Help! Barebottom / SPS Dying!

jb32172

Premium Member
I lost most of my sps a few months back due to hyposalinity and excess kalk problems. Removed what was still alive and decided to use this as a chance to cook my rock. I also bought another skimmer. I cooked the rock for 7 weeks and cleaned the tank real good. A month ago I put the rock back in and slowly reintroduced the surviving SPS plus a few frags. I am slowly losing SPS. They start usually at the base with tissue peeling off. I immediatley remove them when I see this starting. Most of my SPS are also lightening up. From what I have read this is from lack of nutrients (I have started feeding more to try to counteract this) Any ideas on what is wrong?

Here are tank specs:
AG 120 Mag 18 with Penductors on returns. Sequence Dart on OM 4way on closed loop.
2 400 watt helios 20k on for 5 hrs Raised 12 inches from water.
1 T5 Actinic on for 8hrs
Euro Reef 8-1 and 6-2
Carbon in sump.

Water specs:
SG 1.022-23
temp 78f
PH 8.3 (end of photoperiod)
DKH 9
CA 420
No ammonia, nitrate/nitrite or phosphate
 
Here is a pic of my cap. white /pink area is in more direct light while dark orange area is under Penductor.
44156Cap.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6281312#post6281312 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by orion76
Little bit of rust shouldn't kill SPS

I have to disagree. IMO, this could have detrimental effects on SPS.
 
You might also check if you are having some red bugs... other than that, everything seem to be fine
 
No red bugs treatments were done and new frags were quarantined.
The light is at its highest level and the photoperiod is only 5 hrs.
 
You have a 120 gallon tank with 2 x 400 watts MH. Your water nowadays has less nutrients so its more clear........

Could it be that you are having excess lighting ? I thinking of this after looking at the Montipora picture. The side of the Montipora that is shaded, its looking OK while the part that is directly under the MH's, is looking in trouble. I know that you are only using your MH's only 5 hours but it could be that 400 watts is still too much.

I also read once that when SPS started peeling at the base, was related to phosphates being released by the rock were the frag or colony is...... anybody can confirm this ?
 
The rusty screws are a non issue, any reasoning behind your comment ctxmonitor? What effect could iron or iron oxide have on sps?. Try raising the lights up higher and see what happens, I had browning issues and downgraded to 175s and my corals do much better.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. I had one more notch to raise the light so I did it. I can see that maybe the adjustment to the lighting and less nutrients is causing the lightning, but why the variation in polyp extension. One other thing, when I vacuum out my sump where the detritus accumulates every week or so some of it gets stirred up in to suspension ( i use a mag 350 canister vaccum) I try to give it an hour or so to settle but when I restart the return pump the tank is a little hazy for a short time. Maybe this is causing the SDR? Just a guess.
 
Bac a few years ago it was pretty standard practice to purposely put iron nails in your tank to add it just like a trace element.
 
I read all 5 pages, and have been diving on many wrecks (corals do grow on sunken barges, ships, airplanes, not just near them but actually on the rusting metals., and do not believe that 4 or 8 little screws could have any effect on that guys tank. Water changes , polyfilters, carbon are why his tank bounced back. And most posters concluded the same way.
 
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