Need help with LPS

[ethuman]

Ill start with the params...
amm - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 0
ph - 8.2
cal - 370
alk - 7 dkh
mag - 1320
salinity - 1.0255

Over the past 2-3 weeks I have noticed a rapid decline in my lps specifically torch and hammer corals. 2 of the 4 heads on my hammer have died off and the last 2 are looking very sad (regressed). I came home from work today and noticed my torch has disappeared only to find it sitting below on the sand with the skeleton still in place where it normally sits. What is going on in my tank??? I have polys, mushrooms, leathers that are all doing just fine. Should I do anything about the torch that is sitting on the sand or just let it go?
I do weekly 20% water changes with reef crystals IO and run gfo and carbon in the dual reactor. Fish are all going great. Any advice???? Thanks in advance

 

[thegrun]

Your calcium should be up around 430 and your alkalinity about 8.5, but it is possible your water is so clean that the LPS corals are not getting enough nutrients. I would try spot feeding them small mysis or cyclops and see if that helps.

 

[ethuman]

I do spot feed them frozen Mysis weekly before I do a water change and also I don't run a protein skimmer at all. How would I make the water more "dirty" to make the LPS happy? Or should I consider starting to dose to raise levels?

 

[JammyBirch]

It's arguable but I think your parameters are fine, at least not low enough to kill anything. Natural sea water is close to what you have. What kind of flow are they in? Is it really high flow? They need moderate flow, just enough to make the tentacles sway back and forth, random flow like the "else" setting is perfect.

Anyway if the torch is off the skeleton...she gone. I can't think of anything that would loose the coral from its skeleton...

 

[ethuman]

thanks. they are both low in the tank with a simply sway to them. They have both been in the same spot since I got them 6 months ago and were both fully extended and looked "happy" until about a month ago

 

[amcvay1979]

When my nitrate gets to zero my LPS aren't happy. If you have some Reef Roids, Reef Chili or something powdered like that, you can dose your tank and typically you'll register a low Nitrate reading the next day. I try to keep my nitrates to register, phosphates too. LPS like dirtier water than SPS, so a mixed reef can be a challenge.

 

[heathlindner25]

What kind of lighting do you have and how deep is your tank?

 

[heathlindner25]

When my nitrate gets to zero my LPS aren't happy. If you have some Reef Roids, Reef Chili or something powdered like that, you can dose your tank and typically you'll register a low Nitrate reading the next day. I try to keep my nitrates to register, phosphates too. LPS like dirtier water than SPS, so a mixed reef can be a challenge.

Also a valid point, my SPS don't even like zero no3

 

[ethuman]

When my nitrate gets to zero my LPS aren't happy. If you have some Reef Roids, Reef Chili or something powdered like that, you can dose your tank and typically you'll register a low Nitrate reading the next day. I try to keep my nitrates to register, phosphates too. LPS like dirtier water than SPS, so a mixed reef can be a challenge.

I do have reef roids that I mix in when I feed them on the weekends. Should I try broadcast feeding more than that?

What kind of lighting do you have and how deep is your tank?

I have marine orbit leds and have had them from the start of the tank 8 months ago

 

[ethuman]

just took a trip to the lfs to have them check my water params against my tests and found out that they got a nitrates reading of 40!!!! at least I found the problem... now just to fix it

 

[moatdaddy]

i do not like those leds. sure you can program stuff but they are super weak. a 48" unit is only 46 watts. hopefully someone else can chime in on them

 

[alton]

The nitrates on this tank are at 4. But I have had another tank with 40ppm and no problems. I think it is your lighting, find a better light or borrow a meter. We seem to always test our water but never test our PAR. One is just as important as the other, and FWIW I went through three Marineland LED fixtures because the PAR dropped after a few months. I run BML Leds