any fish to act as "coral fertilizers" so I have to add coral food.

It's hard to do, but you want clean water that has sufficient food, know what I mean? That's exactly how the ocean is too with tons of microplankton being consumed leaving behind water that is very low in nutrients (nitrate/phosphate).

 

[Mr.Fishtank]

Increasing food will help. I also saw that your led fixture is damn near touching the water. I think that your corals are getting way too much light. Those black box leds put out more par then people think. I would raise the light up to 6-8 inches above the tank and see if that helps.

 

[reefmutt]

Increasing food will help. I also saw that your led fixture is damn near touching the water. I think that your corals are getting way too much light. Those black box leds put out more par then people think. I would raise the light up to 6-8 inches above the tank and see if that helps.

Great idea.

 

[nmotz]

increasing food will help. I also saw that your led fixture is damn near touching the water. I think that your corals are getting way too much light. Those black box leds put out more par then people think. I would raise the light up to 6-8 inches above the tank and see if that helps.

+1

 

[markalot]

Same thought on the LED, also go with a little more blue and less white for a while.

I have the hardest time keeping SPS happy in my 40 gallon. Too few fish, ULR Phosphate test came back 0, and nitrates clear. I recently dosed a LOT of CaNO3 to raise nitrates and one of my acros greened up over just a few days while another, a frag of a maricultured acro, went deep brown. Both better than pale but obviously different acros will respond differently.

Birdsnests, stylos, montis all love the slightly higher nitrates.

I say I put a lot in ... I was able to raise them to a whopping 2. Better than 0 anyway. Bubble algae loves this and some cyano appeared ... this is why I prefer my larger tank with lots of fish and algae eaters.

 

[nmotz]

Same thought on the LED, also go with a little more blue and less white for a while.

I have the hardest time keeping SPS happy in my 40 gallon. Too few fish, ULR Phosphate test came back 0, and nitrates clear. I recently dosed a LOT of CaNO3 to raise nitrates and one of my acros greened up over just a few days while another, a frag of a maricultured acro, went deep brown. Both better than pale but obviously different acros will respond differently.

Birdsnests, stylos, montis all love the slightly higher nitrates.

I say I put a lot in ... I was able to raise them to a whopping 2. Better than 0 anyway. Bubble algae loves this and some cyano appeared ... this is why I prefer my larger tank with lots of fish and algae eaters.

Yeah it's really amazing (and frustrating) how changes to a tank have so many different impacts on different coral species. That's why it's really hard to do a mixed reef IMO because every coral has different needs. In my 40B, my soft corals are getting blasted with high flow and they don't really enjoy it all that much, but I have to run things that way for the sake of the SPS.

And you're right, let nitrates go just a little and BAM, bubble algae and cyano. I just destroyed my cyano problem a few months back with a combo of lights out and red slime remover but the bubble algae is a different story. Emerald crabs only help so much.

 

[20 gallon]

Increasing food will help. I also saw that your led fixture is damn near touching the water. I think that your corals are getting way too much light. Those black box leds put out more par then people think. I would raise the light up to 6-8 inches above the tank and see if that helps.

Thanks, I'll give that a try!

One reason I have them so close, is because went with the wide angle 120 degree leds instead of the 90 but it cant hurt to back off the light a little