SPS in trouble - could use a hand.

[t.priscu]

Yeah between the algae scrubber, i did a change of carbon, added an extra carbon reactor, and messed with the amount of time my lights were on (which has been changed back).

In my head whats going on is that.

Algae scrubber killed off of all algae,. this for some reason possibly spiked my phosphates.
My water was clearer from the newer carbon and the added carbon reactor.
my lights were on an extra 1.5 hours.

all of these together were to much for the corals to handle since what i gather is that.
phosphates make it harder for corals to process the light, the water was clearer making the light more intense, and the lights were on longer for a few days on top of that.

sound about right?

 

[hypnoj]

How long have you been using LED's? What type of LED's? optics? How far off of the water are they? How deep is your tank?

 

[t.priscu]

Been using LEDS about six months or so.
they 120 watt epistar units with a mix of 10k and 420nm bulbs.
about 18 inches off the water. tank is 24 inches deep.

 

[t.priscu]

I would say that with the graying out of the montiporas and the general condition of the corals check for pests first, like nudibranchs, and then low potassium next.
Normally potassium of most salt mixes is fine and its not an issue, but a few have very low levels. I was having some of the same issues and found out that the Red Sea Coral Pro salt I was using was very low in potassium. After bringing the value up to a bit over 400, the change in color, growth, and overall health was stunning. Your LFS should be able to test for potassium for you if you don't want to buy a kit.

i never knew to check for potassium levels, thank you for the info and i will def do this!
i have looked all over the corals for pests but i cannot find anything.
Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[led stony]

I had the same problem with leds took off radions and put back 250 metal halides and all problems went away.

 

[Acronic]

Whats your flow situation? Gray fuzzy die off screems low flow to me

 

[downbeach]

Are you using the Kent brand of carbon?

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/kent-marine-issues-recall-for-reef-carbon

 

[hypnoj]

I also switched back to mh's after led's and had my corals bounce back to
normal.

 

[animalkingdom]

Are you using the Kent brand of carbon?

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/kent-marine-issues-recall-for-reef-carbon

+1....that looks like more than just a high phosphate issue to me. looks like something else is out of whack