dont know where to begin my very sad story....

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

well here it goes im going to give it a try......for the life of me i cant seem to keep sps corals happy? ive spent hundreds of dollars on sps coral frags,colonies,etc...i also spent on a geo calcium reactor and a salifert calcium test kit and got through to just the blue mix almost to the end of the test for it to just say now measure this number by this number and it will equal your ppm for calcium levels? im confused as theres nothing to measure it from? im clueless, did i miss something here? i was just able to get the test water from the red to the blue in color. i tested my ph with the red sea test kit and according to it it says my ph is at 8.4? i purchase a vitalsine ph/temp gauge and the compartment where you put the battery in the little spring where the 9volt battery rests broke off into the vitalsine ph/temp housing and i cant get it out for the life of me! i spent 100+ on it and it was made very cheaply. it was made in taiwan. im really confused right now and i needed to vent, because im really considering if this hobby is really for me? i mean after all my dedication and time i cant seem to keep acropora corals alive and thriving...theres nobody in my neck of the woods that can help me with these issues, another fellow hobbyist, go figure! i always see all these beautiful sps reefs on this wonderful site and it hurts sooo much that i cant achieve the same pattern as my fellow enthusiasts...i guess this is all i have for now, im really gonna re-think this whole reef hobby thing of mine to see if its even worth it because i cant keep the sps corals that i dream to have thriving! if anybody can help me please feel free to get in contact with me:sad1: sincerely, a very heartbroken reefer....

 

[johnvu713]

I feel your pain im in the same boat as you. I spent alot of time, effort and $ into this hobby and yet i cant keep acropora. I test for everything that i can think of. ALK, cal, ph, ammonia etc,.. They seem to bleach or no PE. Monti on the other hand are doing OK not great. Are we doing something wrong? i hate to admit it but when i look at fellow reefer tank it makes me wanna puke with jealousy.
SOmeone help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mr. pluto]

just remember, every day is like the day before.
keep it steady.

 

[aaron23]

ChAoTiCrEeFeR4U
try montiporas dont go so fast to the acros.. try the hardier stuff.
like mr.pluto said keep everything steady and dont change your husbandry habbits if u dont have to to just try some thing watch ca and alk every other day to just keep it in check and then as it gets normal and dosing gets normal you'll understand.

 

[menard]

Man, I feel your pain, sorry to hear this. You've got to understand, this is true SPS= stability promote succes. Try to run all your levels w/ in sea water, higher does't mean better. My system, scared people away, when I told them its a PLENUM, not the most popular way of reefkepping,but I prove them wrong. Just me, the way I ran my system. Here some pointers my friend, keep it stable,clean water but not sterile, water change,5 to10% each week,no other supplementation just change the water. Well, if you ran BB try to replace some of the minor and major trace elements back into the system, amino acids, vitamins etc. Try not to move things around so much in the tank, hands off. You will see, it will bounce back. PEACE

 

[moumda]

What type of salt are you using? I agree the best course is a 5-10% water change weekly. I had the same problem for a couple of years until I found my problem was the containers I was using for my fressh RO water, my kalk mix, and the container I used to mix my fresh salt water for water changes. I was using rubbermaid roughneck containers and found out there is a mold or fungus inhibator in the plastic that will eventually kill sps (monti's seem to be a bit tougher than acro's). I now use rubbermaid brute containers that are food grade and am seeing excellant results. There are many things we can't measure with hobby test kits that are toxic to corals with sps seeming to be the more sensitive. Look for something like this (IMO). Good luck and keep trying!

 

[SunnyX]

Sometimes it just takes a little time.
Some tanks can take up to a year to mature, after that its a piece of cake.

 

[SCARYBO]

Go Slow. Add Acropora slowly. Add maybe one a month. Stability. Stability. Stability. Monitor Parameters. If something is out of wack, dont follow your first instinct to change it fast. Go Slow. Acropora can tolerate bad parameters much better than they can tolerate fast changes. A moto I learned when I first started is:

"Only bad things happen fast"

Follow that advice and you will be fine.

 

[johnvu713]

i dont know about all this "stability" thing...In the wild, when tides recede corals especially sps are often exposed to the sun, rain, winds etc...i dont think stability applies here. Please correct me if im wrong

 

[moumda]

Yes, sps are exposed to rapidly changing conditions is some things but their overall conditions of water quality and purity don't change much. JMO.

 

[SCARYBO]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6665991#post6665991 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnvu713
i dont know about all this "stability" thing...In the wild, when tides recede corals especially sps are often exposed to the sun, rain, winds etc...i dont think stability applies here. Please correct me if im wrong

Stability in regards to tank parameters (calcium, KH, PH). The basic parameters change very little. Chaotic water movement is a positive, but it doesnt affect stability.

 

[PITSTOP]

ChAoTiCrEeFeR4U - I feel that we can help to diagnose your issues if you give us more information.

Here are some of the things I do for my successful reef:

[Disclaimer - These things work well for me, other methods work well for others.]

Go barebottom - I do not use sand in any part of my system (120 display, 10 gallon fuge, 40 gallon sump) - I clean the sump (40 breeder AGA) to 'like new' condition every 12 weeks - this is easy using a razor blade and vinegar. my fuge has nothing in it but some elevated egg crate and small frags - no algae no sand.

Increase flow - No glass in my system is drilled (except for 1 hole in the side of my 10 gallon fuge), I use a Life Reef Double overflow to move water into my sump (1600 GPH); I use a MAG 18 to return the water - straight up and over the side - very simple.

Water movement - this is taken care of by a cadre of powerheads - I do not have the $$$ for Tunzes, so I have 3 SEIO Superflow 1500's and 6 Maxijet 1200's for turnbulence. Lots of the flow is at or near the bottom to make sure that all waste that sinks gets blasted apart and brought to the skimmer in my sump.

