How to successfully keep SPS Corals!

[DrewF]

beautiful tank

 

[DrewF]

very nice color

 

[pitt]

nice color

 

[aquaman72]

Wow after reading this it is evident that I have been making some big mistakes. I am dosing ESV 2 part I have been adding a 100ml A day of both one right after the other poured directly in the tank as i do not ave sump at this time. My levels are as follows alk at 8DKH, Cal at 380 And Mag at 1350. As far as my sps I realy do not see any polyp ext. Is there any advice on how to dose directly to tank drip meathed maybe, by gravity or slow amounts thoughout the the day. The tank is A 75 gallon running A reef octupus HOB filter. I have two Korellia 1050 added for flow. Any advice would awsome seems like of alot of knowlage here.

 

[mic209]

Wow after reading this it is evident that I have been making some big mistakes. I am dosing ESV 2 part I have been adding a 100ml A day of both one right after the other poured directly in the tank as i do not ave sump at this time. My levels are as follows alk at 8DKH, Cal at 380 And Mag at 1350. As far as my sps I realy do not see any polyp ext. Is there any advice on how to dose directly to tank drip meathed maybe, by gravity or slow amounts thoughout the the day. The tank is A 75 gallon running A reef octupus HOB filter. I have two Korellia 1050 added for flow. Any advice would awsome seems like of alot of knowlage here.

Dosing pumps are your best friend when it comes to dosing 2 part. I recently setup BRS dosing pumps to dose alk and mag and it has made my tank more stable and life a lot easier. It takes a good week or 2 of testing and adjusting the dosing pump settings, but once you get it dialed in it's all smooth sailing. Of course you'll have to adjust as your demand increases, but that is simple.

 

[Nht]

Keep it coming please! Learning a lot. I'd really like to see more system specs and husbandry techniques from the well known tanks on here. Great thread

 

[revhtree]

This has been a great thread.

 

[Nht]

Uhh you say "has" .Is it over?

 

[mohamad ali]

I'm definitely a lightweight in this discussion, but I've had my 180g up for just over a year and it was first real attempt at keeping SPS. I've been successfully keeping saltwater tanks for over a decade, but previous reef tanks were LPS & Zoa dominated. Over the first year, my growth and coloration has been good and my tank is quickly filling in.

Dosing:
For dosing, I dose 2-part via dosing pumps and magnesium manually. Once every month I adjust my dosing amount according to the system needs. I run a ULNS, so I've found that 15 drops of Brightwell's CoralAmino brings out the best coloration in my corals and prevents the pastels found in starving corals found in some tanks. I also dose 3 drops of lugols each day due to it's potassium content to help maintain blues & purples in my tank. My ATO runs through a kalk reactor to help keep Ca & Alk steady.

Water Quality:
I do 40 gallon water change every 2-3 weeks using RC salt. As far as filtration goes, I run a fuge with a DSB, Chaeto, and LR rubble. My skimmer is a Octopus Extreme 200 upgraded to a Bubble Blaster 3000 pump. I run WM EcoBak, Rowaphos, and Carbon in reactors 24/7.

Lighting:
I run 450w of LED (ReefFiltration Gen2 fixtures) along with 468w of T5. I'm confident that the LEDs can grow coral on their own, but I like having the piece of mind with the T5s producing a broader spectrum. The T5 fixtures houses 12x39w bulbs currently comprised of six ATI Blue+, two ATI Purple+, two UVL SuperActinic, and two Current 10k. Here's my light cycle:
7:00 AM: Actinic T5s ON (Actually two UVL Superactinic & two Blue+)
9:00 AM: LEDs ON
11:30 AM: Daytime T5s ON
1:30 PM: Daytime T5s OFF
4:30 PM: LEDs OFF
7:00 PM: Actinic T5s OFF

Coral Feeding:
I broadcast feed a mix of ReefNutrition Oyster Feast & Coral Frenzy every three days. Once per week I feed my tank with baby brine shrimp. Although this is predominantly for the LPS & fish, some feeder response is noticed in the SPS as well, so I'm assuming that they are feeding on the BBS.

