Myka's 69 SPS Tank 2015
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Myka
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Trouble in paradise...
The short story: I resumed adding vinegar to the kalk after a 5 week hiatus on Sept 21. On Sept 25th the corals start to STN. Sept 25-26 I accidentally roasted the corals with the light (I wasn't familiar with the auto-dimming feature of the ATI fixture). Between Spet 29-Oct 5 alkalinity creeps up to 9.75 dKH (7.5 dKH norm). 80% of the hard corals affected with STN, and 50% loss of the SPS.
If you want the full story, keep reading!
Sept 18th:
Cal 425 ppm (S)
Alk 7.9 dKH (H)
NO3 0.25 ppm (RS)
PO4 7 ppb, 0.21 ppm (H)
The rest of September I'm focusing on NO3 and PO4 trying to get nutrients up. I have been pouring food into the tank trying to raise nutrients with no effect. I've been adding 4 spoons Coral Frenzy + 5 mL Fauna Marin Ultra Organic one day then the next I add 3 mL Pohl's Xtra + 1/4 tsp Oyster Feast + 5 mL AcroPower. Plus I've been feeding the fish 2-3 times per day as much as they will forcefully eat.
I took all those macro shots on Sept 25th (on pg 14), and during that time I noticed the fans in the ATI fixture weren't working and the fixture was auto-dimming, so I lay a room fan on it to keep it cool. Two days later many of the corals were quite bleached and I realize that the fixture must have been auto-dimming a lot for quite some time (maybe day one??). I turn off all the whites and have been running only the two blues at 80% ever since.
I noticed some burned/receding tips at the end of September and figure it was because I burned the corals with the suddenly brighter lighting, but I want to double check alkalinity so I check parameters.
Sept 29:
Cal 420
Alk 7.5
NO3 1 ppm (from NaNO3 dosing)
Oct 5th the burned tips are getting worse, so I check again and alk is 9.75, I check twice with two different kits. I stop the kalk doser. I had started adding vinegar back into the kalk (which makes it more saturated) which must be the cause of the spike, but I started the vinegar Sept 21 and the burned tips showed up around Sept 25th and the alk spike wasn't until after the 29th testing.
So I was scratching my head at this point. Was it the vinegar?? Works out to about 11 mL per day I was dosing into about 80 gallons volume. I was dosing kalk+vinegar from day one, and stopped the vinegar Aug 14th, then re-started Sept 21. The STN started 4 days after resuming the vinegar.
Oct 7th I check alk again and it's still at 9.75 despite removing the kalk doser, so the tank had completely stopped using alk. I also note that pH is 7.4 without the kalk dosing, and I couldn't raise it by providing outside air. At this point I have about 25% of the SPS affected with burned tips.
Over Oct 7-9th I add 15 mL muriatic acid to the sump over 3 doses. This had no further affect on the pH, but did bring alk back down to 7.8. Currently, kalk doser has been offline since Oct 5th, and I haven't dosed any alk in the whole month.
All the corals showing the burned tips around the end of Sept progressed into complete loss from the tips down. I pulled out about a dozen pieces. The STN has spread to more and more corals since - I have about 80% of the SPS affected by mid-October. My clam started gaping mid-October and perished 2 days later. I was worried that I may be looking at a total loss. My rainbow Trachy, anemone, and all softies were unaffected.
October 17th and 18th I did 17-gallon water changes, put a bag of carbon in, and promptly left the city for 10 days.
I came back to one more piece gone, but the rest look on the mend. Today I did another 17-gallon water change. My favorite pieces made it, but I ended up with about 50% loss all because of the perfect storm.
The short story: I resumed adding vinegar to the kalk after a 5 week hiatus on Sept 21. On Sept 25th the corals start to STN. Sept 25-26 I accidentally roasted the corals with the light (I wasn't familiar with the auto-dimming feature of the ATI fixture). Between Spet 29-Oct 5 alkalinity creeps up to 9.75 dKH (7.5 dKH norm). 80% of the hard corals affected with STN, and 50% loss of the SPS.
If you want the full story, keep reading!
Sept 18th:
Cal 425 ppm (S)
Alk 7.9 dKH (H)
NO3 0.25 ppm (RS)
PO4 7 ppb, 0.21 ppm (H)
The rest of September I'm focusing on NO3 and PO4 trying to get nutrients up. I have been pouring food into the tank trying to raise nutrients with no effect. I've been adding 4 spoons Coral Frenzy + 5 mL Fauna Marin Ultra Organic one day then the next I add 3 mL Pohl's Xtra + 1/4 tsp Oyster Feast + 5 mL AcroPower. Plus I've been feeding the fish 2-3 times per day as much as they will forcefully eat.
