Another thread about dying sps

[Phillyd1990]

 

[Phillyd1990]

My grape growing

 

[ScottB]

So the pattern of death for your acros:
They look fine for about two weeks.
Then the tips go white.
Then the flesh shrivels and slowly peels away.
1) Do I have that correct?
I will ponder that a little. I've killed a few acros in my day, but that is not how mine went.

2) How about a list of your fish? Angels? No trigger, right? No puffers.

3) Does not sound like AEFW or red bugs to me. Do you dip? If so with what?

As to the Marine Pure, I run two large blocks in my 140G with no trouble for the year. Ran 1 large in my 65G to two years no trouble. I have read (mostly RC) threads on the AL leaching and the jury is out. Some said their leathers were affected. I don't keep them so can't say. IMO those blocks serve my tanks and bacteria colonies very well.

 

[Phillyd1990]

So the pattern of death for your acros:
They look fine for about two weeks.
Then the tips go white.
Then the flesh shrivels and slowly peels away.
1) Do I have that correct?
I will ponder that a little. I've killed a few acros in my day, but that is not how mine went.

2) How about a list of your fish? Angels? No trigger, right? No puffers.

3) Does not sound like AEFW or red bugs to me. Do you dip? If so with what?

As to the Marine Pure, I run two large blocks in my 140G with no trouble for the year. Ran 1 large in my 65G to two years no trouble. I have read (mostly RC) threads on the AL leaching and the jury is out. Some said their leathers were affected. I don't keep them so can't say. IMO those blocks serve my tanks and bacteria colonies very well.

Yes they burn at the tips every time and then slowly wither away. I do have a blue throat trigger but I've never seen him show any interest in coral. No Angel's. Just a tang some wrasses anthias clowns foxface and two gobies. I do dip using revive. I'm not sure if the block is causing any issues. It seems some people love them and some say go without

 

[jda]

If you are consistently burning tips, then it is LED burn or you have too high of alk with nearly zero N and P. I am not even talking about .1 to .5 n or .01 P since these are not low enough to burn tips... I am talking about lower than this by using organic carbon.

 

[Phillyd1990]

If you are consistently burning tips, then it is LED burn or you have too high of alk with nearly zero N and P. I am not even talking about .1 to .5 n or .01 P since these are not low enough to burn tips... I am talking about lower than this by using organic carbon.

Well I think we can rule out nutrients since both n and p are way above that. I keep thinking the leds but I feel like if I go any lower there is barely any par at the top not even mentioning how low it will be on the bottom. Right now I have my whole fixture 13" above the tank to try and spread the leds. Should I lower the fixture and try to rely more on my t5?

 

[jda]

I always suggest letting T5s carry the load... others disagree. I would get that fixture down 4-5 inches from the water and turn the LED off or down to like 10-20%.

 

[Phillyd1990]

I always suggest letting T5s carry the load... others disagree. I would get that fixture down 4-5 inches from the water and turn the LED off or down to like 10-20%.

Okay I'll try that. I really want to switch to an 8 bulb dimmable fixture and I could always just put the hydra money towards that. I just used the seneye to get par throughout the tank and ill include a pic of my lighting schedule for the leds. The only thing I changed recently was putting uv at %40 and instead of having uv on the whole time I switched it to just during peak hours

 

[jda]

Lower the fixture. Run the T5s for 10 hours and bring the Hydras in at a VERY low setting for a few hours or when you want to see some blacklight. Remember that even lower PAR for more hours can get the job done - Dana Riddle has written about this... called TLI, or something like that... Total Light Something-or-Other.

Can you get new PAR readings after you lower the fixture? Do you still have the SenEye, or did you borrow it?

 

[Phillyd1990]

Lower the fixture. Run the T5s for 10 hours and bring the Hydras in at a VERY low setting for a few hours or when you want to see some blacklight. Remember that even lower PAR for more hours can get the job done.


Can you get new PAR readings after you lower the fixture? Do you still have the SenEye, or did you borrow it?

Yes the seneye is mine. I'm going to lower the fixture and put the leds to %15. I will take par readings again when I'm done

 

[Phillyd1990]

New par readings and hydra schedule

I have the t5 on at 9:30 and off at 7:30

 

[jda]

125 at the bottom is good for your LPS and softies. The 200-230 up top is fine for the SPS if you have a long timeline like 10 or 11 hours. Depending on the SPS type, 200-230 might be all that they ever need, but some might want more once you get everything figured out.

 

[ScottB]

Anybody suspicious about a blue throat trigger appetite for a little nibble?

I love the way triggers look and move, but was told they are a no-no. I keep dwarf angels -- against the same advice -- but they only eat expensive zoas and the occasional blasto or acan.

 

[Phillyd1990]

Anybody suspicious about a blue throat trigger appetite for a little nibble?

I love the way triggers look and move, but was told they are a no-no. I keep dwarf angels -- against the same advice -- but they only eat expensive zoas and the occasional blasto or acan.

He's one of the newest fish and I've had these problems before him. I think with blue throats the reef safe with caution is geared towards them having a taste for inverts. I had a peppermint shrimp when I got him and now it's gone. I'm guessing he's the culprit

 

[jda]

I am not suspicious with any of the X. triggers. They really lack the mouth to be a pain and they are planktivores by heart and I have never had one pick at anything. I have kept Crosshatches, Sargassum and Blue Throats. I would suspect a tank, blenny or rabbit before I ever would a X. trigger. I have an Atlantic Sargassum in one reef right now and a Blue Throat in another.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/hcs3/index.php

 

[Phillyd1990]

I just ordered the ati 8 bulb dimmable fixture and it should be here by the end of the week. I have 4 b+ 2 coral+ 1 purple+ and 1 true actinic. Not sure which order to put them in but I'm excited to switch to all t5

 

[Phillyd1990]

A little update. I've kept my parameters solid so I decided to add some acros and see how it goes. I also have the 8 bulb t5 fixture up and I love it. I got a pack from Your Reef and a few from TCK corals. It's been 10 days now and everything looks excellent..great PE and some that were pale have colored up. No noticeable growth but my monti is still growing. Coraline growth has also seemed to pick up a little. I really think keeping the nutrients a bit higher has really helped. My phos stays between .04 and .07 also my nitrates stay between 10-15ppm. Over got my alk dialed in to stay at 8dkh. Before the new acros I was dosing 15ml a day and now I'm at 18ml.

 

[Phillyd1990]

I guess I spoke too soon. After I got home from work today I checked on all the acros and as always a few are starting to get tip burn. Also the style is getting white spots at its base. Also pe on everything is becoming less and less. I'm at my whits end I'm ruling out lighting as I completely got rid of the leds and use the 8 bulb fixture now. I honestly dont want any corals but sps and now for the past year I've had pretty much a fish only tank with expensive equipment geared towards keeping sps. Also my sand has been getting spotty brown in a few places and some bubbles floating up but nothing stringy.
Please if someone could come up with some idea not already mentioned that would be awesome.

I checked parameters today
Ph 8.15
Sg 1.025
N03 10ppm
P04 .04
Calc 450ppm
Alk7.9
Mag1440

Alk has been 7.8-8.0 for so long tested at the same time everyday

 

[Phillyd1990]

They are not the best pics but if you look closely you can see the tips turning white and its definitely not growth. More like they're just withering away. Also on the stylo you can see a few white spots at the base

 

[Phillyd1990]

Bump