I'm a Chalice Serial Killer

[Salty Lemon]

Hi gang. I've been doing this for a few years now. One of my problems is the chalice. I think they are beautiful and over the years, I have bought quite a few. But I watch them gradually turn black and die. I cannot give you tank parameters due to the various times I have had them -- I currently do not have any in my tank. But I do maintain my tank, and I check the parameters regularly. Those of you who know me, know this to be true. I have hopped online, read & watched videos, but I'm just not certain what I am missing. I've tried low and middle of the tank. I currently have black box lights -- blues are at 75% and whites/reds/greens are at 25%. I have quite a bit of flow. My calcium has always been within acceptable range, but on the low side of what is considered acceptable. This is natural in my water and I do not add calcium supplements. My pH has a tendency to be on the low side too (around 7) so I do supplement for that. Are there any secrets that I should know about? Are there any chalice gurus out there? I know this is vague and for that, I apologize. I'm asking because I'm thinking of trying them again. I'd hate to have to bury another body in my backyard.

 

[jlts21]

Following as I have a chalice that I’m struggling with as well. I ran a higher everything (alk 9.5-10 cal 465 and mag 1500). Everything else grows awesome but I can’t get the chalice to do anything

 

[DSC reef]

Never did anything special for chalice corals. I believe consistency really matters with them. 9.5 alk, 430ish calcium and 1500 mag with some nutrients in the tank, never read zero. Alkalinity swings seemed to cause the most damage IME with chalice corals. I found that mycedium was a bit more forgiving along with echinopora. Oxypora and echinophyllia were a bit more sensitive to chemistry and light changes.

 

[Salty Lemon]

Never did anything special for chalice corals. I believe consistency really matters with them. 9.5 alk, 430ish calcium and 1500 mag with some nutrients in the tank, never read zero. Alkalinity swings seemed to cause the most damage IME with chalice corals. I found that mycedium was a bit more forgiving along with echinopora. Oxypora and echinophyllia were a bit more sensitive to chemistry and light changes.

Thank you. I'll try again.

 

[jlts21]

Never did anything special for chalice corals. I believe consistency really matters with them. 9.5 alk, 430ish calcium and 1500 mag with some nutrients in the tank, never read zero. Alkalinity swings seemed to cause the most damage IME with chalice corals. I found that mycedium was a bit more forgiving along with echinopora. Oxypora and echinophyllia were a bit more sensitive to chemistry and light changes.

I run my calcium a little higher but was also running near zero phosphates. Since allowing my phosphates to come up a touch it does appear that it’s doing better

 

[El_Guapo13]

Hi gang. I've been doing this for a few years now. One of my problems is the chalice. I think they are beautiful and over the years, I have bought quite a few. But I watch them gradually turn black and die. I cannot give you tank parameters due to the various times I have had them -- I currently do not have any in my tank. But I do maintain my tank, and I check the parameters regularly. Those of you who know me, know this to be true. I have hopped online, read & watched videos, but I'm just not certain what I am missing. I've tried low and middle of the tank. I currently have black box lights -- blues are at 75% and whites/reds/greens are at 25%. I have quite a bit of flow. My calcium has always been within acceptable range, but on the low side of what is considered acceptable. This is natural in my water and I do not add calcium supplements. My pH has a tendency to be on the low side too (around 7) so I do supplement for that. Are there any secrets that I should know about? Are there any chalice gurus out there? I know this is vague and for that, I apologize. I'm asking because I'm thinking of trying them again. I'd hate to have to bury another body in my backyard.

Chalice murderer!! Evil!!!!

 

[El_Guapo13]

Chalice murderer!! Evil!!!!

Jokes aside, I currently only have one chalice, so no idea if there is anything I am doing right or wrong with regards to it. It does appear to be healthy and is growing. So I fot that going for me, which is nice.

 

[Braves Fan]

My first thought goes to lighting ,, either to much or to little ,, most people give them to much ,, you really need to get your hands on a Par Meter ,, you really need to know what your lights are doing ,, not just that they are set at this % ,, you want a Par number around 100 to 150 ,, what are your current tank numbers ,, Chalices don't like a lot of flow ,, you say you have high flow in your tank ,, check your Mag levels also ,, some chalices can take more light than others ,,, a Raja Rampage seems to me can take a lot of light ,, when you get another chalice ,,, get that one ,, plan on keeping them on your sand bed ,,

I know you have had problems with Chalices ,, they really are a easy coral to keep ,, chalices can grow fast ,, stay on top of your numbers ,,, read that part again and find out what your lights are doing ,, I will add one more thing ,, get yourself a bottle of small Fauna Marin pellets ,, chalices like to eat ,, feed the chalice once a week ,, use the coke bottle trick

 

[Fiesty]

If u want a good test subject, get a Hollywood Stunner! Seems indestructible and in the right conditions grows too fast! But would make a good test / learning subject before trying more sensitive and expensive ones.

From my experience I would say stability and not too much light seem to be the biggest factors for success.

 

[Salty Lemon]

My first thought goes to lighting ,, either to much or to little ,, most people give them to much ,, you really need to get your hands on a Par Meter ,, you really need to know what your lights are doing ,, not just that they are set at this % ,, you want a Par number around 100 to 150 ,, what are your current tank numbers ,, Chalices don't like a lot of flow ,, you say you have high flow in your tank ,, check your Mag levels also ,, some chalices can take more light than others ,,, a Raja Rampage seems to me can take a lot of light ,, when you get another chalice ,,, get that one ,, plan on keeping them on your sand bed ,,

I know you have had problems with Chalices ,, they really are a easy coral to keep ,, chalices can grow fast ,, stay on top of your numbers ,,, read that part again and find out what your lights are doing ,, I will add one more thing ,, get yourself a bottle of small Fauna Marin pellets ,, chalices like to eat ,, feed the chalice once a week ,, use the coke bottle trick

Thank you much! I'll check with my fish club to see if they have their par meter lent out. I've been meaning to do that anyway if I want to keep the more difficult corals. I appreciate your advice.

 

[andrewkw]

One thing to keep in mind with chalices is a lot of them can look terrible and still make a complete recovery.

Several weeks later

 

[DSC reef]

One thing to keep in mind with chalices is a lot of them can look terrible and still make a complete recovery.

Several weeks later

+1 on this, I've even seen them grow back after the colony died.

 

[Salty Lemon]

+1 on this, I've even seen them grow back after the colony died.

I'll keep this in mind when I purchase my next ones. The rest of my lps look good. It is just those dang chalices -- which are supposed to be relatively simple to keep. Thank you.