I took all those macro shots on Sept 25th (on pg 14), and during that time I noticed the fans in the ATI fixture weren't working and the fixture was auto-dimming, so I lay a room fan on it to keep it cool. Two days later many of the corals were quite bleached and I realize that the fixture must have been auto-dimming a lot for quite some time (maybe day one??). I turn off all the whites and have been running only the two blues at 80% ever since.
I noticed some burned/receding tips at the end of September and figure it was because I burned the corals with the suddenly brighter lighting, but I want to double check alkalinity so I check parameters.
Sept 29:
Cal 420
Alk 7.5
NO3 1 ppm (from NaNO3 dosing)
Oct 5th the burned tips are getting worse, so I check again and alk is 9.75, I check twice with two different kits. I stop the kalk doser. I had started adding vinegar back into the kalk (which makes it more saturated) which must be the cause of the spike, but I started the vinegar Sept 21 and the burned tips showed up around Sept 25th and the alk spike wasn't until after the 29th testing.
So I was scratching my head at this point. Was it the vinegar?? Works out to about 11 mL per day I was dosing into about 80 gallons volume. I was dosing kalk+vinegar from day one, and stopped the vinegar Aug 14th, then re-started Sept 21. The STN started 4 days after resuming the vinegar.
Oct 7th I check alk again and it's still at 9.75 despite removing the kalk doser, so the tank had completely stopped using alk. I also note that pH is 7.4 without the kalk dosing, and I couldn't raise it by providing outside air. At this point I have about 25% of the SPS affected with burned tips.
Over Oct 7-9th I add 15 mL muriatic acid to the sump over 3 doses. This had no further affect on the pH, but did bring alk back down to 7.8. Currently, kalk doser has been offline since Oct 5th, and I haven't dosed any alk in the whole month.
All the corals showing the burned tips around the end of Sept progressed into complete loss from the tips down. I pulled out about a dozen pieces. The STN has spread to more and more corals since - I have about 80% of the SPS affected by mid-October. My clam started gaping mid-October and perished 2 days later. I was worried that I may be looking at a total loss. My rainbow Trachy, anemone, and all softies were unaffected.
October 17th and 18th I did 17-gallon water changes, put a bag of carbon in, and promptly left the city for 10 days.
gettaReef
Valuable Member
Ouch, that really sucks, sorry for the losses. Stuff like this hurts but unfortunately is part of the hobby/learning experience. At least it's not a total loss and you still have your favorite pieces! And I guess you learned something from it.....gotta look at the bright side!
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Myka
Valuable Member
Yeah, you bet! I learned a) don't underestimate a few mL of vinegar, b) read the instruction manual.
I'm happy all this happened while the tank is young. I would be devastated if it was mature colonies. I lost less than $750 in frags, and I'm pushed back 3 months in growth probably. It hurt my feeling more than anything - and it's the last feeling I have. Oddly, there are a handful of SPS frags that resisted the STN. Even a Montipora capitata was affected (my only non-Acro SPS), but an A millepora, an A insignus, and an A nasuta were the only SPS that didn't show any STN.
Last edited:
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Myka
Valuable Member
Well, on the brighter side, I have a funny little story...
...I asked the LFS to let me know the next time he's doing an order that has Ignitus (Flame) Anthias available and I can give that another go. So I'm on vacay last week and not paying attention much and he texts me, "Do you want some Flavo Anthias"? I'm like ya, sure. In my mind I was thinking he mis-typed "Flame", and it didn't even occur to me that the Red Saddled Anthias is Pseudanthias flavoguttatus. So I go in there a couple days ago and ask when are the Ignitus showing up? He tells me they aren't Ignitus, they are Flavo. I'm like, shiat.
They are a deeper water species and coming from Philippines so I was a bit concerned for their health/acclimation, plus I'm also worried they might be a shy fish in a high light tank like mine. Plus, I just don't know much about this particular species.
I did some research, and it seems like they acclimate both to captivity and higher light better than a lot of deep water Anthias. It probably helps that they really aren't super deep - Fish Base says 60-200 ft. They get a bit bigger than I was hoping - the males will get a tad over 4" and the females not a lot smaller. The Flame Anthias is more in the 3-3.5" range. However, the Red Saddled Anthias females are almost as colorful as males.
So I go in Friday to check the Anthias out and only one arrived.
