New to Acros, not going well. :( Any help appreciated!

[X-37B]

He has a swing of 2° in 15+ minutes with his chiller. 2° over the course of a day is ok.
His temp drops 2° then goes up 2° multiple times a day.
Probably not the issue bit not something I would want.

 

[Formidableone14]

0 phosphates at an alk of 9 should never be anyone's goal.

I said 0 phosphate really? Odd bc I dont think I did, matter of fact I said near 0. and gave an example of .02

 

[X-37B]

I said 0 phosphate really? Odd bc I dont think I did, matter of fact I said near 0. and gave an example of .02

I agree at "near zero" too.
I still like alk closer to 7.

 

[Chaz D]

I said 0 phosphate really? Odd bc I dont think I did, matter of fact I said near 0. and gave an example of .02

I wouldn't feel comfortable at 0, near 0, or .02 at an alk of 9.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Two things stand out: 1) Moving new corals directly into 350 PAR; and 2) High alkalinity to nutrient ratio. I would guess that the high Alk probably lead to the burnt tips and the RTN was caused by the sudden introduction to strong lighting.

Don't abandon the calcium reactor, just slow it down. You could even turn off the CO2 while you're dropping the alkalinity. Use a low alk salt like Red Sea (Blue) if you can't find Tropic Marin, and do some bigger water changes for a while. Get your alk between 7-8 dKh. Then, if required, add CO2 to the reactor to maintain that level.

When you add SPS corals start them at the bottom edges of the tank and slowly move them up and into the light. I usually try to have them in low light for at least a week and then move them up a few inches a week until I get them where they are going to live.

I think your N & P levels are fine.

 

[Formidableone14]

I wouldn't feel comfortable at 0, near 0, or .02 at an alk of 9.

Awesome sauce for ya!! Personally it works with me as well as others. So to each their own I guess.

 

[Shinister]

Im thinking its the lights as well. Are the lights you're using the same ones you've been using before getting into SPS? How are you measuring PAR?

Every tank is different but my acros have gone through 3-4 dkh swings (doser malfunctioned so had to manually raise it), had my alk as high as 11.5 with 5ppm of nitrates, phosphates range from 0-0.04, never acclimated any of my corals. None of my corals (90% SPS) batted an eye. I currently keep them at alk of 9.5-10 with 2.5-5ppm of nitrates and I rarely test for phosphates but it was at 0.03 when i checked a month ago

 

[ScottB]

Late to the party but read the whole thread. I agree with the consensus view of ALK versus nutrient.

The cliche of "many ways to run a reef" is correct. When trying to decide your ratios of ALK to nutrient, I suggest you look into the parameters run by the acro vendors you choose.

My preferred vendors all run about the same levels. (These are all names we know and like around here on R2R.)
ALK - 8-8.5
NO3 5-10
PO4 .05 - .10

So you can guess where I keep my levels. Actually, I run even dirtier that that most of the time.

That all said, if we were in Europe, most of the vendors would be running Red Sea or Zeovit methods with higher ALK and carbon based nutrient management and coral supplements.

 

[RTL]

Im thinking its the lights as well. Are the lights you're using the same ones you've been using before getting into SPS? How are you measuring PAR?

Every tank is different but my acros have gone through 3-4 dkh swings (doser malfunctioned so had to manually raise it), had my alk as high as 11.5 with 5ppm of nitrates, phosphates range from 0-0.04, never acclimated any of my corals. None of my corals (90% SPS) batted an eye. I currently keep them at alk of 9.5-10 with 2.5-5ppm of nitrates and I rarely test for phosphates but it was at 0.03 when i checked a month ago

Hey Shinister,

Lights are the same but these are the first corals in the tank. I picked up a MP-510 PAR meter a while back when first setting up the tank and have measured at various depths many times.

Corals were all started on a frag rack that I moved up the wall from the bottom to ~50% of the midpoint of the tank. Definitely still could be a light issue, not ruling it out by any means. Any idea how quickly strong light could cause RTN? I think the one that died made it for a few weeks at its current location before dying.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[RTL]

Two things stand out: 1) Moving new corals directly into 350 PAR; and 2) High alkalinity to nutrient ratio. I would guess that the high Alk probably lead to the burnt tips and the RTN was caused by the sudden introduction to strong lighting.

Don't abandon the calcium reactor, just slow it down. You could even turn off the CO2 while you're dropping the alkalinity. Use a low alk salt like Red Sea (Blue) if you can't find Tropic Marin, and do some bigger water changes for a while. Get your alk between 7-8 dKh. Then, if required, add CO2 to the reactor to maintain that level.

When you add SPS corals start them at the bottom edges of the tank and slowly move them up and into the light. I usually try to have them in low light for at least a week and then move them up a few inches a week until I get them where they are going to live.

I think your N & P levels are fine.

This is about where I am after everyone's feedback. I turned down the Ca++ reactor slightly last night and will continue to monitor alk levels. I'll also pick up some low alk salt today (unfortunately not Tropic, but will likely make the switch to them in the future).

As for the lighting, I did acclimate them over 2 weeks on a frag rack I moved up the tank - it sounds like that's too fast though. I'll move them more slowly next time. They seemed to be OK for some time before the one RTN'd. Any idea how long it would take after introduciton to high lighting to cause RTN?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Shinister]

Hey Shinister,

Lights are the same but these are the first corals in the tank. I picked up a MP-510 PAR meter a while back when first setting up the tank and have measured at various depths many times.

Corals were all started on a frag rack that I moved up the wall from the bottom to ~50% of the midpoint of the tank. Definitely still could be a light issue, not ruling it out by any means. Any idea how quickly strong light could cause RTN? I think the one that died made it for a few weeks at its current location before dying.

Thanks for the feedback!

Not sure how quickly lights cause RTN but I dont think those parameters would cause RTN. Irritation maybe but not dying. Are you using hand sanitizers? If so, are you rinsing your hands before going into the tank? Just thought I'd ask since theres a pandemic going on. Cant think of anything else. Unless your tank is brand new (new setup/newly cycled).

 

[X-37B]

One other thing.
Bacterial disease could be the issue.
I had 1 frag doing well with all 50 others. Started to see stn on the bottom. After 3 days of the area getting bigger I removed it and fragged it into 3 large pieces and diaposed of the bad area.
All frags doing well and I put one back into my 120 from the frag tank.
I have read of this on many posts and did not wait for it to spread to others if thats even possible.
Just a thought.

 

[ReefGeezer]

This is about where I am after everyone's feedback. I turned down the Ca++ reactor slightly last night and will continue to monitor alk levels. I'll also pick up some low alk salt today (unfortunately not Tropic, but will likely make the switch to them in the future).

As for the lighting, I did acclimate them over 2 weeks on a frag rack I moved up the tank - it sounds like that's too fast though. I'll move them more slowly next time. They seemed to be OK for some time before the one RTN'd. Any idea how long it would take after introduciton to high lighting to cause RTN?

Thanks for the input!

SPS Corals are just fickle and can react quickly to stress. Some might bleach or RTN overnight. Remember, you added two stressors, lighting and alkalinity. Don't feel lonely. We've all done it. It's part of the learning curve.

As for acclimating lighting... Particularly If you are using LED, the light is more intense toward the center of the fixture. As you move coral up the glass on a frag rack, you may actually be reducing light. Might not be the case here, but it is something to consider.