SPS losing tissue from the base up. Why?

[Dj City]

I have a 50gal Cube Reef that's been up and running for about 5 or 6 months.

I've had these SPS for about 2 months and they have been healthy.

I can't figure out what's happening or why or what to do about it.

I tested and all parameters are good.
I'm about to test again just to be sure.

Any ideas?
Any suggestions?

 

[Dj City]

Here are some pics of other coral for reference...

 

[Reefer Matt]

Looks like STN. A lot of things can cause it, but I’d start with testing alk twice a day. Once before the lights come on, and once at peak lighting in the middle of the day. This will give you a better picture of your tank’s daily alk swing, and help you determine if it’s an issue or not.

 

[Dj City]

I'm dropping about 1 dkh daily.
I'm trying to get my kalk reactor together so I can stop the swings.

Alk swings are not that bad but I wind up adjusting every few days.
I use seachem fusion 1 & 2 to bring levels back up.

 

[Dj City]

Looks like STN. A lot of things can cause it, but I’d start with testing alk twice a day. Once before the lights come on, and once at peak lighting in the middle of the day. This will give you a better picture of your tank’s daily alk swing, and help you determine if it’s an issue or not.

How do I STOP this???

 

[bradreef]

How do I STOP this???

You can cut a bit above the dead tissue. It's a coin toss after that. Your tank is very new for SPS and that is likely why.

 

[Reefer Matt]

How do I STOP this???

Nothing for sure can stop it. Sometimes they stop on their own, sometimes not. Fragging above the dead tissue and remounting might work. I would stabilize the alk, a doser can help with that. Try to get it within a .5 dkh or less swing a day. What is the reading and test kit? Lighting and flow are the next things I’d check.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Need more info on the alk swings. Also need to know the other major's (Cal/Mag/NO3/PO4). PO4 and Salinity swings can also do this. The more info the better to help us diagnose the issue.

 

[Dj City]

Parameters as of 4 hours ago

Alk...........7.6 (Hanna)
Cal...........380 (API)
pH...........8.4 (Hydros)
P04..........Above zero / well under 0.25 (API)
N03.........10 (API) / skimmer problems
Salinity....0.124 (Refractometer)
Temp......78.7 (Hydros)
ORP........338 (Hydros)

I'll adjusted alk and cal back to 9dkh and 420 cal.

I can't get my kalk reactor right!
I'm about to switch to AFR since i really don't have a pH problem.

I just want to save me corals. .

 

[Lavey29]

The daily alk swings combined with a new tank at 5 months creates enough instability to make sustaining SPS corals difficult. Your tank will be much more stable and ready after a year if you do your part. Have you par mapped your tank?

 

[divewsharks]

Whats up with the KALK reactor? Whats not working? What brand is it?
Is your Alk usually at 9dkh? You don't have to have a PH problem to use KALK, its just one of the options for supplementation - the cheapest option until it can't handle the load.

 

[Dj City]

Whats up with the KALK reactor? Whats not working? What brand is it?
Is your Alk usually at 9dkh? You don't have to have a PH problem to use KALK, its just one of the options for supplementation - the cheapest option until it can't handle the load.

The placement of my kalk reactor is my issue.
I have the Avast Marine K2. I have it sitting in a cabinet next to the tank.
The downward angle is slight and sometimes it doesn't dispense enough.
I've been tracking my consumption daily for the past 2 weeks and I'm at about 1dkh a day.
Getting the kalk reactor to dispense has been the issue.
I just started yesterday.

The reef is young but with old everything from my 180gal reef that i broke down.

Sand, rock and bio media are about 8 years old.

I'm thinking of getting pvc pipe for the kalk reactor to ensure constant downward momentum.
I think i have a flat spot somewhere where the kalk gets caught up and/or my pump isn't doing it's job effectively.
I hope to figure that out today.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

It's the swings that are killing the frags. Been there, done that.

Do you have any type of dosing pumps? Why not go with a 2 or 3 part type of dosing method prior to any of those acros being anymore than small frags. Even if you have that kalk stirrer dialed in, it's VERY easy to mess that up and creating a disaster. Move to kalk or combination when your demand is far outpacing what is viable/economical with 2 part dosing.

