Please help... SPS keeping sucks!

[Manwolf]

I have a 30g tank. In there i got toadstool (way on the bottom of the tank), couple of zoas on the bottom and a favia on the bottom. Way up top i had my Acro(recently bleached all the way) Monti/mili. For some reason my sps is dieing. The Acro was 1st to go. It got slight brownish lookin algae on the tips and then bleached after the algae and it receded down the frag. Similar thing happened to my Mili but its still alive but has bleached tips... and monti just started bleaching today

Parameters:
DKH- 9
Calc-580 (i know its high im trying to reduce it)
Nitrates- 0
phosphates- 0
Mag-1350
Temp-77-78 all the time
Lighting- 4bulb t5 over a 30g (18 inch deep)
Sg-1.025
(ATP test kit for calc/alk/phos/nitrate) (Elos for mag)
I dont know what to do... my alk has been stable but my sps are bleaching
I do have slight algae on the rocks, but nothing major (you have to look very closely to actually notice the algae)
My flow is the only thing that isnt that great right now, I have 2 Koralia 1s but im upgrading to Mp10.

Any 1 have any suggestions on what i should do to keep sps healthy???

 

[dudley moray]

how old is the tank ?

 

[mpoletti]

How far are your acros from the light?

How old are your test kits? Alk & CA are really the two I would concentrate on. The po4 test from them is not very good and the nitrate has a shelf life as well.

 

[jcal]

need more flow, hurry on the mp10.

 

[Manwolf]

The tank is 7months old, my sps are about 17inch from the light. As for the API test kit i have no idea how old it is, i bought it online 7months ago.

 

[SanJuan]

I would try another brand for tests, I do not trust API.

I agree that perhaps it could a flow issue, how are the koralia's set up?

Lower that CA.

SPS KEEPING DOES NOT SUCK, IT ROCKS. Best of luck.

 

[dukes707]

in my experience it is not such a great idea to keep softies such as leathers in the same tank as sps'. they release toxins into the water column that is detrimental to the health and well-being of your sps colonies. i know i might get flamed for saying this, and there is always exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, everyone i know personally that had kept leathers in a tank with their sps' have always had problems. and they sps' would always lose the battle. hope this helps.

 

[Haeun]

if you insist on keeping softies, run carbon at all times.

 

[jciotti]

Someone should tell my SPS to not do well because my leathers will kill them LOL!!!

That's total nonsense, if you do normal water changes and run carbon you won't have an issue. People who say softies cause problems in SPS tanks say that to make excuses for why they can't keep corals alive.

I've kept softies in SPS tanks for more then a decade with not one issue.

Stop misinforming people.

 

[jciotti]

I would try another brand for tests, I do not trust API.

I agree that perhaps it could a flow issue, how are the koralia's set up?

Lower that CA.

SPS KEEPING DOES NOT SUCK, IT ROCKS. Best of luck.

Out of multiple controlled tests API tested higher in accuracy then every test kit on the market other then Elos and La Motte. It tested WAY higher then Salifert..

Stop misinforming people..

No I will not provide a link, google it!

 

[mlsund]

How far are your acros from the light?

- very good question

I had the same thing happen a while back to my smaller tank. 36LX18W13H
(36 gallons)
Lights are very close to the corals water had to be pristene

I Ignored my weekly small water changes.
then the alkalinity swung low and adjusting it back triggered something and they all began to peel or bleach so i moved them to my fuge on the big tank saved most everything lost 4 or 5 frags.

Small environments are hard because in a small tank ther is no such thing as a small change.
The small brown algae (probably Diatoms) is also a problem that seemed to occur with my error.
I would look at it as an over all water quality indicator.
Check and make sure your skimmer is clean and functioning properly, and you may need to change your bulbs (if they are 6 months old) T5's do not last as long as people say

 

[mlsund]

I think 17 inches may be a little High Check out the emormously long T5 q&A thread
you will see average heights of 4-8 inches,

 

[velvetelvis]

Someone should tell my SPS to not do well because my leathers will kill them LOL!!!

