Could this be why I've been losing SPS?

[Flippers4pups]

Sorry your having issues.

What's your N03?

Can you post a picture of your corals and tank?

 

[kevin_e]

Have you checked your par? I blast mine with light on my 50 gallon cube but I’m not familiar with par values from a 400 watt halide

When I set it up I remember setting the liggt high enough to where PAR was about 375 at the top of the rock. I moved it up higher at some point later. Keep in mind that light was up for 10 months and it was the last 2 or so where things went downhill.

 

[kevin_e]

Sorry your having issues.

What's your N03?

Can you post a picture of your corals and tank?

Thanks. I ordered a Nyos nitrate test last night. Expecting it next Monday. I'll follow up then .

Theres really nothing to show in pics. Almost all are bare skeleton now. The necrosis just seemed to happen everywhere and anywhere. Not particularly from tip or the base. Just patchy.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

When I hear that acros are slowly dying I think no3/po4, light or flow? Sounds like you have plenty of po4. I blast my acros with 550-350 par with led only so you might want to make sure they’re receiving enough par. Light is what fuels their main source of energy and flow is instrumental in the photosynthesis process as well. If you don’t have an contaminate I would look into those 2.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Stray voltage will slowly kill corals. Check for that. Melevs reef just did a good YouTube vid on the subject.

 

[SeaDweller]

I thought the same as you. I had a ton of detritus built up in my sump after two years of neglect. NO3 was 200+ and PO4 was 3.0+ (now down to 10 ppm and 0.10 ppm, all within about 2 weeks). I took out my matrix and vacuumed out so much junk, I'm sure it helped but I'm doubtful that much killed your sps.

 

[kevin_e]

When I hear that acros are slowly dying I think no3/po4, light or flow? Sounds like you have plenty of po4. I blast my acros with 550-350 par with led only so you might want to make sure they’re receiving enough par. Light is what fuels their main source of energy and flow is instrumental in the photosynthesis process as well. If you don’t have an contaminate I would look into those 2.

Cant imagine it was light. Not with a 400 watt halide. Plus, they had that light for 10 months and this was somethibg over the last 1-2. Possibly flow rom dirty powerheads. I cleaned my MP10s and adjusted the flow to be more up amd done/turbulant. I'll have to make that cleaning process more routine.

Ill have to see where nitrate is when I get the test.

 

[kevin_e]

I thought the same as you. I had a ton of detritus built up in my sump after two years of neglect. NO3 was 200+ and PO4 was 3.0+ (now down to 10 ppm and 0.10 ppm, all within about 2 weeks). I took out my matrix and vacuumed out so much junk, I'm sure it helped but I'm doubtful that much killed your sps.

I definately want to make that more routine. Think I need more flow through my sump?

 

[kevin_e]

Stray voltage will slowly kill corals. Check for that. Melevs reef just did a good YouTube vid on the subject.

I'll borrow my dad's meter sometime and check to see if it is an issue. Thank you.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Cant imagine it was light. Not with a 400 watt halide. Plus, they had that light for 10 months and this was somethibg over the last 1-2. Possibly flow rom dirty powerheads. I cleaned my MP10s and adjusted the flow to be more up amd done/turbulant. I'll have to make that cleaning process more routine.

Ill have to see where nitrate is when I get the test.

Might be time for a new bulb

 

[kevin_e]

Nm

 

[kevin_e]

Might be time for a new bulb

Just upgraded it. Was around the time my coral started to die off. Granted, it wasn't like bleaching. It was necrosis. I bung the light like 6-8 inches higher too.

Still doesn't explain why I really have no growth to speak of.

 

[kevin_e]

Raised my calcium over the last 24 hours. Up to 430 ppm now from 375 ppm. One thing of note with calcium, I tested 375 ppm after a 10% water change. Chances are it was in the 360s before hand.

Alk still checking in at about 10 dKH, 180 ppm, 3.5 meq/L

Phosphate is slighlty higher at 0.14 ppm, up from 0.11.

Salinity at 1.026. Maintined with ATO.

Temp staying steady 78-80 night to day.

Update from UPS: Nitrate and magnesium tests comes in Friday.

