SPS always dying

[kkp]

My tank has been running since approx June 2020.
Red Sea reefer 250 with 2 AI 32 HD lights

Over the past few months, I’ve atttempted to place SPS frags in the tank with no success.

At first, they seem fine. But after a few weeks they all seem to begin to whiten and take on STN. Dying shortly after

My Chalice corals are very slowly receding as well

My Alk and CAL are stable.
Alk between 8.1-8.3
Cal between 420-440

I recently tested phosphate and it was at 0.055 or 18PPB.

mushrooms and other soft corals seem to be fine.

Currently, I am using ROX carbon. I have recently read a thread stating how ROX could be the cause and to use a lower grade.

my temperature stays between 78.2 and 79.1

If anyone has any advice in regards to why SPS aren’t working for my tank please post!!!

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

How about flow?
Did you start with dry rock?
Are you dosing?
I would say without seeing anything your system is just still young but chalices shouldn't be receding as most are pretty hardy.

 

[DC Reefer]

Welcome to R2R.
Some things to consider:
1 - what is your Nitrate? Should be higher than 0 - I like .5-3ppm for a newer tank.
2 - Have you tested your PAR for your lights. I am not familiar with those lights but have heard good things and I think they should be sufficient.
3 - How much flow do you have in your tank - I find flow is very important for SPS health.
4 - Rox carbon - I run the Rox in a reactor in my SPS tank (1 cup for 190 gallons of system volume) and replace it every two weeks and have not had issue with SPS.

The only time I have had issues in my current SPS tank was due to an ALk swing (dosing tubing for CA RX wore out) and when my phosphate dropped to 0.

Would also be good to see a picture of your tank and where you are placing the SPS.

 

[kkp]

I tried hardier SPS as well. Birdsnest, monti, etc.

For flow I have 2 Red Sea ReefWave 25 on either side. I’m planning to add 2 other smaller pumps as well.

Started with dry rock but mixed in some love rock as well.

I have apex and am using the DOS to dose evenly throughout the day. As of now, not much is going in because there aren’t many corals (keep dying lol)

How long does one usually have to wait before coraalline algae is seen?

how long before tank is suitable for SPS?

 

[kkp]

Welcome to R2R.
Some things to consider:
1 - what is your Nitrate? Should be higher than 0 - I like .5-3ppm for a newer tank.
2 - Have you tested your PAR for your lights. I am not familiar with those lights but have heard good things and I think they should be sufficient.
3 - How much flow do you have in your tank - I find flow is very important for SPS health.
4 - Rox carbon - I run the Rox in a reactor in my SPS tank (1 cup for 190 gallons of system volume) and replace it every two weeks and have not had issue with SPS.

The only time I have had issues in my current SPS tank was due to an ALk swing (dosing tubing for CA RX wore out) and when my phosphate dropped to 0.

Would also be good to see a picture of your tank and where you are placing the SPS.

Can’t give you an immediate answer for nitrate. I’m going to grab a Hanna nitrate kit (unless there’s a better kit) to test tonight.

Par has not been checked and I’ve also looked into renting one.

1 cup for 190G??? How did you determine that amount? My tank isn’t nearly that size. Maybe I’m using too much? Would too much have an impact on corals?

 

[ScottB]

Your situation is a VERY common one -- one that I have read here every day for years. So, you have a lot of good company .

"My parameters are perfect and steady, I have coralline algae, and I still kill every SPS I put in!"

If you started the tank in June with real live rock, then you have to be getting very close to a mature enough biome to keep SPS alive. Add a simple (and cheap) montipora or green slimer a month from now.

While there are not common means of measuring, our young biomes are really all over the place in terms of competing bacteria, algae, microfauna, sponges, critters. It can take 12-24 months before a comfortable stasis arrives that can support SPS.

Yes, there are exceptions and exceptional reefers that come out of the gates much faster. But they are exceptions.

Just keep your basic husbandry patterns going strong and try again in a bit.


* edit, I see you seeded some live rock

 

[kkp]

Your situation is a VERY common one -- one that I have read here every day for years. So, you have a lot of good company .

"My parameters are perfect and steady, I have coralline algae, and I still kill every SPS I put in!"

If you started the tank in June with real live rock, then you have to be getting very close to a mature enough biome to keep SPS alive. Add a simple (and cheap) montipora or green slimer a month from now.

While there are not common means of measuring, our young biomes are really all over the place in terms of competing bacteria, algae, microfauna, sponges, critters. It can take 12-24 months before a comfortable stasis arrives that can support SPS.

Yes, there are exceptions and exceptional reefers that come out of the gates much faster. But they are exceptions.

Just keep your basic husbandry patterns going strong and try again in a bit.


* edit, I see you seeded some live rock

Currently, I don’t have any coralline algae (that I can see). So that should have been my first hint but I wasted my $$ anyways lol.... couldn’t help it.

Thank for the insight.
Out of curiosity, is there any positive impact on only “seeding” live rock and not going full out?

 

[ScottB]

Currently, I don’t have any coralline algae (that I can see). So that should have been my first hint but I wasted my $$ anyways lol.... couldn’t help it.

Thank for the insight.
Out of curiosity, is there any positive impact on only “seeding” live rock and not going full out?

Avoid expensive SPS for a while, and keep an eye out for little pink circles popping up on your plastics and glass.

You should be able to keep a nice hardy LPS like a Duncan. Maybe try one of those? They are fun to hand feed Mysis to.

