I'm so tired of failures after failures.

I just read through this and never seen anything about your tank size?
So what size?
Also"I've tried MH that didn't work"......say what?
Why would you switch if you're trying SPS?

*Ok a 75 gallon.
Do you by any chance have any bronze fittings in your plumbing?
Is it possible you have red bugs or monti eating pest?
They're eveywhere in this hobby and you could have introduced them with your first coral.
 
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wackie1wackie said:
I understand low po4 is elementary however I use salifert kits and it registered a minute trace of po4. . NOt sure if it even play a significant role with such low level ,I could be wrong. I do employ Phosban just to be safe.At this point I highly doubt it's the LPS since I dont have that many to begin with. I do not have DI canisters. My pocket tds meter display a reading of 2.5-6.
Click to expand...

Hey wackie1wackie,

I know it sucks sometimes when you can't get things to go right, but that's part of this hoby.. Trust me, once you figure it out.. you're going to feel great about it.. Then, you will be in position to help someone else..

A couple of things that i would look at:

1. Do you have any rusting metal in system (on interal pumps, or other submersable devices? Even a small amount can affect your SPS.

2. Check the amount of phosban your using.. You may be using too much, which can cause STN from the base.. This happened to me with my first tank.. I discontinued use and grew chaeto in my sump on a reverse photo period to help deal with phosphate.. that worked great for me and STN from the base stopped. Don't get me wrong.. Phosban and Rowaphos are great GFO products, but they have to be used properly and at the right amounts... Currently, I carbon dose to control nutrients and only run phosban perodically on my system after siphoning my sandbed once a month.

3. Has copper ever been used in your aquarium, prior to going to coral.. You stated that you have been in the Saltwater hobby for about quite some years now. This could be amajor factor, because Copper embeds itself into the silicone seals of a tank.. For this reason, a tank that has been treated with copper should never be used for a reef.. You may know this already, but I'm just trying to throw evrything that I can think of out there in order to help you find the cause.



Good luck and stick with it. You can beat this!
 
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No bronze or rusting metal at all in my system. I previously used MH but switched because it was putting out too much heat. There are countless owners on here that successfully switched to T5. I usually dip and closely monitored all my frags. I did have RB once but got that taken cared of with interceptor. I'm only using two table spoon of phosurlock in my po4 reactor. No copper in my tank ..ever
 
Just a few observations that I don't think anyone has addressed.

Salifert test can not detect low levels of Po4

1.023 is too low. Need 1.025-27

2.5-6 on TDS is unacceptable.

Get these parameters in line before anything else. You are too high on TDS and possibly Po4. Definitely too low on SG.

Get every parameter where it should be and keep it there for several weeks.

Add the SPS slowly and success will be had.

Hope that helps and good luck.
 
Ive just ordered a Duel BRS reactor for carbon and GFO. I run carbon at the moment 24/7 in a mesh bag in the sump. I will be switching to the reactor soon. I have never ran any po4 remover before. How long and how much should I run the GFO?
 
Lyfey said:
Ive just ordered a Duel BRS reactor for carbon and GFO. I run carbon at the moment 24/7 in a mesh bag in the sump. I will be switching to the reactor soon. I have never ran any po4 remover before. How long and how much should I run the GFO?
Click to expand...




Thread Hijacker alert....someone notify the admin :blown:

Depend on what type of GFO and how much po4 you have in your system. Look everybody ...im already helping fellow reefers :bounce3:



Gary
Ill try to bump my salinity up over the next few days. BTW i have no problem keeping a PBT...ironic huh.
 
Figured it would help since some suggestions where to run GFO and instructions for running GFO properly where not included FWIW.
 
All I can say is to follow and/or check the suggestions mentioned. When things just seem to fail, there's something being overlooked.

As far as failure after failure, I can certainly relate. The newer 40BR I've setup had been a hassle up until a couple of months ago. I won't go into it here, but the list of little mistakes, random failures (both on my part and in mechanical ones) would probably make you laugh a bit (maybe cry... :lol: ). Just keep hammering at it until you get to the bottom of it.
 
yup I found a PBT eating like a pig at a LFS the very day he came in. Still eating like every meal is his last. I think the trick is to get them to eat Spectrum pellet the smallest size pellets you can find. Even my morish idol is fond of them. I have no problem with PBT and MI yet Sps is making me go ballistic. That's double ironic for you.
 
I know your tank is 18 months old now, or older but honestly I think that very few tanks are mature and stable enough to grow SPS in until they are around a year old. I have gone through constant failures with reef tanks checking everything, when really the whole problem was biological and the tank was not mature enough yet. Thats a hard issue to deal with because there is no test kit or fancy gadget that can tell you if your tank is mature enough yet. there are so many mini cycles that our reef tanks go through within its lifetime and so much more within the first year of life. Such a mini cycle could kill every single SPS in your tank and leave no trace of it the next day. The only TOTM like reef tanks I have seen have been established for longer than 2 years. Just my .02c keep up the good work and maybe its not you that is the cause of failure with SPS, maybe its the tank itself is not mature enough yet.

Paul B's reef tank is over 35 years old and he was talking about his tank has cycles, that he noticed, throughout the tanks lifetime. He was saying a cycle happened at 5, 10, 15 years ect. Just something to think about.
 
wackie1wackie said:
yup I found a PBT eating like a pig at a LFS the very day he came in. Still eating like every meal is his last. I think the trick is to get them to eat Spectrum pellet the smallest size pellets you can find. Even my morish idol is fond of them. I have no problem with PBT and MI yet Sps is making me go ballistic. That's double ironic for you.
Click to expand...

So, you have a Moorish Idol in your tank? What other inhabitants do you have? Also, as I look over these 3 pages of feedback & advice, I realize that we need a PICTURE. Can you post a pic of your tank? Can you show us some of your suffering SPS? That way, we can better diagnose the problem.

Hang in there.

Flame
 
The MI and PBT are in my 500 G. YT is in my 75 reef system. I can't show you some of my suffering sps because they're all D E A D. I'll get a pic soon.

Isn't PaulB's system is mostly soft corals. 35 years is impressive nevertheless.
 
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