9 New SPS Frags Acclimated & Mounted
- Thread starter Salt1972
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OP
OP
Salt1972
Active Member
Congrats on the new additionsmart man for dipping!
Are you acclimating them to your lights?
We were advised by the seller and few past experiences to purchase frags grown under LED's similar to our Kessils and then put them in. We did use the Kessil acclimation mode, but only for a 7 day run.
I didn't realize those pics came out so poorly... I need to get filters for my phone!
lolgranny
Well-Known Member
Haha! Good call! It’s definitely the smartest call to do it that way!
OP
OP
Salt1972
Active Member
OK-- We need some help. 9 new frags. 3 are dead (solid white) within 24 hours and 1 more is 20% (white from base) in 3 days. Why? Supplier is offering refund or replacement, but I'd like to figure out what (if anything) we did wrong before proceeding.
What are the Possible Causes for SPS frag failure:
1. Improper handling during shipment -
-- Frags mounted on plugs
-- Double bagged individually
-- Packed in styrene cooler with warmer
-- Tightly packed in newspaper
-- Overnight priority shipping picked up within 40 minutes of delivery
-- Area temps en route and destination were not extreme - 60+
We've no way of know how the package was handled en route. 3 of the 9 frags were broken off of their plugs. So, it's possible that the package was handled roughly. Would that matter?
2. Acclimation -
-- Bags floated for 1 hour
-- Drip acclimated to triple bag volume over 90 minutes
-- Bayer dipped for 5-7 minutes
-- Rinsed in tank water
-- Bases dried
-- Gel super glued to rock rubble
-- Placed in display
When I dipped them in Bayer, the frags were in one small plastic Zip Lock container and they were touching. Could this have caused an issue?
3. Improper Water Quality Parameters -
-- Alk - 8.4
-- Ca - 460
-- Mag - 1410
-- PO4 - .06
-- NO3 - 10
-- Temp - 78.6
-- Salinity - 1.026
-- pH - 8.2
-- Trace Elements
The only instabilities we know of --
-- our Alk spikes every 2 weeks during water changes (8.5 target goes to 9.3 or so after 20% water change). These frags were added just after the Alk settled post water change. So, there was no all spike.
-- PO4 slowly creeps up from .02 to .08 as the GFO media wears, but this happens over a 4-6 week period.
4. Lighting -
-- (4) Kessil A360WE's
-- 12 hour photo period
-- peak 85% Intensity / 45% color
-- PAR 140 - 280 in the frag mounting locations
5. Flow -
-- (2) 650gph with no head pressure through the drip trays / sump on 6' 125g display
-- (2) Jebao PP8 wave makers
-- (1) Jebao CP-150 gyre
-- (1) Jebao DCS2000 recirc pump to refugium
I'm not sure how we could have more flow.
6. Pests / Parasites - none that we see and the frags were dipped in Bayer prior to mounting.
What did we do wrong? Where could we improve?
THANK YOU for any help / direction.
Matt
What are the Possible Causes for SPS frag failure:
1. Improper handling during shipment -
-- Frags mounted on plugs
-- Double bagged individually
-- Packed in styrene cooler with warmer
-- Tightly packed in newspaper
-- Overnight priority shipping picked up within 40 minutes of delivery
-- Area temps en route and destination were not extreme - 60+
We've no way of know how the package was handled en route. 3 of the 9 frags were broken off of their plugs. So, it's possible that the package was handled roughly. Would that matter?
2. Acclimation -
-- Bags floated for 1 hour
-- Drip acclimated to triple bag volume over 90 minutes
-- Bayer dipped for 5-7 minutes
-- Rinsed in tank water
-- Bases dried
-- Gel super glued to rock rubble
-- Placed in display
When I dipped them in Bayer, the frags were in one small plastic Zip Lock container and they were touching. Could this have caused an issue?
3. Improper Water Quality Parameters -
-- Alk - 8.4
-- Ca - 460
-- Mag - 1410
-- PO4 - .06
-- NO3 - 10
-- Temp - 78.6
-- Salinity - 1.026
-- pH - 8.2
-- Trace Elements
The only instabilities we know of --
-- our Alk spikes every 2 weeks during water changes (8.5 target goes to 9.3 or so after 20% water change). These frags were added just after the Alk settled post water change. So, there was no all spike.
-- PO4 slowly creeps up from .02 to .08 as the GFO media wears, but this happens over a 4-6 week period.
4. Lighting -
-- (4) Kessil A360WE's
-- 12 hour photo period
-- peak 85% Intensity / 45% color
-- PAR 140 - 280 in the frag mounting locations
5. Flow -
-- (2) 650gph with no head pressure through the drip trays / sump on 6' 125g display
-- (2) Jebao PP8 wave makers
-- (1) Jebao CP-150 gyre
-- (1) Jebao DCS2000 recirc pump to refugium
I'm not sure how we could have more flow.
6. Pests / Parasites - none that we see and the frags were dipped in Bayer prior to mounting.
What did we do wrong? Where could we improve?
THANK YOU for any help / direction.
Matt
I am not on the bandwagon that alk spikes can harm an otherwise healthy coral, but they can finish off one that is on the brink. I do not think that the alk spike during your water change was any issue, but you can lower the alk in that mix in the future with some Muratic Acid and a few more days to mix - gallons * dKh drop * .123 is the number of mls of muratic acid to use... you need to mix & aerate for a few extra days to drive off the excess co2 and allow the pH to rise again.
Im sorry for your loss, while I don't have any good ideas that may tell you what is happening I wonder if during such a large purchase of frags parameters from the sellers water should be taken? In your case the seller seems to be working with you offering a refund no problem. I have had similar events happen in which case I did not go back to the seller and took responsibility eating the frags cost, regardless of my "healthy" water parameters.
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