 

[DC Reefer]

Can’t give you an immediate answer for nitrate. I’m going to grab a Hanna nitrate kit (unless there’s a better kit) to test tonight.

Par has not been checked and I’ve also looked into renting one.

1 cup for 190G??? How did you determine that amount? My tank isn’t nearly that size. Maybe I’m using too much? Would too much have an impact on corals?

I use the BRS calculator for ROX carbon. It says 1.2 cups for 190gal. I just do a heaping cup. Not sure too much will hurt anything. Also make sure you rinse it prior to using. I run my reactor into a bucket for a slow 15 count to rinse my carbon. Also make sure the water is clear at the end of the count. One thing good about the rox is it rinses quick.

Aquarium and Reef Calculators - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Brian_68]

How many soft corals do you have? My SPS never did well until I removed the leathers as I had way too many.

 

[Brew12]

With SPS, I feel that lower PAR and higher nutrients make for a more friendly introduction. But, as @ScottB was getting at, dry rock can cause issues regardless of parameters. They either absorb or release phosphates (releasing being the lesser of the 2 evils imo) along with other chemical equilibrium issues.

 

[I’m Batman]

Took me 3 years to see coraline...

 

[SifuMemphis]

Can’t give you an immediate answer for nitrate. I’m going to grab a Hanna nitrate kit (unless there’s a better kit) to test tonight.

Par has not been checked and I’ve also looked into renting one.

1 cup for 190G??? How did you determine that amount? My tank isn’t nearly that size. Maybe I’m using too much? Would too much have an impact on corals?

One thing I heard about ROX carbon, is that it's extremely strong, and worth going under the recommended amount. In my 150, I went with the 1/2 cup per 50 gallon recommendation I think, and it did such a great job that it stripped out ALOT of stuff, which essentially caused some STN. I switched to a "lower quality" carbon, and thing's seem to be getting better. Too soon to tell if it's the carbon or not, but from what other threads have mentioned, it could be the case that it's stripping out too much elements.

 

[kkp]

I use the BRS calculator for ROX carbon. It says 1.2 cups for 190gal. I just do a heaping cup. Not sure too much will hurt anything. Also make sure you rinse it prior to using. I run my reactor into a bucket for a slow 15 count to rinse my carbon. Also make sure the water is clear at the end of the count. One thing good about the rox is it rinses quick.

Aquarium and Reef Calculators - Bulk Reef Supply

Bulk Reef Supply - Saltwater Aquarium Supplies for Reef Tanks

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I didnt know there was a calculator... lol... thanks for the tip!!!

How many soft corals do you have? My SPS never did well until I removed the leathers as I had way too many.

Not too many... i think ill start to introduce more now since i wont be buying SPS for a while.

With SPS, I feel that lower PAR and higher nutrients make for a more friendly introduction. But, as @ScottB was getting at, dry rock can cause issues regardless of parameters. They either absorb or release phosphates (releasing being the lesser of the 2 evils imo) along with other chemical equilibrium issues.

Do you recommend taking out all dry rock and replacing them with live rock? is there a point to that?

Took me 3 years to see coraline...

IS there any particular reason it took you that long? or it just happened to be so?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

What’s your hydra schedule?
How many fish do you have and how much do you feed them?

 

[Brew12]

Do you recommend taking out all dry rock and replacing them with live rock? is there a point to that?

I don't. Some dry rock works great in a few months, other takes longer, but just stay the course imo and keep trying a cheap frag every month until one takes.

 

[danieyella]

I played this game for awhile, with a ton of coralline growing. Sps would do great for a couple weeks, sometimes even months but with no growth, then just bam - dead. I could never figure it out. I finally sent off an icp and realized that while ca, alk, mag, nitrates, phos, ph were all showing stable and within target ranges, some of the other elements were wayyyy out of wack. Some super high, some super low, etc. Once I got all of that stabilized my sps started doing better. I have *not* added any new since then but have seen the few that were "okay" (brown, gross, not pretty by any stretch) color up and begin to grow pretty significantly. I'm still afraid to add more, but I broke one of the acros on accident and glued the broken piece in - it's growing as well.

 

[kkp]

What’s your hydra schedule?
How many fish do you have and how much do you feed them?

My schedule is based off Saxby's signature. I modified it a bit. currently 10am-10pm with majority of the time being ramp up/down.

I don't. Some dry rock works great in a few months, other takes longer, but just stay the course imo and keep trying a cheap frag every month until one takes.

Mine have just started to take on algea... looks like Diatoms??

 

[Brew12]

My schedule is based off Saxby's signature. I modified it a bit. currently 10am-10pm with majority of the time being ramp up/down.

Mine have just started to take on algea... looks like Diatoms??

Patience is a wonderful thing! I would consider that a good sign.

 

[kkp]

I played this game for awhile, with a ton of coralline growing. Sps would do great for a couple weeks, sometimes even months but with no growth, then just bam - dead. I could never figure it out. I finally sent off an icp and realized that while ca, alk, mag, nitrates, phos, ph were all showing stable and within target ranges, some of the other elements were wayyyy out of wack. Some super high, some super low, etc. Once I got all of that stabilized my sps started doing better. I have *not* added any new since then but have seen the few that were "okay" (brown, gross, not pretty by any stretch) color up and begin to grow pretty significantly. I'm still afraid to add more, but I broke one of the acros on accident and glued the broken piece in - it's growing as well.

So i guess you recommend this ICP test? Which elements were out of whack and how did you manage to change it? any specific products?