Simple clean skimmer - I use an AquaC EV 180 overdriven by a MAG 9.5 - I recently added a 50 mg/h Red Sea Ozonizer deluxe to the skimmer - the ozone is not a necessity but a nice luxury for shiny clear water. I wet skim a lot - I can blast out 4 gallons of very light tan skimmate in less than an hour if I want. I take out the skimmer, take it apart and quick clean it by putting it in a sink and letting water run throughout it - using a soft sponge I clean it where I can reach inside - no vinegar no soap just water.

Top off - is ESSENTIAL always - I use 4 stage RO/DI nothing added to it - plain ol' RO'DI. Ultralife float switch, I evaporate 1-4 gallons per day depending on atmospheric conditions - stable salinity is important

Refractometer - MUST MUST MUST use one every day - I do. Also check your refractometer - mine, bought new, goes out of tune frequently enough to make me check it every week or so using RO/DI to check it.

Tropic Marin salt

No additives at all - no amino's, no vits, no nuttin' - I'm not 'advanced' enough to trust myself adding them...

Kalkwasser + Calcium - I use a GEO calc reactor with a pH controller through the lid of the reactor - I do not PUMP up my calcium or alk too high - in fact I have not measured calc or alk in over a year - I drip in Kalkwasser 1-2 times per week using an Ocean spray bottle and a simple drip system - cost almost nothing...drip in just the clear liquid.

Lighting - 2x250 HQI 10,000K Aqualines with 2x110 VHO URI SuperActinics - actinics on 8 hours per day, Metal halides on for 6 hours per day - digital timers from Walmart. Keep your lights high off the water surface.

Other filtration - I use 2 Phosban reactors - 1 has phosban in it, the other I run carbon.

OTHER - From time to time, since my system is still in its adolescence (2 years old), I remove the corals and then live rock - I scrub the live rock wherever algae or particulate waste has collected - I also use this opportunity to siphon waste from the display tank's glass bottom.

CLOSING - I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it is all strictly maintenance - at this point the system is stable - I am not chasing problems.

ASK US QUESTIONS, WE CAN CHASE DOWN YOUR ISSUES!

GOOD LUCK! YOU CAN DO IT! YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOO!!

 

[PITSTOP]

Here are some of my results:

 

[reefdood]

I've been there, stressing the game bacause things didn't go like they are supposed to. Took a few years, but after reading, research, and more reading, I learned what to do to keep everything happy. It's all about dedication and learning.

I can keep acros now, but I still have problems from the yearly hurricanes and following power outages.

 

[easttn]

Re: dont know where to begin my very sad story....

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6662705#post6662705 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChAoTiCrEeFeR4U
well here it goes im going to give it a try......for the life of me i cant seem to keep sps corals happy? ive spent hundreds of dollars on sps coral frags,colonies,etc...i also spent on a geo calcium reactor and a salifert calcium test kit and got through to just the blue mix almost to the end of the test for it to just say now measure this number by this number and it will equal your ppm for calcium levels?

Help me out here, I don't understand.

 

[Morgandy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6663958#post6663958 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moumda
I found my problem was the containers I was using for my fressh RO water, my kalk mix, and the container I used to mix my fresh salt water for water changes. I was using rubbermaid roughneck containers and found out there is a mold or fungus inhibator in the plastic that will eventually kill sps (monti's seem to be a bit tougher than acro's). I now use rubbermaid brute containers that are food grade and am seeing excellant results.

Best info I've read in a long time..thanks for sharing that.

ChAoTiCrEeFeR4U, you love this hobby, despair is common (believe me, I've been there!) Have you mastered softies and LPS to some extent already? I'm waiting a good long time until I try SPS again, enjoy the wonderful textures/colors/flows of others for the time being, without stressing or despairing.

Good luck, cheer up!

 

[Travis]

ChAoTiCrEeFeR4U, As others here have stated, when it comes to keeping SPS, stability truly does promote success. Stability, IMO, means and alkalinity level that does not swing more than .5 dKH per day, a calcium level that does not swing more than 20 ppm per day, salinity that does not swing more than 1 ppt per day, PH that stays within 7.9-8.4, and temperature that doesn't swing more than 2 degrees per day. It is rapid changes in water parameters that sps really don't like. They also don't care for parameters that are out of NSW ranges.

It sounds to me like your calcium level may be above 500 ppm. Are you using Oceanic salt by any chance?

Just give your tank some time. And spend as much free time as you can reading on the forums.

 

[alten78]

Hang in there man and keep your head up. I will throw my hat in too though

I dont claim to be an expert or even extremely knowledgeable when it comes to sps, i only have a handful of pieces, one of which has been with me for about a year. What I have learned though is to follow one rule...KISS, keep it simple stupid. For a long time i didn't have the need for kalk or calcium reactor or a two part system, just simple water changes, kept my hands out of the tank, and cleaned what i had to. It was simple and stable (there is that word again.) I think alot of us get into trouble when water changes aren't enough and we start adding things to balance consumption.

As soon as I felt comfortable after keeping the one piece of acro for awhile, I started adding more but still have kept things simple and stable as possible.

just my two cents...Good Luck!

 

[shutiny]

Carlos,

Carlos,

I am sorry that you are have so much problem with your sps tank, but your fish tank is awesome.

I like Hanna PH meter better than any other two main brands of measuring devices.

I'll call you.

STT

 

[Kiwi]

Once your solution turns pink, you measure the point by turning the syringe upside down and reading the top of the black seal on the plunger, not the point where the solution is. As long as you have not completely bottomed out the plunger, you will have a reading. Re read the instructions, they are pretty clear.