second try at sps

[jaylensdad06]

My first try at sps. A red monti. Purple stylo and stunner chalis didn't go so well. Since my refractometer was off and I salinity shocked my tank. Just bought a green slime frag and a red planet frag today...wish me luck...any suggestions?

 

[TyWynn]

I'm just starting off as well and I'm doing okay on across but struggle with montis bc I always some nitrates. I've always been told consistency and check parameters often in the beginning to keep things consistent and dose if needed.

 

[rogergolf66]

Check alk and salinity daily. Keep temp swings less then 4 deg. If u do that and maintain a good solid sps system with proper lighting u will do fine

 

[jaylensdad06]

I have a 6 bulb t5 right now. My temp stays between 79 and 80 all day. Cal 450 Alk 12 didn't check mag today...but Po4 is close to zero. Hard to tell between clear n .01 on salifert. Nitrates r a lil high at 20..but they have always been high...and I'm only in week 8 of dosing vinegar.... salinity .025.

 

[TyWynn]

My nitrate seems to be stuck between 8-12 and I have no problems with the acros, but zero luck with montis. Good luck!

 

[jaylensdad06]

The Alk seems a little high to me...but a few people I talk to say to run it as close to the Alk of the salt I use
.son when I do water changes it doesn't shock the tank. But some say that it needs to be lower...but that means I'll have to switch salt...I use io....and even rscp seems to be close the the high Alk as io...so I'm not sure what to do in this situation

 

[jaylensdad06]

As long as it's stable n doesn't fluctuate atleast that's a good thing right?

 

[nathan1986]

I have had bad luck with chalice's as well. Ive had good success with other sps tho as im a beginner myself (about 8 months now) im a fan of keep it simple, keep in mind i dont think i have any super sensitive sps yet. only thing i do is maintain weekly water changes, change filter floss every other day, dose every morning before i walk out the door for work. Thats it. It took a few days of testing the big 3 before i figured out how much to dose daily to maintain good levels. Speaking of i should probably test them again, its probably been 4 months since ive tested LOL The tank has moderate flow, some areas have more than others. I placed my sps in higher flow areas but not directly blasting them. Keeping it simple and not moving stuff around and basically not worring about them worked out well for me. But doesnt work for everyone from what ive read over the years. Also sps can be slow growers, take a pic of when you first put them in your tank then take another after like a month and youll be able to see the growth easier by comparison.

What i have so far
-forest fire digi
-red digi
-blue stylo
-cornbred incredible hulk digi
-sunset milli
-horn coral
-corps purple bonsai
-cobb purple bonsai? (Whatever their names, i have both versions)
-sarmentosa
-green slimer
-Psammacora (not sure if that is spelled right)
-birdsnest (thin kind)

I started off with the red digi. Super easy to care for, and pretty hardy. Its been stung multiple times by my torch and always bounced back. The green slimer is also a pretty easy one, mine likes good flow, has better polyp extension with more flow anyways

 

[jaylensdad06]

That's awsome...ty

 

[CuzzA]

I have a 6 bulb t5 right now. My temp stays between 79 and 80 all day. Cal 450 Alk 12 didn't check mag today...but Po4 is close to zero. Hard to tell between clear n .01 on salifert. Nitrates r a lil high at 20..but they have always been high...and I'm only in week 8 of dosing vinegar.... salinity .025.

A combo of high alk and high nitrates are not a good mix for reef tanks. You can get away with a high alk in a low nutrient system, but not the other way around. I would personally try to get you nitrates around <5 and alk around ~8 and see if that doesn't improve your system. The other issues with your alk so high is you run a higher risk of alk burn, especially considering you don't have much buffer room for an accidental increase. Plus you're at a higher risk for a precipitation event.

 

[robthorn]

If your alk is too high for the sps you normally notice tissue loss from the tips or burnt tips.
12 works for some but I try to keep "total alkalinity" near natural seawater of approximately 9.63 dkh or 172ppm.
Notice I said total alkalinity which includes more elements than what you are likely using. You are probably only including carbonates and bicarbonates in your salt and dosing so that needs to be taken into account and the missing elements subtracted from nsw levels and those levels maintained. Most test kits and checkers test for true total alkalinity.

 

[jaylensdad06]

I use the salifert test kits. I test Cal Alk mag no3 and po4. I use kalk in my top off water....but haven't used it in a week or so to try to get my Alk down....I do have the red sea 2 part if needed... I will Def watch them pretty closely...everything else in my tank is doing well I have a few lobo and acans.a small candy cane. Zoas. But some of my zoas closed up from the salinity shock. Most r opened back up. Some arent...I do dose trace elements 2 times a week. I use aqua vitro reef fuel. Maybe it's more aminos more then trace.everything seems to enjoy it though...

 

[jaylensdad06]

Please keep the comments coming...everything g helps. Thank u so far for yalls help

 

[jaylensdad06]

If n e 1 is in the Npr area with some free time would come over n check out my set up. And what I use...give some pointers or suggestions on equip changes...that would be cool. I have a good idea on y my nitrates r so high. And working on a fix. But gonna take time