Why are my SPS so pale?

rovster said:
Could be a number of things. Why were you dosing the NoPox to begin with? You say to improve colors, but were the corals healthy otherwise? Or were colors off AND looking kinda ragged?



Couple of things to look into:

1. Lighting. Par bulbs are OK, but you need to make sure you have enough

2. NoPox stripping the water to quickly

3. RSCP mixes to around 12dkh. You do a large enough water change and you may spike your alk >1dkh, I know that because I use the same salt

4. High alk or an alk spike in conjuction with carbon dosing is a big no-no. I know because its happened to me. Any time my alk starts to creep up, the first thing I notice is my green birdsnest gets some die off at the tips.



The other thing I've noticed is that after some kind of event int he tank (temp change, alk spike, significant nutrient change) the corals kind of shut down for a few days. If I stay on my regular dosing regimen, alk will creep and lead to this vicious circle. It usually happens when I'm out of town for a few days, and although I usually have someone dose the tank, its not spread out as it is when I'm home.



I would track your alk daily and see how it behaves.



I also had some issues with paling corals. I even started a thread on it. I was also stripping my tank, and after a few months of feeding heavy and dosing all kinds of stuff, things got better.



Finding that balance is tough though. Its much easier to feed a little too much, and when you see algae, back off a little as opposed to strip the tank completely and try and figure out how much you need to add to make everything happy. Good luck. Its a continual learning process......
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If RSCP mixes to 12dkh, I should test today. I tested yesterday before a WC. I changed about 10%. If I notice that my Alk is the same then I guess I know that my alk is being consumed to quickly.
I guess I could jumped the gun on dosing that Red Sea, too. The balance is definitley harder to find than I thoug. Atleast with SPS.

I'll also start feeding corals. Thank you very much for the detailed response.
 
I went to the LFS last night and picked up a ton of stuff for my new build. If anyone wants to follow, it will be in the nano section. I also got some Coral Frenzy, Acro Power, and some Two part for wen I have to start dosing. I'll check alk again today and report back.
 
Well....I am new to SPS corals but just to throw something else in the mix, I usually keep my ca at 430 and my corals do better.
 
Well, after dosing Acropower last night, all my SPS look immediately better. Polyp extension and color look much better.
 
So far it has worked. I'm fairly certain it was a nutrient problem and not my alk. However, I'll still monitor. I need to find a balance of dosing to not deplete the tank of nutrients.
 
A little update of about three weeks or so. So I left for
Vacation on the 5th, leaving my reef in the hands of my girlfriend, just to dose. Well I came home to some pretty sh*tty results. No algae or anything, but zero polyp extension on my SPS, other than the Monti which has taken on a reddish white hue with green polyps. The Acro is loosing a bit of tissue and the Birdsnest won't extend polyps. Nitrates were at .5 and phosphate was at .1 or 0. Couldn't tell. I have been dosing Acropower every other day, but it must not be doing the job. I'm not sure at this pint. Everything else looks fine. It's not alk swings or any of the big three. Alk stays around 8.2, mag at 1340, and calc at 375. Maybe calc is low? I don't understand. I'm going to try and feed even more and see if that helps as my nutrients are still staying super low. I also lost my sixline while I was away. Came home to a million white dots on him and he died the next day. Any help?
 
Calcium is definitely pretty low. The general standard for a reef tank for calcium is 425-450. Alk and Mag look good, but it wouldn't hurt to bring mag up to 1350-1400.

Also, be careful of doing too much at one time. I would start with another water change and see where calcium is at. Try to get it close to 400 after the water change, then wait a day or two and test again. You will likely need to start dosing calcium to get it up over 425. But don't try and go from 375 to 450 in a day, spread it out in ~20-25 increments a day so you don't shock the coral.
 
Jkeating8 said:
Forgot to attach pics-
u2emujy4.jpg
na3ezyha.jpg
uheveba4.jpg
u4e7ezy6.jpg
Click to expand...
 
PaleHorse said:
everything looks good for a led tank.
Click to expand...


Haha is this a stab at LEDs in general? I'm not thrilled with the PAR 38 bulb at all. I don't care for it, at least for SPS. It grows everything else wonderfully. It's also not full spectrum. For my next build I'm going to try a Radion. I've seen excellent results in person of the Radion. If it doesn't work, I have a fall back option of T5s or halide. Preferably T5.
 
Caravanshaka said:
Calcium is definitely pretty low. The general standard for a reef tank for calcium is 425-450. Alk and Mag look good, but it wouldn't hurt to bring mag up to 1350-1400.

Also, be careful of doing too much at one time. I would start with another water change and see where calcium is at. Try to get it close to 400 after the water change, then wait a day or two and test again. You will likely need to start dosing calcium to get it up over 425. But don't try and go from 375 to 450 in a day, spread it out in ~20-25 increments a day so you don't shock the coral.
Click to expand...


So I just tested everything again. I also should add that I have what seems like 0 corraline growth. At 7 months in I thought I would see some atleast. Hm.

Calc: 400
Alk:11.9 (I may retest this. It seems high for normal. It normally is around 8.2-8.4)
Mag- 1400

NO3- .75
PO4- .08
 
Here's some pics. Things are not looking good, and for the life of me I can't figure out why. The big three are in check always, there aren't any obvious swings in alk or calc, they're always consistent. Magnesium always stays anywhere from 1350-1400. Nitrate and phosphate are in check. I'm at a loss. :(
nu9ure5e.jpg
y3ydypy9.jpg
neve5a8e.jpg
Am I missing something? My Monti kinda looks red..
 
Calcium : the recommended range is 380ppm to 450ppm, fyi. 375ppm or 400ppm calcium is not the pro0blem,imo. It could be higher but isn't hurting anytning at 375. Natural Seawater is about 410ppm. Keeping alk steady is improtant for sps in particular.
 
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