Parameters:
I keep salinity at 1.026 and my temperature range is 79-80 F. Calcium is kept in the neighborhood of 430-450 and I keep my alkalinity at 8 DKH. While this is on the low end of preferred alk levels, I've read that maintaining higher alk levels in an ULNS can be probelmatic. Magnesium is kept between 1300-1350 and pH fluctuates between 8.3-8.5 depending on the time of day. I strive to keep nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia at zero, but many aquarists have noticed improved coloration when maintaining NO3 levels in the 5-10 range (I offset this loss of color by dosing amino acids and through supplemental feeding of my corals). I try to keep phosphates as close to zero as possible and they usually measure between 0 and 0.02 on a Hanna calorimeter.

hello i loved ur tank i really did i loved the pictures with what camera did u take this pictures...
i to use led light aloone to be honest i dont knw if my problem of the the light or my whole system...
i use vertex illumina s260
and i dont have a refugime i have biopallets and calcium reactor and kalkwaser thats not working right now...
i dose iodine, bacteria, kent marine coral, kent marine phytoplex, and magnisuim powder... i dose all these 1 every week...
[h=2]I LOVED UR TANK.[/h]AND i wish if u could tell me something for getting all these colors back thank u very much....

 

[3Twinklets]

Me too!

Should be a good thread, I agree. I'm not sure about everyone else but I had a calcium reactor for just over a year on my last tank. I had nothing but problems with it. I hear of others have phenomenal success with them but I just couldn't get mine dialed in. I would leave town with a 20 drip-per-minute rate and come home a few days later and it would be down to 3 drips. Alk swings all over the place and it was doing nothing but stunting my growth. I attribute alot of this to user error...lol. But I could not get it worked out.

I got tired of trying and switched to 2-part with a LitermeterIII and have had ZERO issues ever since. They can definitely be a great piece of equipment but 2-part with a reliable doser will always be my choice.

 

[mohamad ali]

Me too!

me three i added my calcium reactor 2 month and i am having the same problem like u guys...
and with it the kalk i hate when this happens every day it is diffrent so i dont knw if its wrong or right today am going to test my water and tell u guys how its going...
but i am thinking to do like urs adding LitermeterIII for cal and kalk...
casue i am tired of seeing my tnk going wrong...
i am just wasting money...

 

[swannyson7]

hello i loved ur tank i really did i loved the pictures with what camera did u take this pictures...
i to use led light aloone to be honest i dont knw if my problem of the the light or my whole system...
i use vertex illumina s260
and i dont have a refugime i have biopallets and calcium reactor and kalkwaser thats not working right now...
i dose iodine, bacteria, kent marine coral, kent marine phytoplex, and magnisuim powder... i dose all these 1 every week...
[h=2]I LOVED UR TANK.[/h]AND i wish if u could tell me something for getting all these colors back thank u very much....

Thanks for the kind words! The pics were taken with a Canon XSi using a Canon 60mm macro lens and with a top-down box from Avast Marine. I doubt that the lighting is the source of your problems, but in order to assist you further, we'll need to know your current parameters and what problems you've been experiencing.

 

[mohamad ali]

Thank u

Thanks for the kind words! The pics were taken with a Canon XSi using a Canon 60mm macro lens and with a top-down box from Avast Marine. I doubt that the lighting is the source of your problems, but in order to assist you further, we'll need to know your current parameters and what problems you've been experiencing.

today am gong to do every single one and ill tell as i knw am still at work now...
but what is making me go crazy is ur colors man they are simply amazing amazing and amazing know on wood hahahha....
and the camera i have Sony semipro with a built in lens how can i say this ITS SUCKS thats all....
:bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile:

BRAVOOOO WITH UR TANK LOVED IT​

 

[StikHedRon]

This is amazing information all wrapped up into one thread!

