Help with coral please

[Reeftanks6]

Hello Fellow Reefers,

In the attempt to start a reef tank with my 90 gallon tank I added some corals. They do not seem to being doing to well for whatever reason. This is why i ask for you help. At the moment i do not have any pictures but i will get them up later for you. My parameters are checked with API reef test kit, tell me what you think and your suggestions. Would love to start making my tank beautiful with some corals. I am running a T5 fixture which is 8 bulbs that are each 54 watts.

Calcium-440ppm
Nitrate- <5
Kh-11 ppm
Phosphate-2 i know this is high and is this the problem.

My 90 has been up and running for over 5 years now and ive kept small corals but nothing to serious. Please help thanks

 

[dublo8]

The rest of your params (alk, mag, po4,nitrates etc) will help us. Calcium is just a small part of the big picture. Pics will also help to identify what is possibly happening to your frags.

 

[tmz]

What is the phospahte level. 2ppm 0.2ppm , 0.02ppm? Salinity?

 

[bertoni]

If the phosphate level is 2 ppm, I'd suggest working on that first. I'd probably do a series of 15% water changes to reduce the level, and then consider adding GFO to the system.

In addition to the other parameters mentioned, I'd check the temperature. A failed heater can cause problems, IME.

 

[Reeftanks6]

Sorry for not getting all the necessary details guys. Appreciate the help, i am going to get pictures up today for you. My phosphate is 2ppm and I am getting ready to do a water change as soon as possible. My temp i am running at about 79 and my salinty is 1.025.

 

[disc1]

What types of corals are you having trouble with?

 

[saltyair]

PO4 has a detrimental affect on coral growth - gfo will help a ton. How old are the lights?
Alk and PH can also affect growth.

good luck - once the PO4 gets under control you will notice a jump in growth.

 

[Reeftanks6]

disc1 i having a problem with a green star polyp and an sps that has bleached. Some mushroom to are not as vibrant.

saltyair- i got some phosguard today at my lfs, hopefully thatll help a lot. My alk is a little high at 12 so how do i decrease that?

 

[Reeftanks6]

My ph is around 8.2

 

[saltyair]

yes - do it by doing water changes - 7-10 alk is best - big swings will create bleaching. did the sps turn brown first? or totally bleaching?
phogaurd will help a ton.

disc1 i having a problem with a green star polyp and an sps that has bleached. Some mushroom to are not as vibrant.

saltyair- i got some phosguard today at my lfs, hopefully thatll help a lot. My alk is a little high at 12 so how do i decrease that?

 

[tmz]

2ppm is very high.7 to 11 dkh is the recommended range for alk . At least one study disputes the effect of PO4 on growth per se; but in any case it's harmful at the level you have. Typiclly sps tanks run at ,.03ppm PO4.

.7 to 11 dkh is the recommended range for alk. With high PO4 higher range dkh can offset some of the PO4 effect . So, i wouldn't even think about lowering it untill the POP4 issue is resolved. BTW at 2ppm your PO 4 is now abut 2% of your total alkalinity.

 

[Reeftanks6]

Thanks for the help guys and i am going to get some pictures up now. Also i did a water change this morning and my alk went down to about 9, then i went to the lfs and got some phosguard so will see how much thatll help. Pictures are coming. Once again thanks!

 

[Reeftanks6]

Green Star Polyp that has not come out in a day or so

SPS that bleached and looks to have algae growing on it

 

[examiner]

What kind of light? flow? The sps appears dead, not bleached.

 

[Reeftanks6]

Its a t5 fixture 8x54 and I have two hydor koralia at about 850 gph