SPS help needed, the story of my tank (Long)

[Rskillz]

So, I've been in the hobby roughly 8 months and I came into the reef tank obsession with absolutely zero knowledge up-front. I bought a used setup from my dentist, who is a very capable reefer with a very nice 200 gallon SPS tank in his office. I feel sorry for the guy after all of the entirely stupid questions I asked concerning every single aspect of the hobby.

Anyway, he sold me a 72 bowfront, complete with stand, canopy, 29 gallon sump, as well as a canopy with 2 250 metal halides and 2 110 watt VHOs. I jumped in feet first and have done quite well, and along the way I've upgraded every single piece of equipment (I'll list later) I've always used 0 TDS Ro/DI water.

My first obsession was softies and LPS--so I racked up tons of hammers/duncans/torch/frogspawn. I have probably 3 types of each in the tank.

My next obsession became Zoanthids, and now I have probably 30 different types of zoas in my tank.

Finally, I learned to appreciate the "ugly, boring, stick" corals, aka the SPS. At first I found them very underwhelming, but as I've learned more and more and taken the time to appreciate them, they are amazing.

Obviously, my first two obsessions have become a detriment to my third, as my tank has pretty much every type of coral known to man in it, and it is all out chemical warfare... =)

So, my tank has done extremely well by a noobies standard. I've never lost a fish, never lost any coral OTHER than SPS (and one wellso) and never really had any algae issues.

The problem arises in that I have lost SPS in the past, which I found out was due to the lack of a ATO system, a fluctuating sump water level, and a old crappy skimmer, and ultimately, high nitrates. All of that is fixed now for the most part, although I have quite a few fish, two nems, and a big bio-load, so it's very hard for me to get nitrates to nilch.

As of right now, I can keep SPS alive, with decent polyp extension, but I cannot really GROW them yet, even though I try my best. Back when they RTNd, my alkalinity was extremely high (11-13) and fluctuating due to overdosing (and lack of testing) as well as high nitrates. Now, both are under control, but the SPS pretty much just sit there, moderately happy.

So, what would be the best advice for me? Am I pretty much dead in the water because I have SO MUCH other stuff in the tank, is it still doable? What am I doing wrong?

Ok, some specifics:

Equipment:

72 bowfront
29 gallon sump
2 CoralVue 250 watt 14k MH (7 hours per day)
2 Actinic VHO 110 watt (12 hours per day)
3 Powerbrite actinic strips (16 hours per day)
Reefkeeper 2 controller
Reefoctopus 150 skimmer (runs 24/7)
2 twolittlefishies reactors (one runs NP biopellets, one runs Carbon) 24/7
Filter socks (24/7)
4 Koralia evos/2 Maxi jets on wavemaker(mp40 en route!)
Purigen bag (stays in sump 24/7)
Chemi-pure bag (stays in sump 24/7)
BRS RO/DI 5 stage

Maintenance/Feeding:

25 gallon water change every other week (Oceanic salt)
Clean sump detritus during water changes
Feed fish (8 fish) every other day roughly
Feed nems/corals once a week (Krill/mysis/now reef chili)
Clean glass constantly
Replace filter socks 2 times a week on average

Params: (Salifert/refractometer)

1.025
Alk - 8
Calc - 485
Mag - 1480
Nitrate - 2-10 (trouble getting this down)
Phosphate - nearly undetectable
Temp - 77-80
PH - 7.9

So, there we are. I'd LOVE for some like rigle to check this out (his tank is AMAZING) or anyone else who knows their stuff and might be able to eyeball the bigger issue here that lies amongst all of that. And please, ask any questions that might lead us to understanding why SPS really don't like my tank =)

Full tank shot!

 

[x2uranium]

#1 Stability...

#2 patience

#3 if your sps still are not growing check for pests.

#4 if all else fails stop wasting money on them

 

[Rskillz]

Haha, I'm almost to #4 now! :dance:

 

[Logzor]

First of all, great job, your tank looks fantastic. It's clean, aquascaped well, and has a good variety of colors/textures.

From what I read, you are keeping SPS alive just fine with decent PE but you really want them to GROW.

Based on all of your documentation it doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong. All of your parameters are right in line (except for nitrates), you do plenty of water changes, run carbon, decent lighting, flow, etc. I honestly don't really know what to suggest.

Since you narrowed away so many potential problems I don't have a lot to work with but here goes:

Check your SPS for pests such as Red Bugs or AEFW. If your coral is infected with these, growth will probably come to a screaming halt.

