Newb with SPS - Issue?

E.intheC

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Disclaimer- I’m a relative SPS newbie but I’ve been reefing since 2007/2008.

I have a 120 gallon display with a 55 gallon sump.

Lighting- ATI T5 6 bulb fixture with 4 blue+, an actinic bulb, and a coral+. I also have a 4 ft LED supplemental light.

Flow- 3x MP10s and and MP40 for flow, coupled with my Eheim 1262 return pump.

Filtration- ATB 840 skimmer and I use a small amount of carbon and GFO in a Tunze Reactor. I also have a small UV sterilizer. Tunze ATO for salinity related stability.

I also have an Apex controller and Trident (which is awesome by the way).

The tank has been up and running since February.

My Alk stays rock-steady at 8.4 and calcium is around 380. I’m trying to slowly raise that to above 400, though. Mag is aprx 1250.

My nitrates and phosphates are close to zero. I test regularly but the Salifert test kit isn’t great IMO. It’s consistent, as far as I can tell. pH is generally 8.1 - 8.2.

I change about 5 gallons per week with new salt water.

With that out of the way- here’s the “issue”. I just traded for 8-9 SPS frags. Mostly acros, millis, poci’s etc.

I have had a red digitata in the tank for a month or so. It’s doing fine. Nothing crazy regarding growth etc yet.

When I first dropped the new frags in the tank, they looked phenomenal. Over the past day or two though they have “dulled”. Not browned out really, not bleached, etc. just not as vibrant as before.

I’m curious if this is normal and I’m being OCD or if it’s something I should worry about.
 

vetteguy53081

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Bring CA to 450

Mag- 1300
Alk 8-9
Salinity 1.025
temp 77-79
ph 8.1-8.3

How did you acclimate coral?
Did you turn lights to acclimation mode or down to low blue and slowly ramp them up?
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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Bring CA to 450

Mag- 1300
Alk 8-9
Salinity 1.025
temp 77-79
ph 8.1-8.3

How did you acclimate coral?
Did you turn lights to acclimation mode or down to low blue and slowly ramp them up?

It’s a T5 fixture so unfortunately no acclimation mode. In this case though, the previous owner had a T5 fixture as well, so I’m not sure how useful that would be.
 

schuby

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IME, phosphates close to or at zero will kill SPS over time. They will starve to death. I aim for a lowest value of 0.1 ppm.

In general, as your Alk goes above 7-7.5 dKH, your phosphate levels should likely be higher, too. The reason is that higher Alk promotes faster skeletal growth in SPS and the higher phosphate is needed for the SPS "skin" to grow as fast as skeleton. When the skeleton grows faster than the skin, you get "burnt tips" on SPS (very typical in higher Alk, lower phosphate tanks).

If you have a lot of fish and low phosphates, you have more of a buffer against burnt tips because of the flow of nutrients through your system. Few fish (and low flow of nutrients) equals a higher risk or burnt tips, STN, and RTN when maintaining low phosphate levels.

As you've had a reef since 2008, you should already know the dangers of zero phosphate and zero nitrate for the overall tank health.

Magnesium and potassium are also important for SPS. This is my baseline guide for elements: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/optim...oral-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.79/

Get decent test-kits for Alk, Calcium, Phosphate, Nitrate, Magnesium, and potassium. I test Alk 3x-a-week, Phosphate 2x-a-week, Nitrate once-a-week, and the others every month or three. Salinity I check every week with refractometer.

Primary importance is stability. Make changes slowly. You may lose some or all of your first SPS. Don't give up. If they all survive for more than six months, you've done exceptionally well. Good luck!
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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Thanks for the help all.

I don’t fully trust that my phosphates are at zero. I see very little (if any algae) lately, but the salifert test kit I use isn’t great IMO. I’ll have to get refills for my Hanna low range phosphate checker and see where I’m really at.

Zero nitrate and phosphate was not actually the goal. I trend toward higher nutrients but I guess with my current low fish-load they’re staying closer to zero than I would like. Maybe another fish or two would help.

Luckily I have a Trident, which tests Alk 4x per day and Calcium and Magnesium 2x per day. The trident really helped me adjust the dosing pumps properly, and it’s nice to get a daily reading of those parameters.