That's total nonsense, if you do normal water changes and run carbon you won't have an issue. People who say softies cause problems in SPS tanks say that to make excuses for why they can't keep corals alive.

I've kept softies in SPS tanks for more then a decade with not one issue.

Stop misinforming people.

It's been stated in many places, by many reliable sources, that keeping SPS and highly toxic corals like leathers in the same system can be risky. Allelopathy isn't just an urban legend. I for one would trust the experience (and expertise) of a whole lot of professionals who have published books and articles over anecdotal evidence presented on a forum as if it were irrefutable fact.

 

[Sullyman]

Are you skimming, do you have a sump or is the 30g your total water? How old is your tank? How far off the water are your T5's? How long have you had the sps?What other corals do you have? How often do you do water changes, how much? Are you dosing anything? Do you have a camera? I'm in Buffalo Grove too.
Velvetelvis, there is a lot of old info online and in books about our hobby.

 

[Grant W]

Carbon helps with leathers and such but they really shouldn't be together especially if your tank gets a bit crowded as the leathers release turpinates into the water as a defense mechanism.I tried it for a long time with the carbon and water change and it worked but was a battle.

 

[SanJuan]

Out of multiple controlled tests API tested higher in accuracy then every test kit on the market other then Elos and La Motte. It tested WAY higher then Salifert..

Stop misinforming people..

No I will not provide a link, google it!

What study are you referring to?

Let me know, I would hate to misinform people.

Anyways, I only stated an opinion.

 

[reefsahoy]

fish list?

 

[redfishsc]

I use and recommend the API calcium and alk and never have an issue with them unless they get to the 1.5 year old mark (after opening) and sometimes they get out of range, but that's true of most kits. Their pH and phosphate kits are a joke though.


Someone mentioned water flow, which you definitely need to make sure you have a lot of. A tank with softies, LPS, and SPS should have enough water flow to nearly irritate the softies and even some LPS---- trust me, I have a tank like that. I have two Maxijet 1200's, one 900, and a modified Koralia nano all in a 25g. Water tosses my softies around, and my LPS are placed in the "lower" flow areas but they still get a lot of good turbulence.



Also, what brand light do you have? Not all SPS can be grown under every 4 tube T5 because the T5 fixtures are NOT created equal. If your fixture doesn't have true parabolic reflectors like TEK, Mirro4, or similar, you will have some limitation on where you can put SPS. I grew some SPS in my 25g using a Nova Extreme 4X24, but it had one big flat reflector and was just not enough light to grow them.

I recently upgraded to a 250DE halide w/ a Phoenix and now I have all kinds of awesome SPS growth.

 

[Manwolf]

Are you skimming, do you have a sump or is the 30g your total water? How old is your tank? How far off the water are your T5's? How long have you had the sps?What other corals do you have? How often do you do water changes, how much? Are you dosing anything? Do you have a camera? I'm in Buffalo Grove too.
Velvetelvis, there is a lot of old info online and in books about our hobby.

I do have a 10g sump with a Remora C skimmer (rated up to 75g). My tank is about 7months old. My Tek T5 fixture is about 3inches from the water. Iv had the sps for about a month or 2. Now but they are almost all dead. For water changes i was doing really well until last month. I havnt done a WC in a month but i am doing a WC this weekend. As far as other corals, i have zoas,i have a favia way on the bottom in a cave, the leather is way on the bottom and sps way on the top (sps about 12inches higher than the leather) As for fish i have 2 clowns and a chromis. I feed lightly (once a day small ammount) and skimmer is working perfectly.

Here is a pic thats about 3 weeks old (this acro is all dead, but same thing is happening to my Mili)

 

[LifeAquatic]

More flow for sure. Korailla 1's are way to weak.