However, and that's a big HOWEVER, there was a trio of Dwarf Pintail Fairy Wrasses!
I only brought one home though - a female that's starting to transition. SO STOKED! I've been asking my LFS to get this fish for almost a year (still rare in Canada).
So I get the two fish home and put them in my QT with some other small fish that are in there. Let me tell you, this Anthias is STUNNING!!! Both fish were eating frozen Cyclopeeze on Saturday morning (didn't touch the Mysis), and were eating a few small Mysis today along with the Cyclopeeze. I can't wait to get them in my display.
Not my pic, but mine looks just as beautiful:
My Pintail looks close to this right now:
...I asked the LFS to let me know the next time he's doing an order that has Ignitus (Flame) Anthias available and I can give that another go. So I'm on vacay last week and not paying attention much and he texts me, "Do you want some Flavo Anthias"? I'm like ya, sure. In my mind I was thinking he mis-typed "Flame", and it didn't even occur to me that the Red Saddled Anthias is Pseudanthias flavoguttatus. So I go in there a couple days ago and ask when are the Ignitus showing up? He tells me they aren't Ignitus, they are Flavo. I'm like, shiat.
I did some research, and it seems like they acclimate both to captivity and higher light better than a lot of deep water Anthias. It probably helps that they really aren't super deep - Fish Base says 60-200 ft. They get a bit bigger than I was hoping - the males will get a tad over 4" and the females not a lot smaller. The Flame Anthias is more in the 3-3.5" range. However, the Red Saddled Anthias females are almost as colorful as males.
So I go in Friday to check the Anthias out and only one arrived.
So I get the two fish home and put them in my QT with some other small fish that are in there. Let me tell you, this Anthias is STUNNING!!! Both fish were eating frozen Cyclopeeze on Saturday morning (didn't touch the Mysis), and were eating a few small Mysis today along with the Cyclopeeze. I can't wait to get them in my display.
Not my pic, but mine looks just as beautiful:
My Pintail looks close to this right now:
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Myka
Valuable Member
This next one is a wild Aussie mini colony. I'm not sure how it will do, but I am hoping it will be ok. It looks like it will be a stunner. It has a green/teal base to it and bluish tips. It didn't like the Bayer dip.
This one I think looks like a spath, but I think it is a Bali piece which makes me think it must be papillare. I sent an email to the LFS to find out where it came from. It also didn't like the Bayer dip. It was much brighter.
rickybrooks05
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What is the first sps? Very cool
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Myka
Valuable Member
The vendor calls it "Cobalt Blue Tenuis". I actually picked that one up for a friend.
rickybrooks05
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Awesome stuff!
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Myka
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Since the Anthias wasn't liking the PraziPro in QT, I freshwater dipped him instead, and put him in the display last night. He's hiding under a rock right now. Hopefully he will do ok, and hopefully at some point I can get him eating my frozen mash so I can worm him orally instead. Right now he only eats frozen Cyclopeeze.
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Myka
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The Anthias didn't make it.
I've been experimenting with AcroPower. Before the mini-crash, I was dosing 1 cap (5 mL) every 2nd day plus a bunch of other foods as I was attempting to get some nutrients in the tank. I had been doing this for only 2 weeks when the mini-crash occurred, and I stopped all dosing at that point.
The directions on the AcroPower bottle say 5 mL per 25 gallons once a week or as often as daily. So I figure this time around I'll dose everyday since it's the only thing going into the tank at this point besides fish food, but keep it light. So I was dosing 2.5 mL every evening into 80 gallons of volume, so that's like less than 1/6th of the recommendation. On Monday morning I noticed cyano on the tip of one rock. Well crap! So I didn't dose on Monday or Tuesday evening and the cyano is gone now.
I'm going to try doing a larger dose once a week and see what happens. This should "flood" the water, let the Acros absorb it, then get it out of the system via skimmer. This should all happen pretty quickly, maybe a few hours. So the tank will have the AcroPower in it only once per week for a few hours rather than everyday for maybe an hour (guesstimating the times here). I'm thinking I'll try 1 cap (5 mL) once per week which is still less than 1/3 dose.
I've been experimenting with AcroPower. Before the mini-crash, I was dosing 1 cap (5 mL) every 2nd day plus a bunch of other foods as I was attempting to get some nutrients in the tank. I had been doing this for only 2 weeks when the mini-crash occurred, and I stopped all dosing at that point.