I think I’ll keep an eye on the SPS and feed my fish a bit more to slowly raise the nutrient levels in the tank.

Thanks again.
 
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E.intheC

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My frags are maintaining, so far. Not looking worse but not looking a ton better. I’m slowly raising the nutrient levels via increased feeding.

I have a dumb question. My frags are all small. I do have a few decent - sized LPS corals that are doing well but haven’t grown much either. They’re slower growers so their lack of growth doesn’t concern me really. I don’t see any increase in coralline algae.

Why is my tank still going through alk and calcium? I will get the exact amounts later but I’m dosing something like 50ml of BRS two-part Calcium and more than 50ml of their Alk solution each day.

My alk doesn’t move at all. The lowest it’s been over the past few days (again checked with my trident) is 8.4 and the highest is 8.5. The calcium has slowly dropped from 380 to 355. Where is all this going if there’s no coral-growth or new coralline algae.
 

schuby

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Your calcium and alk could be precipitating. What is your magnesium level? I believe that recommended magnesium levels allow for higher calcium and alk levels without precipitation.
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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That might be happening too. I don’t see any precipitation - would I actually see anything?

Mg is 1233. I don’t have magnesium to dose separately, currently. I have been relying on my BRS dosing and weekly water changes.
 

schuby

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Your Mg isn't excessively low. Recommended level is 1250-1350ppm. I prefer mine 1300+.

I'm not familiar with your 2-part, but 50ml/day seems like a lot for what you've described. Are you confident that your Ca and Alk 2-part solutions are well-mixed? One of the two I use (has to be diluted) takes a lot of effort to fully dissolve.

If you dose into your sump and it is precipitating, then you should see a build-up of a hard, white substance on the side and/or bottom of the sump chamber. That's what I saw. It could also be happening in your return pump (this would force you to clean/de-calcify it more often).

To reduce the likelihood of precipitation, I dose my Ca and Alk 2-part about 5 minutes apart.

Have you tried lowering your Alk dosing to see if you Alkalinity level drops?
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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Thanks for the help - the 2 part solution is dosed into the first section of the sump, which is pretty turbulent and kind of out of sight, so it might be precipitating without me noticing.

Before I added the SPS corals, I noticed my Alk was at 5.3, and slowly raised it to 8.3. Once it hit that level I lowered the amount I was dosing. So I think the alk mixture is working. I’ll check the calcium solution though.
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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Just throwing this out there - I was wrong about the amount of 2 part.. rather than adding 50mls it was closer to 30 mls each. I upped the calcium to 45 mls per day.
 

schuby

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My advice still stands.

IMO, your attention to detail and willingness to ask questions are very good assets for a successful tank.
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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Let’s hope it translates to some nice SPS corals!

Again I appreciate the assistance (and patience).
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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The frags are the same/some have slightly less color than before but not crazy.

Tomorrow I’m picking up a 35ish gallon tank. The idea is to plumb to the tank into my existing setup. This will increase overall water volume, and allow me to separate the existing LPS corals from the SPS in the main display.

I’m also considering increasing the flow in the tank. I have two extra Tunze 6095s that I can add. I’ll likely remove one or two of the mp10s because I don’t need 6 powerheads in my tank lol.
 
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E.intheC

E.intheC

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Alk is up to 8.5, calcium is 402 and slowly rising. Mg is about 1250. I’ve increased feeding a bit, and on Saturday I added 3 small Bartlett anthias to the display.

SPS is slowly getting better. I won’t make any other changes for a few weeks.

This thread is helpful to keep me on track on focused
 

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i have gone crazy on the frag purchases lately, mostly sps. I will say that they look great day one, then "adjust" for a week or 3 .. then start to come back to a healthy color (though a few never seem to get back to the "online" pics).. but lets be honest, lights and filters can play a part.
 
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E.intheC

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Today I transferred the LPS and Soft corals to the 34 gallon tank. Since there’s only SPS in the 120, I’ll slowly increase the flow and will exchange one of my MP10s for a Tunze 6095 I have left over. I’ll probably setup the extra MP10 on the 34 gallon LPS.

I’d also like to transfer some of the sand from the 120 to the 34 gallon.
 

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