SPS experts, need some clarification....

canesfan44 said:
I didn't realize that your tank is only 14g. Keeping SPS in a tank that small will require a lot of work. At 14g and a fair amount of SPS, stability is going to take some work and a lot of testing. You'll probably need to test parameters a lot more frequently than you are. In a tank that small, it doesn't take very long for there to be a spike in any of the parameters. I now think you have a lot of SPS where I originally thought you didn't have very much because I thought you had a much bigger tank. You definitely need to test for phosphates and every other parameter a lot more frequently. If you only test when you notice algae growth, it's already too late. The idea is to test frequently, so you can prevent algae outbreaks from happening. Like Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." What kind of lighting is on your tank?
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Thanks. Lighting is a Rapid LED kit, non-dimmable so full blast! 7 RB, 2 NW, 3 CW.

I used to test for nitrate and phosphate more frequently, but it was always negligable. I haven't had any algae in forever, so I figured everything was cool. I hear you about waiting for algae and then its too late. I guess I just need to reset the cruise control every so often. I'm pretty religous with everything, so I guess my thinking is it should stay the same, assuming there are no changes or outside factors.

I'm definitely going to start testing more, just so I know. I will keep a close eye on alk as well. I bought a hanna LRP and I havent used it. I bought it to be used for my rock curing and when I first get my big tank going. I also bought a salifert nitrate for my upgrade ( I have crappy API now, so I wanted the best for my next tank).

Thanks again, and go canes!:spin1:
 
rovster said:
Thanks. Lighting is a Rapid LED kit, non-dimmable so full blast! 7 RB, 2 NW, 3 CW.

I used to test for nitrate and phosphate more frequently, but it was always negligable. I haven't had any algae in forever, so I figured everything was cool. I hear you about waiting for algae and then its too late. I guess I just need to reset the cruise control every so often. I'm pretty religous with everything, so I guess my thinking is it should stay the same, assuming there are no changes or outside factors.

I'm definitely going to start testing more, just so I know. I will keep a close eye on alk as well. I bought a hanna LRP and I havent used it. I bought it to be used for my rock curing and when I first get my big tank going. I also bought a salifert nitrate for my upgrade ( I have crappy API now, so I wanted the best for my next tank).

Thanks again, and go canes!:spin1:
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Well, it sounds like you're doing the right things. The acro frags you got might be a little stressed out from switching tanks especially due to your LEDs. It's probably more intense lighting than they were receiving before. If all your other SPS are doing good, and it sounds like they are, then everything is probably fine and the 2 acro frags just need some time to adjust.
 
Porko, Rogger, Marke, E, ?????
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You didnt ask me but ill opine anyways, LOL :spin2:

I didn't realize that your tank is only 14g. Keeping SPS in a tank that small will require a lot of work. At 14g and a fair amount of SPS, stability is going to take some work and a lot of testing. You'll probably need to test parameters a lot more frequently than you are. In a tank that small, it doesn't take very long for there to be a spike in any of the parameters. I now think you have a lot of SPS where I originally thought you didn't have very much because I thought you had a much bigger tank. You definitely need to test for phosphates and every other parameter a lot more frequently. If you only test when you notice algae growth, it's already too late. The idea is to test frequently, so you can prevent algae outbreaks from happening. Like Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." What kind of lighting is on your tank?
Click to expand...

AGREE!!! Stability in this tank is likely an oxymoron.

I will say that MY most successful colonies of SPS are from other tanks. Maricultured for me have probably had a mortality rate of 90% (over lets say 5 months).
 
OK guys, as promised, some pics of my birdsnest progression. I got home kind of late so excuse the actinic shots. You can still get an appreciation for some progress.

I got this BN trio from Marvin a little over 2 weeks ago. They have been sitting on the sandbed in a paritially shaded area, and they have been showing growth. Here is 2 weeks ago....

Monster frags:strange:

IMG_1470.jpg


Here is today. The Ponape is growing like crazy, new limbs and getting thicker. You can see its encroaching on the BOP. The BOP is kind of bushy, but with the lights off, you can see a couple of offshoots limbs that have sprouted up. The green has gotten a bit taller and is branching out.

IMG_1535.jpg


Granted, this is not a ton of growth, but for 2 weeks in a new tank on the sandbed, I think its pretty good. I expect they'll grow quicker when I mount them higher up and they've had a chance to settle.

Here is a pic so you can appreciate the coral load I have. I recently took off a huge chunk of monti, and also gave a nice piece to Kayo. My son also chunked off 3 good frags worth of that pocillipora.

Here is a quick shot today. I haven't cleaned the glass in a week and a half, sorry.....:spin2:

IMG_1539.jpg
 
Your tank looks pretty darn good to me, especially considering it's only 14g. I agree with Eddie about maricultured frags, I haven't had good luck with them at all. Aquacultured from local reefers seems to be the way to go, at least in my opinion. In a tank that size and with the amount of SPS you already have, long-term stability will take constant attention, especially with that big monti cap & pocillopora. They both are fast growers and will be using a lot of the calcium in your water effecting the alk and mag as well. Once the birdsnests get a little bigger, which won't take long because they are very fast growers as well, keeping all your parameters stable will be tough, but it's not impossible.
 
Thanks. I wasn't overly concerned about the tank in general, just wondering about SPS, more specifically acros. I know it's difficult for a nano, but I've been somewhat successful so far and I want to keep pushing the envelope. I do want to sort out the kinks before "the build" ;)
 
My advise is to research understand the reasoning for each parameter and how each are related to the other, I often see people that adjust one parameter while getting another one out of whack, which usually ends up frustrating you and wiping your corals.

