i have the worst luck keeping sps

[ihavtats29]

so far ive had many differant reef setups , and all have failed with keeping sps, so i got a 29gal biocube 150 w hqi , added the fuge light and uv changed the bulb to the pheonix 14k , tank has well cycled 20lbs of sand and 28 lbs of rock +the 2 lbs in the fuge and macro algea. parims are 1.025 (psycrometer) PH 8.0 , ALK 10 DKH , CAL 480 , MAG 1450 , NO3 0 , PHOS 0 TEMP 78 STABLE , also running gfo from the start live stock consists of 1 small goby and 3 small snails , light sits 6'' from the water ive lost 1 red cap, had a spongodes bleach out but regaining color, tri color doing fine but no growth , blue acro doing fine no growth green tabling acro no growth all at the highest point of the rock maybe 8-10 '' from the light , except the spongodes is at the bottom it bleached when closer to the light. also a few rare zoas , 2 acans and a ricordia yuma. any ideas on what im doing wrong or missing here?

 

[BuckeyeTodd]

what is your light cycle and what are you doing for flow

 

[ihavtats29]

im using the stock pump right now with a hydor rotator head light cycle is 10 hrs a day , the acros and other sps are in the higher flow areas, thought of upgrading the pump with the larger sicce micro, that we have at the shop i work at, the goal is to keep the tank as clean looking as possible with out any powerheads or modifing the tank

 

[potterjon]

I say give the ones that are keeping their color some time. They will grow. Params look good.

 

[scrapz]

needs more flow, that hydor flow definitely isnt providing enough. SPS enjoy turbulent random flow.

CA & alk seem a tiny bit high. Maybe try dropping to 9dkh & 420-450 CA.

Your water may be too clean if you're really registering 0 across the test. Try feeding more.

 

[OneReef]

My thoughts are some of what has already been said. More SPS specific food like Rotifers or Oyster Feast from Reef Nutrition, and more flow. Don't think the stock pump and Hydor is doing enough for SPS. If your nitrates and phosphates are at a "true" 0, then it would be similar to a ULNS. More food, and if that is the case, I would also add in some amino acids. If you are that low in NO3 and Po4, your alk might be a bit high. Some people running ULNS on SPS say to keep alk lower, around 7-8 to prevent bleaching and burn. Just some random thoughts....... :0)

 

[ihavtats29]

thanks jay im looking into a pump with more flowthat will fit in the pump compartment , i am getting around 316 gph currently i mite do a small closed loop. as for feeding i feed plenty to my lps and 1 fish a mix of cyclopse, mysis, and coral frenzy and i also add amino acids to the food , i thought the goal was to keeping sps in a very low nutrient system , acording to my test kits NO3 is not detectable and phosphates are also not detectable may not be exactly at 0 but pretty close to it, from what i have understood from reading here on reef central the goal is to keep NO3 and phosphates as close to 0 as possible or have i understood wrong? if thats the case then what should i be aiming for i believe the cause for the low NO3 and phosphates is due to macro algea in the fuge and the gfo

 

[unbreakable]

when you add them, what do you do? do you put them straight at the top? do you leave them on the sandbed and slowly raise them up over a week or so? i usually will never drip acclimate them, just temperature acclimate and then add them in. you might want to start a QT procedure in the future. i wouldnt feed rotifers or anything specifically for the SPS just yet.

sometimes the stress from shipping can cause them to brown out along with different water parameters, and then putting them close to the light right away causes more stress. usually the browning out is normal and theyll be okay again in 2-3 weeks. as long as they didnt immediately begin to RTN or STN then youll be ok

 

[cindre2000]

You need more flow, plain and simple. Add another 600-800 gph. You could arrange the rock work so that the power heads are hidden behind the rocks.

 

[ihavtats29]

when you add them, what do you do? do you put them straight at the top? do you leave them on the sandbed and slowly raise them up over a week or so? i usually will never drip acclimate them, just temperature acclimate and then add them in. you might want to start a QT procedure in the future. i wouldnt feed rotifers or anything specifically for the SPS just yet.

sometimes the stress from shipping can cause them to brown out along with different water parameters, and then putting them close to the light right away causes more stress. usually the browning out is normal and theyll be okay again in 2-3 weeks. as long as they didnt immediately begin to RTN or STN then youll be ok

its just a temp acclimate i do, thw sps i have come from the lfs 2 blocks away and are kept under a 400 watt halide in thier frag systemso adjustment for lighting is not a bug issue here

 

[strike2867]

Anyone else think running 150 watts of 14k of mh light for 10 hours is way too much? I'd think maybe 7?

 

[cindre2000]

Anyone else think running 150 watts of 14k of mh light for 10 hours is way too much? I'd think maybe 7?

Nope. I ran 8 hours of 150w Halide over a 12" deep 10g before, no ill effects.

 

[Blindside]

you could just suck!!! lol!!!! Tats you know you need more flow!

 

[ChicagoReefOne]

what kind of skimmer do you have on the cube? I didn't see one listed for the cube but maybe I missed it...

 

[ihavtats29]

its a biocube skimmer that came with it i know its not the greatest skimmer but i keep it clean and it does pull out some skim also with a 1 fish and 3 snail bioload 10% weekly waterchanges i could go with out one, ive thought of putting a diferaqnt skimmer on it but untill i raise the bioload and see that i need a better unit im going to keep is as clean looking as possible and with out any mods to the tank,

Blindside, LOL i know i suck!!!! im working on putting together a closed loop and using a sicce 3.5 or 4.0 , i just ned to make a pvc return header , paint it black and see how it looks, im tired of the Frankenstein look hahaha remember my hob 6.5' pvc skimmer

 

[ihavtats29]

well ive gone and added a older koralia nano 220 gph and a newer style with 425 gph total with stock pump is 926 gph thats a total turn over rate of 37x, ill repost with some info on how the corals are responding in a couple weeks

 

[ritter6788]

Anyone else think running 150 watts of 14k of mh light for 10 hours is way too much? I'd think maybe 7?

I run 2x150w halides over my 75 for 12 hrs. a day. No problems here.