Coral losses looking for help and input

shakeandbake · May 10, 2021

Set up: Tank started around mid July 2020, 4-stage BRS RO system, RS 425XL, 90ish gal display 20ish gal sump, 2 inch sand bed, 90 lbs of dry live rock. RSK 600 skimmer, Neptune WAV kit hitting ~4.8 Flo during daytime, COR 20 return set at 70% reading ~600gph on return meter, 2 ReeFi LED Duo Ex running new LPS default settings, refugium chamber with chaeto & light, DOS alk 12 ml/day, Cal 9 ml/day, DOS auto waterchange currently off, was changing ~12.5 gal/mo or ~ 1500 ml/day. Bioload, 2 clowns, 2 firefish, a cherub angel, a bangaii cardinal, & a royal gramma. CUC: 2 cleaner shrimp, 12-15 red hermits, 25-30 snails, cerinth, nerite, turbo, maybe 50 ish dwarf cerinth.

Stats: TMP 78, Sal 33.8, PH 8.25-8.4, ORP 375-400, Mg, 1300, Alk 8.7, Cal 465, NO3 2-5, PO4 0

I am looking for some advice.

In the fall, after being up and running for maybe 3-4 months, I added some zoas and a few cheap LPS, a hammer, frog and torch. LPS looked good in the QT tank. After a month I added them to the display. The LPS were not extending fully. First, I re-acclimated lighting starting at 60% and ramping that up over 3-4 weeks. After that didn't seem to do anything, I focused on flow. I turned the WAVs way down and then tried some alternative locations and settings. No changes there. Polyps began bailing out. First I did a 15 gal water change. Looked a little better, but that may have been wishful thinking. But polyps still weren't extending. So I thought maybe phosphates were just too low. I tried to overfeed in order to maybe bring up NO3 & PO4. Bail outs continued. Then I dosed some PO4. No noticeable readings and hair algae ensued.

With the LPS completely gone I gave it some time. I dialed back the alk & cal dosing and tried to get things stable. I figured it was a low nutrient system and needed to mature more. I tuned off the auto water change. After maybe a month, or two, I added an acan and a few mushrooms. Did ok for maybe a month. Now we are bailing out again. Mushrooms and zoas also don't seem to be exactly flourishing. So I am at a loss.

I see some PH swings during the day. When lights are full it can get up to 8.4. At night it can swing down to 8.2. I tried running an airstone but noticed no changes in PH or LPS health. I pulled way back on the chaeto for a bit. But I am still not seeing a jump in NO3 or PO4 numbers. I increased bio load over time adding fish from the QT. That didn't seem to impact things. I turned off the skimmer for a few weeks thinking maybe it was over powered. Nothing. I have coraline growth on rocks, pumps and overflow. I tried reef roids with some regular feedings, spot and broadcast, maybe 2x a week. No changes.

Am I missing anything obvious? Pods? I have tried higher lighting, lower lighting, higher flow, lower flow, 1 time water change, auto water change, no water change, overfeeding, dosing PO4, ...I am stumped!

Beginner looking to reef. Thank you!

guylaga · May 10, 2021

Nothing immediately stood out to me as I was reading your post, Salinity a bit low, but I wouldn't think that is causing your issue.

You say that the LPS looked fine in QT but started to bail out in the display, can you share details of the QT system?

nereefpat · May 10, 2021

Parameters look really good. I really wouldn't sweat the phosphate thing. If you are feeding, and you have algae growing, there is enough. It certainly wouldn't cause polyp bailout.

I don't know anything about that specific light, but if you're using an LPS setting that *should be okay.

I agree, the only parameter that might be a little off would be salinity. I would shoot for 35 ppt. What instrument are you using to measure salinity? How are you calibrating/checking it?

Uncle99 · May 10, 2021

PO4 is zero, that would starve your corals.
Your nitrate is perfect but you need phosphate running at 0.05ppm min and say .1ppm phosphates.

My corals are sucking up 7ppb per day and I run 24ppb.

As soon as my phosphate drops below 7ppb, corals dont extend much and colour seems faded over week.

I must dose 10ml Neophos in my 180g daily and the change was very noticeable.

shakeandbake · May 10, 2021

Awesome thank you for the input so far. Some additional info to clarify...

My QT is a 29 gallon with HOB filter, some PVC, a small powerhead and a 4 bulb t5 fixture, running an actiic, a blue +, coral +. QT parameters are similar to the display, but NO3 generally runs higher at times, and the PO4 registers 0.1-0.2 on the Saifert test kit.

With that as a backdrop...

I thought at first that maybe it was the lighting. In the display I was initially running the ReeFi LPS settings and in the QT the t5's were closer to the water and it was a shallower tank. So, I acclimated from the LPS settings to the pre programmed "new SPS" setting over 2 weeks. No noticeable changes with either setting. Once I acclimated to the SPS settings, and results did not improve, I just left the settings there.

Then, I thought it was the NO3 and or PO4. So I started over feeding, and then later, dosing NeoPhos. I didn't really notice a difference other than the hair algae bloom. Perhaps the coral was already in bail mode and the higher PO4 was late to the game? Plus every day I would dose Neo, and every night I would test and still read 0. I contemplated moving to a Hanna test kit in case the Saifert test kit wasn't accurate. But things bailed so I didn't make that change and I stopped dosing.

shakeandbake · May 13, 2021

So I tested again and all parameters have remained stable with the previous measurements. PO4 remains at 0 and my thinking is that the 0 Phosphates is what is leading to my poor coral health. So I began dosing NeoPhos again. From the math, 110 gal, target 0.01 PO4, x 3.785 = 4.2 ml.

Going to continue that for now, keep testing and hope to not feed into an algae explosion.

But after re-reading the NeoPhos instructions the carbon limited, Reef Bio Fuel, Katalyst, section confused me quite a bit. I do see other threads on it but I am struggling to wrap my brain around it. Can anyone dumb that down for me?

Is it... just dose NeoPhos until PO4 catches up and reaches the desired levels? Or, is it... I need to address other areas first, i.e. do something else until "the rate of carbon input matches the rate of phosphorus- or nitrogen- input" ...and until that is achieved the PO4 will not reach a desired range?

Only other info I'd add is that while cycling I dosed Microbactor 7 per the instructions. And right now we are getting brown algae on the glass, sandbed etc. that I suspect are diatoms and related to the low PO4.

Thanks.