Learn how your tank reacts to adding alkalinity solutions, magnesium, calcium etc. these solutions vary greatly between commercial brands and even home made solutions, once you find what works best stick to it.

As a rule of thumb, I check the alkalinity more often and always first before anything else, If the alkalinity is out of range (8-9 dKH) then I stop and don't check nothing else, I find that the other values are usually affected when the alkalinity is out of range. Once I get the alkalinity back in the desire range then I will go ahead and continue to check the rest CAL, Mag etc.

This have help me a lot because in many cases just fixing the Alkalinity brings the readings of the others back in shape. Please remember that each tank is different and what works for me may not necessarily works for you.

Hope I didn't confuse you more, LOl good luck on your upgrade.
 
Thanks Rogger. Alk is the one I test the most, it seems all the others fall into place. If I'm being honest, I test Alk 1-2x/week, sometimes more if I get a value out of the norm. I test Ca 1-2x/month, and Mag once a month or 2. I don't test anything else. I check my salinity at every waterchange, and calibrate my refractometer every 2 weeks.

Like I said, I'm going to hunker down and start testing Alk daily or every other day to get a better appreciation of the fluctuation, and really try and zero in on a specific target. Before, like I said, my target was "somewhere in the 8s".

I also plan on breaking out the Hanna LRP and my new Slifert Nitrate, just to see where I am. I probably have some, since I feed rather heavy (at least I think I do), but no algae to speak of. I do have a TON of filter feeders though, sponges, tunicates, pinapples, vermatids, hydroids, but none are an overwhelming presence in the aquarium. I run CPE and Purigen in a media rack, and that is changed regularly. I also run filter floss that is changed several times/week.

Thanks peeps, I will keep this updated. Lets start a pool on how long Marv's acro lives in my tank, LOL!
 
Just got back from a vacation with the family, so this week I will track things carefully. Yesterday before my WC, I checked my parameters.
Mg 1340
Ca 430
Alk 8.2 (if I remember right)

One parameter that suprised me was Phosphate. I broke out my new Hanna LRP and my first test turned up a .15. WAAAAYYYY to high. What suprises me is that I don't have algae issues. I will definitely work on that this week.

The good news is that I checked my rocks curing in the garage, and the phosphate was 0.05. MUCH better, and although I did not get a start reading from the curing process, I can tell its come down just based on the clarity and smell of the water. By the time I'm ready, it should be even lower.

I'll keep things updated. Had to mount the green birdnest, because my LPS were bullying it. I also had to remount the yellow monti because my chalice was bullying it. Lets see how things turn out. Fingers crossed :)
 
Ok, just checked things out. Salinity 35, Alk rock solid at 8.2, and phos 0.06 (20ppb). I couldnt believe one water change made that much of a difference, so I checked again and it was exactly the same (Hanna ulr) So either I goofed the first test, or the CPE I just refreshed is awesome at removing phos. It's still not where I want, but it's better. Soon my SPS will look like El Porko's;)
 
rovster said:
Ok, just checked things out. Salinity 35, Alk rock solid at 8.2, and phos 0.06 (20ppb). I couldnt believe one water change made that much of a difference, so I checked again and it was exactly the same (Hanna ulr) So either I goofed the first test, or the CPE I just refreshed is awesome at removing phos. It's still not where I want, but it's better. Soon my SPS will look like El Porko's;)
Click to expand...

I just killed most of my SPS not too long ago so i hope they look opposite of that lol.
 
Prettier than anything I got, LOL! My tank is FULL of lots of blah corals. Now that I know that I'm not inept at coral keeping, I will try some fancy sticks.

BTW, the Ponape is looking beastly for a frag, LOL! I think its the fastest growing of the 3 frags Marv hooked me up with.
 
rovster said:
Prettier than anything I got, LOL! My tank is FULL of lots of blah corals. Now that I know that I'm not inept at coral keeping, I will try some fancy sticks.

BTW, the Ponape is looking beastly for a frag, LOL! I think its the fastest growing of the 3 frags Marv hooked me up with.
Click to expand...

I got the ponape from marke and its growing nice. Like I said anything I got from local reefers is alive and well but the colonies I bought from stores sold as maricultured pieces all died. :mad:

Sent from somewhere
 
Just an update, My Alk has been pretty stable over the last 2 weeks and has been hanging out in the high 8s consistently, phos has been hovering around0.05. I just added some RowaPhos in my media rack, so we'll see how that comes along. I added 10 grams which is what is recommended for 10 gallons. I went a little less than what I may have just not to shoch the system. Here are some growth shots of the birdsnest testers......

BOP and Ponape....

IMG_1608.jpg


Ponape is VERY happy, its growing very well (at least I think), and the BOP is growing up and the branches are dividing. Not sure how fast this is, but not bad for a month or so of growth, considering the frags were pretty small.

Here is the green birdsnest that was getting pummeled by my Favia. one of the tips got burnt. I had to remove the plug, so the whole stalk got sacrificed in the mounting putty. That said, the branches are definitely growing and splitting, and the width or span has increased dramatically....

IMG_1621.jpg


Here is my Prized Darth Maul, which started at one and is not 1.5. Bad pic, not as talented with the camera as El Porko...

IMG_1635.jpg


Here are some other shots. Its very difficult taking pictures through the curved front glass. Can't wait for my flat diamant glass on my upgrade. Should make taking pics easier....

IMG_1615.jpg

IMG_1616.jpg



Here is proyect acro....its encrusting quite a bit since I got it. Not happy I would say, but not sad. I had nowhere to mount it so it ended up there. Pretty idiotic of me, but this one may not make it to my big tank.

IMG_1614.jpg
 
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