If I were you, I would get a couple of decent dosing pumps and use BRS Soda Ash and CACO3 for Alk/Cal and find exactly what amount your tank needs daily and dose to that. It will take a week or so of trial and error, but once you dial that in, changes should only occur ~weekly and alk especially will be rock steady preventing those swings. Going from 7.5 to 9+ in a single correction will absolutely RTN sensitive acro frags. Same goes with nutrients. API test kits are very meh in my experience. Salifert is a step up, but Hanna Alk/NO3/PO4 are very good, and Salifert for Cal/Mag is acceptable.

Keep your 5 majors rock steady, and you will see progress.

 

[Dj City]

It's the swings that are killing the frags. Been there, done that.

Do you have any type of dosing pumps? Why not go with a 2 or 3 part type of dosing method prior to any of those acros being anymore than small frags. Even if you have that kalk stirrer dialed in, it's VERY easy to mess that up and creating a disaster. Move to kalk or combination when your demand is far outpacing what is viable/economical with 2 part dosing.

If I were you, I would get a couple of decent dosing pumps and use BRS Soda Ash and CACO3 for Alk/Cal and find exactly what amount your tank needs daily and dose to that. It will take a week or so of trial and error, but once you dial that in, changes should only occur ~weekly and alk especially will be rock steady preventing those swings. Going from 7.5 to 9+ in a single correction will absolutely RTN sensitive acro frags. Same goes with nutrients. API test kits are very meh in my experience. Salifert is a step up, but Hanna Alk/NO3/PO4 are very good, and Salifert for Cal/Mag is acceptable.

Keep your 5 majors rock steady, and you will see progress.

I hopefully have my kalk reactor dialed in now.
I had to change some angles and recalibrate the dosing pump.

I've got my levels re-set at alk 9.2 and cal at 440.
I'm going to continue testing the kalk reactor throughout today and let the reef naturally eat the alk and cal.
My plan is to test again tonight and once my alk hits between 8.6 and 9...
Set the kalk reactor to maintain.

I should be dosing 75ml 23 times a day. That replaces app 1 dkh per day.

If i can get the alk swings under control, will that stop the STN?

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Potentially! If the RTN events are still happening and you have a history documented of your levels being steady, then you move on to other things like contaminants or rogue metals being leached like Neodymium.

 

[Dj City]

Potentially! If the RTN events are still happening and you have a history documented of your levels being steady, then you move on to other things like contaminants or rogue metals being leached like Neodymium.

This is not happening to all my coral.
I would like to hunt down the reason and correct whatever is happening.

I'm not a fan of API tests but they do get you in the ballpark. I've never been one to chase numbers. I just need to to stay in safe ranges. API is good enough for that.

I'm trying to wait for the Hydros Maven to drop.
I've always had a neptune trident but I no longer have a base unit to run it. (Lost in a move).

My N03 recently went up due to a skimmer issue but again, I'm still in a "safe" range.

I should be able to stabilize alk swings as of tonight or tomorrow depending on today's consumption.

 

[Dj City]

My kalk reactor set up

The white(ish) tube on the left is the feed from the kalk reactor to the sump.
The downward angle is not optional but...
It works.

 

[X-37B]

Sometimes coral just stn and you never find out why. If the rest of the system is good I would just focus on stability.

That said alk is fine, bring up ca to 400+ easy to do.

Why 1.024 sg? Is it stable?
1.026-1.027 target range is best.
What is the actual po4#?
Get a TM hydrometer to compare against the refractometer.

Also fragging it may stop the issue but does not always work.

 

[exnisstech]

Sometimes this just happens. RTN and STN are the worst part of keeping acros for me. I've had this happen more on fresh cut frags that were not allowed to heal in the system they grew in. I now only buy frags that are encrusting the plug. I'm no expert but when they start to die from the base the only option I know is to cut and reglue then say a prayer to the SPS gods.

 

[Dj City]

Sometimes coral just stn and you never find out why. If the rest of the system is good I would just focus on stability.

Why 1.024 sg? Is it stable?
1.026-1.027 target range is best.
What is the actual po4#?
Get a TM hydrometer to compare against the refractometer.

Hey my friend...
1.024 is the result of a skimmer issue.
I'll be re-adjusting that back up to 1.026 today.

As far as p04, I have no real idea. I use API which frankly SUCKS for p04!
I've figured that if I can get any reading at all from ambient API p04 test then my p04 is probably too high.
My test reads pretty much zero. Just a slight hair above zero which should put me in a pretty good range.
I also know I'm not at zero because I have bubble algae (different fight, different thread).

Overall, the reef is doing great!
If I can get my alk stable with the kalk reactor, I should be back on track!