Is it worth dosing supplements with an SPS tank

[mchammer]

I have a new 120 gallon tank dedicated to SPS corals. It has cycled and all parameters are with in acceptable ranges. The corals are new (4 weeks old) and I know they will take awhile to color up. I ask this question because I had to move my fish to a quarantine tank due to an out break of ICK. So the only live stock in the tank right now is a small clean up crew. The corals look about the same as the day I put them in except for one of the corals is bleaching on one side (not much). My last water change and test was 4/28/13 and the parameters were the following:
NO2-0
NO3-0
SG-1.025
Phosphate-.04
ALK-8.9
Mag-1350
Calcium-440

I was wondering if the bleaching is due to too much light too soon or no food for the corals since there are no fish in the tank. My lighting schedule is 8AM -8PM Actinic and from 10AM - 4PM MH. I have a par meter and took reading by each coral and they do not seem too high but I could be wrong they are 325 - 465 by each coral the one that is bleaching is 375. If I should be dosing Amino Acids and such which products are recommended?

Thank you

 

[mchammer]

I forgot to mention that I have a stocked refugium with Tisbe biminiensis and Amphipods as well as Chaetomorpha Algae and Red Gracilaria Algae. Since there are no fish I have plenty of Pods in the DT.

 

[daido]

what light do you use? is that coral close to a powerhead? a pic will help...

 

[mchammer]

My lighting is two 250W 15K bulbs and 2 54W Actinic Blue. You can see pictures of the tank and coral at my member page (just click on my name). Look at the 120 tank build.

 

[fishypets]

I see two things.

1 your tank looks very new

2 your tank is too sterile. Try dosing amino acids (i use zeovit) at the recommended dose every other day for a few weeks and see what happens. I had a similar issue with pale/brown sps due to my no3 and p04 way too low. Stated dosing aa's on a regular schedule and the colors and growth started to show.

 

[mchammer]

fishypets that is what I was thinking of doing. I just wasn't sure which product and how much. I was looking at the Pohl's Xtra and Pohl's Coral Vitalizer. Should I use one or the other or both?

Thanks for the input.

 

[peequin]

mchammer - take a look at the Red Sea Reef Care Program....particularly their Reef Energy A & B product. I've been using it with good results

 

[fishypets]

fishypets that is what I was thinking of doing. I just wasn't sure which product and how much. I was looking at the Pohl's Xtra and Pohl's Coral Vitalizer. Should I use one or the other or both?

Thanks for the input.

I would recommend the xtra, cv and the aa's all from zeovit. You'll be happy.

 

[scrapz]

When i had a successful SPS tank, I dosed nothing but CA and ALK. Friends with great tanks also only dosed CA/ALK/MAG.

KISS = KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID.

Your tank is still young, it needs to settle. Provide stable parameters and it will flourish in a few months. When running a new tank or swapping lights, I only run a 4 hr light schedule and ramp it up an hour everything 3 weeks to a month until I hit about 6-7 hours..

 

[jda]

When I have fish, I just feed the fish. When I had a fish free tank, I used some phyto, oyster eggs and other stuff to feed the tank. I have always had shrimp and crabs and stuff, so flake food too.

 

[Bpb]

I personally only dose Ca/Alk (kalkwasser), and MG (BRS mag mix). I feed heavily. Keep my sandbed clean. Have a massive cuc, and use lots of GFO and carbon. Filter socks and sponges too. Test those three parameters weekly. Adjust as needed. My tank doesnt have MASSIVE sps colonies, but i've got a handful of different acropora species, and a dozen different montipora species. Super simple. Not alot of gear. Tests will dictate everything though. Only dose what you test for. I just try to feed a lot. I have a fairly heavy fish load and I feel like feeding alot and regularly stirring up my sand bed keep my sps well fed and having awesome colors and good growth.

Cant tell you how many people i've met who are recovering from sps tank crashes due to alk swings. keep an eye on it.

 

[trinity1012]

I would recommend the xtra, cv and the aa's all from zeovit. You'll be happy.

+1 i dose all the above and i run a ULNS,xtra is intended for UNLS for payle colors in sps,also boosts growth,

 

[mchammer]

Thanks everyone for the advise. I just purchased some Zeovit products just to see if it makes a difference. I will say this they are expensive ($224.00 for 100 ml Amino Acid, 500 ml Pohl's xtra and 100 ml of coral Vitalizer). I need to feed my corals due to fact that my fish are in QT for another 4-5 weeks and one of my corals is losing color. I know Amino acid will help reduce the lose of tissue. I could have gone with a cheaper product like Two Little Fishy but I've seen great results with Zeovit tanks and thought I would give it a try. I'm not going to run the whole Zeovit system but it should have the same effect because of the low nutrients in my tank. It may be an expensive test but I spent a lot on my corals and would like to see them thrive.

 

[trinity1012]

Thanks everyone for the advise. I just purchased some Zeovit products just to see if it makes a difference. I will say this they are expensive ($224.00 for 100 ml Amino Acid, 500 ml Pohl's xtra and 100 ml of coral Vitalizer). I need to feed my corals due to fact that my fish are in QT for another 4-5 weeks and one of my corals is losing color. I know Amino acid will help reduce the lose of tissue. I could have gone with a cheaper product like Two Little Fishy but I've seen great results with Zeovit tanks and thought I would give it a try. I'm not going to run the whole Zeovit system but it should have the same effect because of the low nutrients in my tank. It may be an expensive test but I spent a lot on my corals and would like to see them thrive.

great job!!! keep us updated on the improvments

 

[Touring]

Thanks everyone for the advise. I just purchased some Zeovit products just to see if it makes a difference. I will say this they are expensive ($224.00 for 100 ml Amino Acid, 500 ml Pohl's xtra and 100 ml of coral Vitalizer). I need to feed my corals due to fact that my fish are in QT for another 4-5 weeks and one of my corals is losing color. I know Amino acid will help reduce the lose of tissue. I could have gone with a cheaper product like Two Little Fishy but I've seen great results with Zeovit tanks and thought I would give it a try. I'm not going to run the whole Zeovit system but it should have the same effect because of the low nutrients in my tank. It may be an expensive test but I spent a lot on my corals and would like to see them thrive.

you didnt have to get the expensive stuff...

 

[fishypets]

you didnt have to get the expensive stuff...

Or he could just stick to what's not working already. Every tank is different, we should remember that. I tried for over a year to imporve the colors of my sps. I added fish so I could feed more, fed less and tried everything else in between. In the end dosing AA's and a few other items worked best for me. If I dosing additives could be avoided by doing something cheaper/simpler I'd be all over it. In my case it's the only thing that worked.

 

[trinity1012]

or he could just stick to what's not working already. Every tank is different, we should remember that. I tried for over a year to imporve the colors of my sps. I added fish so i could feed more, fed less and tried everything else in between. In the end dosing aa's and a few other items worked best for me. If i dosing additives could be avoided by doing something cheaper/simpler i'd be all over it. In my case it's the only thing that worked.

+1

 

[Touring]

you didnt have to get the expensive stuff...

+2

 

[Dexters Reef]

Reef Energy A and B would have set you back about 40$ for amino acids, carbs, vitamins, and other goodies. Ive been using it every other day for over a year, and at my LFS this is all they add to their 150g sps display aside from calcium / alkalinity supplements.

Not saying one is better than the other...but one is cheaper. Hope everything works out for you!