Try other test kits such as API or ELOS just to make sure that nothing could be amiss. Bad test kits come along more often than you might think. You can imagine how a bad alkalinity or calcium might effect the growth of your corals.

Are you using a calibration solution for your refractometer? High salinity would have a huge impact on the growth of your SPS.

Perhaps your SPS need more food. Consider an amino acid, oyster eggs, or golden pearls. Or even feeding your fish more often. The problem is that this will effect your nitrates...I find it hard to believe that you have detectable nitrates because you are running bio pellets, feed every other day, and do regular large water changes. The high nitrates in your system could definitely be causing the problem.

 

[Rskillz]

First of all, great job, your tank looks fantastic. It's clean, aquascaped well, and has a good variety of colors/textures.

From what I read, you are keeping SPS alive just fine with decent PE but you really want them to GROW.

Based on all of your documentation it doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong. All of your parameters are right in line (except for nitrates), you do plenty of water changes, run carbon, decent lighting, flow, etc. I honestly don't really know what to suggest.

Since you narrowed away so many potential problems I don't have a lot to work with but here goes:

Check your SPS for pests such as Red Bugs or AEFW. If your coral is infected with these, growth will probably come to a screaming halt.

Try other test kits such as API or ELOS just to make sure that nothing could be amiss. Bad test kits come along more often than you might think. You can imagine how a bad alkalinity or calcium might effect the growth of your corals.

Are you using a calibration solution for your refractometer? High salinity would have a huge impact on the growth of your SPS.

Perhaps your SPS need more food. Consider an amino acid, oyster eggs, or golden pearls. Or even feeding your fish more often. The problem is that this will effect your nitrates...I find it hard to believe that you have detectable nitrates because you are running bio pellets, feed every other day, and do regular large water changes. The high nitrates in your system could definitely be causing the problem.

And ultimately, it is the nitrates probably causing the issue. I really am at a loss though as to why I can never get them to an undetectable level.

I forgot to mention that I've never actually cleaned my sand bed (2 inches or so). I just got a siphon cleaner for it, but I have a dragon goby that goes through it like a crack addict. Could that be a issue? Should I try and really siphon out any detritus hanging out in it?

 

[x2uranium]

judging by the pic, your nitrates are not the issue. ive seen sps grow in alot worse conditions.

 

[x2uranium]

also, do you have any montis?? if so hows the growth on them. in the oic looks like u have apurple cap??? dont have my glasses on though.

 

[Rskillz]

I just tested Nitrates with an API kit, and it reads as 0. The Tetra test kit I always use shows about 10 (as usual). I need to grab another Nitrate kit, as API is pretty bad from what I've heard, but maybe the Tetra has been off this whole time?

And yea, I have a reddish cap on the right side, and it is doing wonderful. Few more tank pics, everything else is healthy...

 

[x2uranium]

check ur acros closely for aefw.

 

[rigleautomotive]

I would take a look at the sand bed.Vacuum a corner out where you think sediments would settle into a pail and mix it around.It will probably be brown and if so your bed is a nutrient sink which would explain your situation.I personally do not like sand beds on the bottom of SPS tanks.They eventually become a problem and not worth the effort IMO.Your lps look real happy which leads me to believe you have plenty of nutrients being liberated from somewhere.Your other husbandry seems adequate so I have a feeling your bed is fouled.HTH

 

[Rskillz]

I would take a look at the sand bed.Vacuum a corner out where you think sediments would settle into a pail and mix it around.It will probably be brown and if so your bed is a nutrient sink which would explain your situation.I personally do not like sand beds on the bottom of SPS tanks.They eventually become a problem and not worth the effort IMO.Your lps look real happy which leads me to believe you have plenty of nutrients being liberated from somewhere.Your other husbandry seems adequate so I have a feeling your bed is fouled.HTH

Thanks for replying! And yea, I've been thinking about this as well, since I've never incorporated siphoning/cleaning the sand into my maintenance.

What would be the fix if it is the sandbed causing issues? Is removing it the only option? Adding more sand sifters/cleaners? Strict maintenance?

 

[rigleautomotive]

Thanks for replying! And yea, I've been thinking about this as well, since I've never incorporated siphoning/cleaning the sand into my maintenance.

What would be the fix if it is the sandbed causing issues? Is removing it the only option? Adding more sand sifters/cleaners? Strict maintenance?

I would remove 1/4 per week with your weekly water changes.You can put a very thin layer back if desired but BB is my preference if sps with popping colors are is your goal