The directions on the AcroPower bottle say 5 mL per 25 gallons once a week or as often as daily. So I figure this time around I'll dose everyday since it's the only thing going into the tank at this point besides fish food, but keep it light. So I was dosing 2.5 mL every evening into 80 gallons of volume, so that's like less than 1/6th of the recommendation. On Monday morning I noticed cyano on the tip of one rock. Well crap! So I didn't dose on Monday or Tuesday evening and the cyano is gone now.
I'm going to try doing a larger dose once a week and see what happens. This should "flood" the water, let the Acros absorb it, then get it out of the system via skimmer. This should all happen pretty quickly, maybe a few hours. So the tank will have the AcroPower in it only once per week for a few hours rather than everyday for maybe an hour (guesstimating the times here). I'm thinking I'll try 1 cap (5 mL) once per week which is still less than 1/3 dose.
Not my pic, but mine looks just as beautiful:
Beautiful fish! Too bad it didnt make it! Hows the pintail?
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Myka
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Yeah, I'm disappointed about the Anthias. Two more were scheduled to arrive tomorrow, but they were shorted on the order. I'm ok with that. The Pintail is doing great in the display! It is the lowest on the pecking order - very passive, and it keeps its distance from the other fish. The Royal Gramma was bullying it a bit at first, but they seem to have sorted it out now.
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Myka
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The Anthias were shorted on the order, so that's kinda good I guess. My feelings aren't hurt.
My Pintail jumped out yesterday!!!!!
I have no idea how it got out.
It doesn't fit through the weir. It doesn't fit through the screen mesh. The screen wasn't off. The only thing I can think of is that it jumped out when I lifted the front of the screen to put food in, but I don't know why I wouldn't notice that.
RIP Pintail.
My Pintail jumped out yesterday!!!!!
RIP Pintail.
The Anthias were shorted on the order, so that's kinda good I guess. My feelings aren't hurt.
My Pintail jumped out yesterday!!!!!I have no idea how it got out.It doesn't fit through the weir. It doesn't fit through the screen mesh. The screen wasn't off. The only thing I can think of is that it jumped out when I lifted the front of the screen to put food in, but I don't know why I wouldn't notice that.
RIP Pintail.
Thats so sad
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Myka
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The Aussie Acro I picked up from Canada Corals 3 1/2 weeks ago is starting to color up in the last week. I think it is Acropora microclados, but I'm not sure. I think it's going to color up to be a Strawberry Shortcake type with blue tips. The tips are baby blue right now, but my picture doesn't show really show it.
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Myka
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Here's some pics from tonight of new goodies.
Humilis from Coral Master
A maricultured piece. I haven't tried to ID it yet. The tips are actually very bright blue, but my white balance took it out.
This it a frag from a maricultured piece that I'm told looked like an SSC when it came in. I'm interested to see what happens. Everything in my tank is pale, but it's pink with blue tips.
This is a brand new maricultured piece. It has faded quite a bit in the few days I've had it. At the LFS it had lots of pink/salmon in the tips, orange corallites, and green base. I can't wait for it to color up - I think it could be a real stunner.
This is a wild Aussie Acro. I haven't ID'd it. I got half, and Scythanith got the other half - appears to be a tabler. Solid lime green for now - not too exciting.
Maricultured "Wolverine".
Another wild Aussie Acro - tenuis I believe. It arrived at the LFS very pale. I was pretty sure it would RTN on the first night, but it's hanging on. Scythanith has the other half of this one too. The blue that is on the tips is cobalt color, and the center of the corallites is lime green. Lots of polyp extension near the base, but not much at the tips.
Humilis from Coral Master
A maricultured piece. I haven't tried to ID it yet. The tips are actually very bright blue, but my white balance took it out.
This it a frag from a maricultured piece that I'm told looked like an SSC when it came in. I'm interested to see what happens. Everything in my tank is pale, but it's pink with blue tips.
This is a brand new maricultured piece. It has faded quite a bit in the few days I've had it. At the LFS it had lots of pink/salmon in the tips, orange corallites, and green base. I can't wait for it to color up - I think it could be a real stunner.
This is a wild Aussie Acro. I haven't ID'd it. I got half, and Scythanith got the other half - appears to be a tabler. Solid lime green for now - not too exciting.
Maricultured "Wolverine".
Another wild Aussie Acro - tenuis I believe. It arrived at the LFS very pale. I was pretty sure it would RTN on the first night, but it's hanging on. Scythanith has the other half of this one too. The blue that is on the tips is cobalt color, and the center of the corallites is lime green. Lots of polyp extension near the base, but not much at the tips.
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