Help with SPS color

ok so as my tank is doing its thing and cycling and all. I am bored since I have no life in it. So I thought I would ask a few questions that will go along with SPS when I finally start getting more. So I am planning on how to balance tank etc.... When my tank was up and running before my schedule for dosing Alk was as follows

12am-12:02 am
3am -3:02 am
6am-6:03am
9am-9:01am
12pm-12:01pm
3pm-3:01pm
6pm-6:02pm
9pm-9:02pm
for a total of 15.4ml

Calcium was dosed in between those times as needed for example 1:30am-1:32am. Always used two BRS 1.1ml dosers. I also run a ATO system. Is this the best way to do this or is it better to add all the ALK at night and all the Calcium during the day? Also what is the recommend time and light schedule I should run?
 
dose continually throughout the day, space the alk/calc dosing a few minutes apart like you are doing now.

some suggest dosing alk at night to keep pH up but I would only suggest that if you have a low pH problem. even then youd need signs of stress IMO to want to address it. sometimes running low alk (6.5 ish dKh) and have the pH dip at night can cause Stn but my suggestion would be to not run Alk at the lower side but rather 7.5. problem solved.
 
Just a quick update, everything is going well added a few hermits last Sat. I have some snails coming in from Reefcleaners today along with some Chaeto for the fuge. No algae outbreak yet. Hope I don't get one. Any thing I should be doing or watching for to help with success in SPS? When should I try to add any and what should I try?
 
Depends on what you want to keep. Have you thought of your sps coral selection or are you just going to wing it and get whats locally available? I would have a plan first, for instance I wanted milli's, monti's mostly. I have a strong feeling your dry rock may need more time to cure though, but that just MO. Dry rock just takes forever one reason I love using rock (yes costly but so is waiting) It will be interesting to see your success with your new tank. Do you know what you will be doing differently this time around?
 
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Oh by no means am I going to add any SPS for a few months atleast. I haven't even added fish yet just some CUC. Tank def needs to mature some. I am just trying to plan for success. The only real things I am doing differently this time is i am not running GFO. I also went with a 1" sand bed this time instead of a DSB. Which I will vaccum when I do my water changes. I am hoping with the tank cleaned out of detritus and new better, more porous rock and new sand it will be more natural and cheato will do its job. I think when I let the tank go before by the time I decided to get control of it it was to late and I should have done this then. But it is what it is and I have control now. The only things I will be dosing are ALk, Cal, and Mag. I might run some carbon haven't reallt decided yet. Might just run it a day a week just to clear water. I am planning on still doing my 5g a week water change every Sunday along with my tests. Clean skimmer cup every 3 days. I really am not sure what SPS I want I am hoping that I will be able to support anything I want really. I am hoping by the time I am ready I have my apogee 120 and a meter. I think thats the one? Might have been teh 110 I can't remember which one is for artifical lights and which one for sun? Ammonia, nitrites have been zero for over a week almost 2 now, PH is stable at 8.1, I am watching calcium, mag and Alk to see what its doing. NO3 is staying at 2ppm, and PO4 is staying about .049 goes up a little or down a little but not more than .02 could be the difference in the tests. Cheato will be here today and going in fuge in sump. No sand bed in fuge this time just a pod condo and some rock. Pod condo I will take out and shake in DT to keep a supply of pods. Please add anything, I really want success this time!
 
Here are my tests so far

April 4
Temperature: 78
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia, NH4: 0
Nitrate, NO3: 2
Nitrite, NO2: 0
pH: 8
Alkalinity, KH: 8.52
Calcium, Ca: 430
Phosphate, PO4: 0.049
Magnesium, Mg: 1,400

April 10

Temperature: 80
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia, NH4: 0
Nitrate, NO3: 2
Nitrite, NO2: 0
pH: 8
Alkalinity, KH: 8.06
Calcium, Ca: 450
Phosphate, PO4: 0.037
Magnesium, Mg: 1,400
 
and so the algae begins! I have some small pom pom like greeh hair algae on several spots on glass, and a light dusting on back glass of brown. Should I do anything or just let it run its course?

did a 5g water change last night, usually let tank settle for 24 hours and will do testing tonight.
 
Aquarium Reef Tank parameters are:

Temperature: 78
Salinity: 1.026 ATC Refractometer
Ammonia, NH4: 0 API
Nitrate, NO3: 2 Red Sea Pro
Nitrite, NO2: 0 API
pH: 7.9 Milwaukee Handheld
Alkalinity, KH: 8.45 Hanna HC
Calcium, Ca: 450 Red Sea Pro
Phosphate, PO4: 0 Hanna ULR 736
Magnesium, Mg: 1,400 Red Sea Pro

for date: April 15, 2013
 
I posted this earlier in the thread but figured I would throw it out again. I had this same issue and resolved it by dropping my Alk down to around 7.4dKh. That's what finally solved the problem of my bleached corals. My Nitrate and Phosphate were always 0ppm.
 
Any thing I should be doing to help insure success with SPS this time while I am waiting on the algae part of the cycle to die off? I do have more snails from Reefs2go.com coming in today. I should add that I have a ton of purple coraline algae spots all over sump walls, rock and powerheads. Along with have a CUC I have started dosing Alk and Calcium to get balanced out. Not a lot just whats needed to keep ALk between 8-8.5 dKh and Calcium at 450

algae-M.jpg
 
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any ideas on when I should try my first SPS coral and what SPS should I try first? I am also trying to figure out what meter I should get and which Apogee Quantum the 110 or the 120 for T5's. Tank is looking good algae is dying back now, added some Mexican Turbo snails from Reefs2go.com didn't realize how big they are, they work great but I will probably need to remove them once I add a few corals I think with there size they will break SPS.
 
Birds nest, stylo's, montipora digitata, monti caps, monti undana are all good starters and once they are showing excellent signs test your first acropora
 
JPMagyar said:
Zooxanthellea eat light and nothing else, but lots of folks have the same lighting as you and have colorful corals so right off the bat I'd say you can eliminate light as your problem this means something else is KILLING your zooxanthellea. They do not eat any chemical additive or food you can put in your tank
Click to expand...

NOT EVEN CLOSE to correct.
 
I am going to be in and out of town for the next few weeks but when things slow down should be the weekend of June 3rd I might pick up a birdsnest and test it out
 
everything is doing great Purple Coralline algae is going crazy especially in sump. I added 2 zoa frags to see how they do. I am thinking I may wait till after I add a RBTA to add any SPS. I want to have one and I would rather it walk around the tank and find a happy spot before I add SPS and it kills them.
 
well done!

AND it begins.... again. Best of luck this time. Sounds like you have it dialed in.

I have been keeping up with this thread for a while now. I have suffered many of your issues as well as I have been learning. My SPS tank at 6months was beautiful. heavy feeding, great growth and color. Then an algae outbreak... Now I am starving my algae back and my coral colors are suffering.

I am now convinced that walking that thin line of enough nutrients -vs- too much is the trick to color/growth and a clean tank. Of course stability on everything else is a given.

Keep up the good work and the posts!
 
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