My first acro... not looking well...

[Katze]

Hello everyone!

I set up a 10g reef tank for mostly corals (I'm planning to add other creatures should nutrients be undetectable)
It is indeed very young, only 1.5 month old, however it does seem to grow zoas very well, so I went ahead and got a very cheap acro frag (3$)
to test the water so to say, it's my first sps. For a long time it looked very well in fact it developed tissue rather quickly! However for the past 4 days
it has been looking well... not so good... I'm not sure whether it's bleaching or tissue loss, but it certainly isn't good.
I know that acros are hysterical about change and one thing seems to lie out: 20% WC a week ago

Parameters: -they are rather constant

kH: 6.7
NO3: 5
PO4: 0.04-0.06
Salinity: 1.026 -doesn't seem to swing, not even in such a tiny tank
Mg and Ca are unknown for now but I aim to get kits for them as I get more LPS/SPS

-I measured everything with a Hanna Checker or Salifert test kits, none of them expired

WC: 20% Bi-weekly, or depending on dissolved nutrient concentration, if it's low I skip it
I don't yet feed the corals

This frag is rather important in the sense that it's a very good indicator coral and I wouldn't like to buy another frag until the issue is found and fixed

Please feel free to ask!
I'll upload pictures immediately

 

[Gumbies R Us]

What are you testing with? Your alk is low, so that could be an issue. Alk should be 8 or higher

What about lights and flow? How do they look

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Just being honest - 10g is near impossible to be successful with any kind of acro. Chemistry swings will be frequent and that is 100% a death sentence for SPS.

Stick with easy LPS and softies in a tank that small.

 

[Katze]

Pictures:

Note: on the upper part of the frag where you can see bare coral skeleton, that's not necrosis, that's where it was broken of at the LFS

 

[Katze]

What are you testing with? Your alk is low, so that could be an issue. Alk should be 8 or higher

What about lights and flow? How do they look

Salifert for alk. I can increase it I do have NaHCO3 solution ready for such cases.
Light is on the higher side about 200-250. As for flow it's medium-high and indirect

 

[Gumbies R Us]

If you can raise your parameters I could see it bouncing back.

One last question how did you cycle your tank?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Just being honest - 10g is near impossible to be successful with any kind of acro. Chemistry swings will be frequent and that is 100% a death sentence for SPS.

Stick with easy LPS and softies in a tank that small.

I disagree with this one just a little. If you know what you are doing, it is 100% possible to maintain and have a very successful 10g sps/mixed tank.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Another note if you are dead set on acros in a small tank - cut back on the volume amount of water being exchanged every week. 20% in 10 gallons is a huge amount and you will swing parameters every time you do that. Alk will either plummet or spike. SPS - acros ESPECIALLY - must have rock steady alk, cal and salinity. Any large swings will nuke a small frag pretty quick.

A 1.5 month old reef is still extremely immature microfauna wise with not a lot of bacteria. There is also a very direct relationship coral have with that microfauna, some more than others. Immature reefs tend to not be able to support corals well because of that lack of biodiversity. Get some easier corals in first, a good CUC, some nano fish, and try again when the tank has matured.

 

[bbolin]

Was there any kind of live rock or sand used in the setup to seed the tank? In most cases with dry rock, 1.5 months is just too new for many corals to do well, including SPS.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

I disagree with this one just a little. If you know what you are doing, it is 100% possible to maintain and have a very successful 10g sps/mixed tank.

Yes... but not in what looks like your first rodeo (which a 10g acro reef is indeed a rodeo )

 

[exnisstech]

Alk is low, I keep my SPS 8-9 dkH. Your N and P are in line with mine. I've never tested mag. My calcium runs 425 - 450. Par ranges from 500+ at the top to 250 - 300 on the bottom. My first year with SPS was pretty tough with quite a few losses.

 

[SaltyWalty]

Alk that low is fine. Mine is usually around 6.8, if you keep it consistent rather than chasing numbers is all that matters. I would just focus on keeping things stable for now and if you want to raise anything do it in a few weeks after you’ve let the frag settle in. And when you do only change one thing at a time. Patients is key here, by changing things or number to “fix” a problem you will only stress the coral more.

 

[X-37B]

A nano Is no hardert than a larger system if you know what your doing, lol.
My 15g with 9.5 g's of actual water.
I do 20% WC every 2 weeks, 2g's.
I dose esv 2 part with Kamoer dosers.
30 + corals. Anyone can do this, if you know how to maintain a system.
My 13g has 9 acro frags, a small nem. About as basic as you can get for acros. Custom 1 liter ato.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Yes... but not in what looks like your first rodeo (which a 10g acro reef is indeed a rodeo )

I mean, there was a reason I never tried my hand at an acro when my tank was set up!

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

A nano Is no hardert than a larger system if you know what your doing, lol.
My 15g with 9.5 g's of actual water.
I do 20% WC every 2 weeks, 2g's.
I dose esv 2 part with Kamoer dosers.
30 + corals. Anyone can do this, if you know how to maintain a system.
My 13g has 9 acro frags, a small nem. About as basic as you can get for acros. Custom 1 liter ato.

Hence my hesitation to tell him to keep going with acros this quickly and without experience with how fussy they are. Just trying to save him some $$ and headaches!

 

[Tahoe61]

Hence my hesitation to tell him to keep going with acros this quickly and without experience with how fussy they are. Just trying to save him some $$ and headaches!

Yup.

I wish I had taken that advise a few times, repeatedly....

Start with basic sps not acropora.

 

[X-37B]

Hence my hesitation to tell him to keep going with acros this quickly and without experience with how fussy they are. Just trying to save him some $$ and headaches!

Well said. I forget whats difficult for new reefers is simple for me and may not be for anyone else.
Focus on stability.
When doing WC's make sure temp, sg, alk are the same as your system and your fine.

For the OP.
20% bi-weekly is overkill. Reduce to 5-10% a week,1/2-1 gallon.
This will help overall stability.

 

[Katze]

Well all in all, I'll go for stability, decrease the waterchange rate and amount.
Furthermore I'll very slowly try to increase alkalinity.
Thank you for the insights, I hope it will find it's way and not perish

 

[X-37B]

Well all in all, I'll go for stability, decrease the waterchange rate and amount.
Furthermore I'll very slowly try to increase alkalinity.
Thank you for the insights, I hope it will find it's way and not perish

Sounds good.
Target alk 7.5.
Example esv 2 part, I use on 4 systems. To go from 6.7 to 7.5 is only 3.5ml. Use the brs calculator for that and other alk additives.
Keep it simple.
You can easily go from 6.7 to 7.5 without any issues in one dose. Then use it to maintain 7-7.5.