 

[mohamad ali]

heloo again

Thanks for the kind words! The pics were taken with a Canon XSi using a Canon 60mm macro lens and with a top-down box from Avast Marine. I doubt that the lighting is the source of your problems, but in order to assist you further, we'll need to know your current parameters and what problems you've been experiencing.

hello here are my results for what u ask i hope u like what u see...
lets get started:
1: mag: 0.04=> 1440(salifert test)
2: ph: 8.0 and 8.1 (salifert test)
3: kh: 0.30=>3.88 (salifert test)
4: cal:0.14=>430 (salifert test)
5: no3: none
6: po: none
7: salinity: 2.023
i hope ur reply and tell me what u think and any one who reads i relly love to tell me what u thnk....
i wanted to show u some pictures but i couldnt some problem we will....

 

[swannyson7]

hello here are my results for what u ask i hope u like what u see...
lets get started:
1: mag: 0.04=> 1440(salifert test)
2: ph: 8.0 and 8.1 (salifert test)
3: kh: 0.30=>3.88 (salifert test)
4: cal:0.14=>430 (salifert test)
5: no3: none
6: po: none
7: salinity: 2.023
i hope ur reply and tell me what u think and any one who reads i relly love to tell me what u thnk....
i wanted to show u some pictures but i couldnt some problem we will....

Sounds like your parameters are on target. I've always found that my SPS seem to look better when I run my alk a bit lower. Right now your alk is up at 10.8 dKH (still within acceptable ranges), but I have always experienced deeper colors when I keep my alk steady at around 8 dKH. Assuming that you don't have any algae consuming nutrients within the water column that might result in false readings from your test kits, zero NO3 and PO4 readings could also indicate that your corals are "starving." You may want to consider dosing something such as amino acids to provide the necessary nutrients. Also, what are you using for flow? A lack of adequate water movement could also result in washed out colors.

 

[mohamad ali]

Sounds like your parameters are on target. I've always found that my SPS seem to look better when I run my alk a bit lower. Right now your alk is up at 10.8 dKH (still within acceptable ranges), but I have always experienced deeper colors when I keep my alk steady at around 8 dKH. Assuming that you don't have any algae consuming nutrients within the water column that might result in false readings from your test kits, zero NO3 and PO4 readings could also indicate that your corals are "starving." You may want to consider dosing something such as amino acids to provide the necessary nutrients. Also, what are you using for flow? A lack of adequate water movement could also result in washed out colors.

What ur saying is that i should amino acid like what. I really dont knw the name for the wajemaker i want to upgrade but not now i just paid for vertex calcium reactor and kalk that still didnt work.

 

[BigJohnWoody]

I'm assuming your SG is 1.023. Also I would slowly raise it to 1.025-1.026. IMHO 1.023 is to low for an sps tank

hello here are my results for what u ask i hope u like what u see...
lets get started:
1: mag: 0.04=> 1440(salifert test)
2: ph: 8.0 and 8.1 (salifert test)
3: kh: 0.30=>3.88 (salifert test)
4: cal:0.14=>430 (salifert test)
5: no3: none
6: po: none
7: salinity: 2.023
i hope ur reply and tell me what u think and any one who reads i relly love to tell me what u thnk....
i wanted to show u some pictures but i couldnt some problem we will....

 

[mohamad ali]

I'm assuming your SG is 1.023. Also I would slowly raise it to 1.025-1.026. IMHO 1.023 is to low for an sps tank

K do i add saltwater when water evaporate.

 

[swannyson7]

That's a very good point, and don't know how I missed it. At a specific gravity of 1.023, some of the trace elements such as iron, potassium, etc. that impact coral coloration will be at low concentrations. To raise your salinity, you can add a bit of salt to your top off, but it's probably easier to just add water at a salinity of 1.025-1.026 during your water changes. That way your salinity will rise slowly and won't negatively impact your livestock. As for your question regarding Amino Acids, there are several on the market and haven't tried any other than the products from Brightwell's and Korallen-Zucht.