SPS STN?

[Risk1994]

My first go at SPS in my year old Reefer350...been a mixed bag. They were in QT for 76 days, then on a frag rack in DT for a couple weeks, then glued to rock about 2 weeks ago.

Chilli pepper monti 3 days apart.


birds nest 3 days apart...


parameters have been pretty stable...I dose all for reef and had to also start dosing nitrate/phosphate. Flow is fairly strong, ice cap gyre on one side and MP40 on the other, you can see their tentacles moving in the breeze. They're about 18" from the light (very roughly) 2 neptune sky at 45% for 8hrs. build thread in sig.

Salinity: 35ppt
alk: 7.9
ph: 8
nitrate: 10
phosphate: .07 - have to keep dosing this or it hits 0, bounces around some.
temp:78
(don't measure calcium/mag, I dose all for reef so those should be balanced)

 

[Risk1994]

Other corals I got at the same time seem to be doing well, my LPS/softies are doing very well....

 

[ScottB]

Your parameters now look just fine. A phosphate deficiency can be rougher on some SPS than others, but it can take weeks for that stress to show up. Also, some corals can't quite tolerate a "younger" biome. If a given piece or specie doesn't make it, try again in 4-5 months.

Lastly, back to phosphate. If you had a real 0 reading, it can take A LOT of PO4 solution to maintain a consistent measurable amount in the water. It is binding to your depleted rock and sand (aragonite). Once the rock is "saturated" to a point, you will be able to stop dosing all together. I dosed 2 liters before my 150lbs of rock was saturated enough to leave some PO4 in the water.

 

[Risk1994]

If you had a real 0 reading, it can take A LOT of PO4 solution to maintain a consistent measurable amount in the water. It is binding to your depleted rock and sand (aragonite). Once the rock is "saturated" to a point, you will be able to stop dosing all together. I dosed 2 liters before my 150lbs of rock was saturated enough to leave some PO4 in the water.

I think this is where I am. Needing to dose nitrates/phosphates daily to keep up. In the case of PO4 its harder to keep stable which probably isnt good either.

 

[jda]

Fishless QT can be very hard on SPS, or any corals.

If you have fish in the tank and are feeding them well, then you likely have enough N and P. Nitrate through ammonium. I would not chase any P unless you have a Hannah Ultra Low and it is truly at zero - my tanks range from 1-3 ppb and my corals are fine.

 

[ScottB]

IME feeding my fish sheets of nori creates a surplus of phosphates. So consider that. Obviously these are herbivores so no algae problems.

 

[trietnguyen000]

I just went through a similar STN event. All sps frags wiped. Multiple issues with my extremely low nutrients and low flow. I have since corrected these issues and have been wanting to add a sps again. I read that STN could be due to bacteria infection which is worrisome. Any input on how long I should wait before adding a sps frag again? Thanks.

 

[Lavey29]

76 days in QT for coral? And then introduced to a new environment? Not sure SPS will respond well there all the time so makes sense that a few are struggling with acclimation.

 

[vetteguy53081]

My first go at SPS in my year old Reefer350...been a mixed bag. They were in QT for 76 days, then on a frag rack in DT for a couple weeks, then glued to rock about 2 weeks ago.

Chilli pepper monti 3 days apart.


birds nest 3 days apart...


parameters have been pretty stable...I dose all for reef and had to also start dosing nitrate/phosphate. Flow is fairly strong, ice cap gyre on one side and MP40 on the other, you can see their tentacles moving in the breeze. They're about 18" from the light (very roughly) 2 neptune sky at 45% for 8hrs. build thread in sig.

Salinity: 35ppt
alk: 7.9
ph: 8
nitrate: 10
phosphate: .07 - have to keep dosing this or it hits 0, bounces around some.
temp:78
(don't measure calcium/mag, I dose all for reef so those should be balanced)

Not sure why you had them in both quarantine and QT for so long. The rule of 76 which is now 45 dayds applies to having a tank Fallow for fish disease and not coral. Coral is typically a dip followed by rinse in tank water and placement initially under lower lighting.
As for STN, stressors such as increased temperature can either modify the structure of the coral microbial symbiotic community or trigger the production of virulence factors. Temperature stress can increase chances of coral disease development in several ways by creating stress in the coral zooxanthellae and decreasing its resistance to infection, increasing growth and virulence of opportunistic coral pathogens, and decreasing the symbiotic bacteria in the coral mucus, thereby facilitating the growth of opportunistic and potentially pathogenic bacteria.

Some possible triggers of infection are:
- Alkalinity spike
- Temperature spike
- Salinity spike
- Low dissolved oxygen
- Poor water quality related with phosphate levels up to 5 ppm
- Change in water flow
- Additions of sand
- Changes in brand of salt
- Bad test kits giving faulty results
- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium
- Light intensity
- - Changes in water flow
- Addition of new corals
- - Pesticides
- Airborne Contaminants or sprays

 

[Risk1994]

Not sure why you had them in both quarantine and QT for so long. The rule of 76 which is now 45 dayds applies to having a tank Fallow for fish disease and not coral. Coral is typically a dip followed by rinse in tank water and placement initially under lower lighting.

Thanks for the reply...Quarantine and QT? I dont do both, I just do one thing.... all my inverts go in fishless QT for 76 days before going into DT (I dip them fist). The goal here is first and foremost to keep ich/velvet out of my DT. I 'd rather lose a few SPS in QT than wipe out my fish stock. If corals look ok after 76 days, into the DT they go.

Did you mention the rule of 76 is now 45? This is fantastic if true. My understanding from Humblefish forum is that it takes 76 days fishless to guarantee no ich/velvet can get through. I would LOVE this to be true but not sure what has changed.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the reply...Quarantine and QT? I dont do both, I just do one thing.... all my inverts go in fishless QT for 76 days before going into DT (I dip them fist). The goal here is first and foremost to keep ich/velvet out of my DT. I 'd rather lose a few SPS in QT than wipe out my fish stock. If corals look ok after 76 days, into the DT they go.

Did you mention the rule of 76 is now 45? This is fantastic if true. My understanding from Humblefish forum is that it takes 76 days fishless to guarantee no ich/velvet can get through. I would LOVE this to be true but not sure what has changed.

Yes- r
45 days and I generally recommend 45-60 days

 

[Risk1994]

- Additions of sand - Added about 4 cups of dry sand a couple months ago (diamond goby keep using it to build a mountain, also added a couple lbs of rock for hiding places for fish)

- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium - I just got back first ICP...low on Iodine (0), Potassium (362) . Ca was a little low also (410) and Mag (1252)

I have increased my dosing of All for Reef so Ca is more around 450 and Alk around 9. Also added Iodine and Potassium per Tritons guidlines. But this was all only in the last month or so. I assume those numbers were low for a while, I've never had an ICP before.