Depending on nitrate results, I'm considering setting up a cheap fuge. Cheap LED red/blue diode grow bulb with a shop light-like screw in light plug. $15-$20 investment. Thoughts?

 

[BigJohnny]

As you can see, there was quite the layer of detritus built up in my sump. My phosphate was at 0.11 a few weeks back. SPS have just been slowly fading away.

Definitely not why.

 

[Hemmdog]

Raised my calcium over the last 24 hours. Up to 430 ppm now from 375 ppm. One thing of note with calcium, I tested 375 ppm after a 10% water change. Chances are it was in the 360s before hand.

Alk still checking in at about 10 dKH, 180 ppm, 3.5 meq/L

Phosphate is slighlty higher at 0.14 ppm, up from 0.11.

Salinity at 1.026. Maintined with ATO.

Temp staying steady 78-80 night to day.

Update from UPS: Nitrate and magnesium tests comes in Friday.

Depending on nitrate results, I'm considering setting up a cheap fuge. Cheap LED red/blue diode grow bulb with a shop light-like screw in light plug. $15-$20 investment. Thoughts?

If your calcium was that low over time with your alk that high that could be your issue. The big 3 all need to be in balance. If one is high and the rest are low, stuff is going to be way out of wack. Alk being high is the most dangerous of the big 3 as well. It’s not at dangerous levels or anything, but it’s elevated enough that it could potentially not allow corals to create new skeleton properly and grow. If you keep your calcium at 450 you should be fine with that alk. Or if you want your calcium at 375-380 drop your alk to 7.5ish. Same goes for mag.
If your calcium is around 480, mag can be 1400, but alk better be 9.2+.
Calcium at 430, mag should be 1330-1350ish, alk 8-9.5
Calcium 400, mag 1300-1330, alk 8-8.5
Calcium 380, mag 1260-1280, alk 7.2-8
They just all keep in balance is what I’m trying to show.
Hope this helps someone.
It took me awhile for some reason to fully grasp how important the big 3 macro elements are to each other.

 

[BigJohnny]

How stable is your alkalinity? How often do you test? Not dosing and not testing much in a 1.5year old tank may mean you are having pretty significant swings. Even if you dont have much growth there are biological processes in the tank that should reduce your params more than water changes can handle, imo, unless your doing large ones frequently.

How high do you have those 2 mp10s running, doesnt sound like much flow? I have 2 mp40s, 1 tunze 6055 and an mp10 on my 90g and run them all on average 60-80%. Pics of your tank and corals would also help everyone diagnose.

One thing you mentioned about your tissue loss that caught my attention is "patchy or blotchy", I forget which. The cause for this is usually different than from the base or tips which ime is either ph/alk/nutrient/salinity related and could be happening in areas that arent receiving ideal light/flow instead. Could possibly be aefw as well but I dont think so since your talking about legit tissue loss and not just patchy discoloration. Again, pics would help here.

How do you measure salinity?

How many fish do you have and how much (and what) do you feed every day?

 

[lafayettereefer]

I would add checking for pest to that to do list. Your params are awful by any means and as long as its stable I cant see that beingthe cause.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Raised my calcium over the last 24 hours. Up to 430 ppm now from 375 ppm. One thing of note with calcium, I tested 375 ppm after a 10% water change. Chances are it was in the 360s before hand.

Alk still checking in at about 10 dKH, 180 ppm, 3.5 meq/L

Phosphate is slighlty higher at 0.14 ppm, up from 0.11.

Salinity at 1.026. Maintined with ATO.

Temp staying steady 78-80 night to day.

Update from UPS: Nitrate and magnesium tests comes in Friday.

Depending on nitrate results, I'm considering setting up a cheap fuge. Cheap LED red/blue diode grow bulb with a shop light-like screw in light plug. $15-$20 investment. Thoughts?

I have a little diy chaeto Fuge and that’s my only nutrient export now, besides the acros filtering the water. I pulled my skimmer out over a month ago because the nutrients were so low.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I would add checking for pest to that to do list. Your params are awful by any means and as long as its stable I cant see that beingthe cause.

Think he are NOT awful.

 

[lafayettereefer]

Think he are NOT awful.

NOT sorry