SPS & the missing link?

[dave57]

Many of us want a healthy thriving reef, however a lot of us become lost in a sea of issues that seems like there is no end to the frustration when trying to keep sps.

I’ve been trying to keep my sps happy, alive, colorful, thriving. It’s been challenging and have been struggling and need your advice.

I have a 525XL reefer it’s about 100 gallons display been running for two years.

LIGHTING: 2x Hydra 52HD running 12 hours 3 hour ramps. Measured with apogee MQ-510 14K spectrum par at 250-300 above acros.
FLOW: 4 pp-8 jabeo pumps
FILTRATION: cheato refugium lit by Kessil H380 12 hours reverse daylight. Cheato not doing so well. Nitrates 2-12 have been fluctuating quite a bit. Phosphates 0.02-0.1 fluctuating as well. Dosing bacteria (probidio on occasion) just recently dosed vibrant as well as some vodka to bring levels down some bit???

Testing with redsea, and Hanna ulr phosphate

PARAMETERS: S.G. 1.026 CA 420, MG 1340, ALK 7.8-8.4 on dosing pump using esv bionic two part. Parameters have been fairly stable just last week my alk jumped to 9 over a period of 3 days due to refill of dosing containers.

Haven’t been able to stabilize my nutrients and have been dealing with gha outbreak for the past six months. Been siphoning it out and did 30% water change after chemiclean treatment after a recent cyano bloom.

FEEDING: rods food daily (quarter size) for my 10 fish just recently changed to LRS fish frenzy
On occasion I feed coral frenzy small amount weekly
Recently bought oyster feast, phytoplankton and tisbe pods for the sps

ALGAE: been battling gha for 6 months, siphon algae every other week, tried flucanazole, vibrant (recent), Redfield Ratio, gfo, carbon dosing, bacteria dosing (probidio) blackout 3 days, sea hare, clean up crews,

CORALS: sps have been looking pale, not much polyp extension as when I bought the frags, some doing okay others not so okay. My average par above my corals is around 200. Lps softies doing great.

Its frustrating not being able to find a happy balance where the sps are happy colorful and thriving here are some pics of my corals. I hope I can find the answer to making them thrive thank you!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Try some zen.

Get more snails and a tooth brush.
Maybe a pretty little urchin.

Only test alk.

Feed fish healthfully. Rotate foods. Stop with all the coral food and stuff unless ya have a bunch of really weird stuff like I do.

Your not having problems.
Your watching a tank mature.
Your learning things.
Next year , your tank will act a little differently.
You’ll learn new things.
(I hope you don’t learn bryopsis)

 

[dave57]

Try some zen.

Get more snails and a tooth brush.
Maybe a pretty little urchin.

Only test alk.

Feed fish healthfully. Rotate foods. Stop with all the coral food and stuff unless ya have a bunch of really weird stuff like I do.

Your not having problems.
Your watching a tank mature.
Your learning things.
Next year , your tank will act a little differently.
You’ll learn new things.
(I hope you don’t learn bryopsis)

Thanks looking forward to the other side

 

[Michael Llabona]

I would stop with all coral food. They really don't need it if you got nitrates or very hungry lps or non photosynthetic coral. Based on the fish I see in your tank, you have a pretty heavy bioload. Focus on lowering your nutrients and maintaining it consistently low. Sub 3 nitrates and phosphates to nearly undetectable. Once I got my levels that low then it took my gha about a month to weaken then another month to die off. You can add a carbon source but I would get things as low as possible first.

 

[Xiviuffinivianx]

I 2nd what micheal says he’s got it spot on

 

[dave57]

I would stop with all coral food. They really don't need it if you got nitrates or very hungry lps or non photosynthetic coral. Based on the fish I see in your tank, you have a pretty heavy bioload. Focus on lowering your nutrients and maintaining it consistently low. Sub 3 nitrates and phosphates to nearly undetectable. Once I got my levels that low then it took my gha about a month to weaken then another month to die off. You can add a carbon source but I would get things as low as possible first.

I would stop with all coral food. They really don't need it if you got nitrates or very hungry lps or non photosynthetic coral. Based on the fish I see in your tank, you have a pretty heavy bioload. Focus on lowering your nutrients and maintaining it consistently low. Sub 3 nitrates and phosphates to nearly undetectable. Once I got my levels that low then it took my gha about a month to weaken then another month to die off. You can add a carbon source but I would get things as low as possible first.

Sounds good I’ll try halting coral foods and hopefully with just that I can get my nutrient slightly lower. Thank you guys

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Sounds good I’ll try halting coral foods and hopefully with just that I can get my nutrient slightly lower. Thank you guys

If it’s fresh refrigerated phyto , use it up. Pods like it.

 

[dave57]

If it’s fresh refrigerated phyto , use it up. Pods like it.

Ya I just bought fresh oyster feast and phyto they both require refrigeration. Reef nutrition had recommend me these two for sps and zooplankton

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Use em. See what happens.
The phyto for sure. The oyster feast is a bit trickier to use up unless you have fish that like it. The phyto won’t add much to the tank as far as nutrients.
As the tank ages it’ll handle it better, but between my 55 and 30 I still can’t use of the oysters.
It’s good stuff but can be a bit too much.
Experimenting is what it’s all about.

I did ask them if they could make a mini bottle of oyster feast once.

Good thing I had just bought him a beer.

 

[dave57]

Use em. See what happens.
The phyto for sure. The oyster feast is a bit trickier to use up unless you have fish that like it. The phyto won’t add much to the tank as far as nutrients.
As the tank ages it’ll handle it better, but between my 55 and 30 I still can’t use of the oysters.
It’s good stuff but can be a bit too much.
Experimenting is what it’s all about.

I did ask them if they could make a mini bottle of oyster feast once.

Good thing I had just bought him a beer.

Lol that’s funny, I’ll try and see what happens.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Lol that’s funny, I’ll try and see what happens.

Zen. Haha....

 

[Mike810]

I'd say once your sps takes off, those frags on the edge won't have any room to grow. They're way too close to each other.

 

[jda]

This sounds like a case of doing to much.

Do you change water regularly? The chaeto needs iron or it will stall. The chaeto will outcompete your hair algae eventually... the hair algae gets consumed and knocked back and the chaeto is allowed to thrive. If you do not change water to replace the iron, then get a supplement.

Do not supplement anything else or feed your tank. Just feed the fish.

How is your skimming? Do you have a strong skimmer that you clean regularly?

Do not dose organic carbon on/off or without strategic consistency... this can mess up stuff as organic consumption shifts places in the tank and can cause massive growth and die off. I would avoid organic carbon in a reef.

I do not personally think that those lights are good alone to have top-tier acropora... they grow some, but not all... color some, but not all. Anecdotally, LED-only tanks oft need everything else to be perfect to thrive whereas tanks with ohter lights can overcome parameters and swings better. Others will disagree. I would add some T5s for spectrum gaps. Coverage gaps are not an issue yet with small frags, but you will get there.

I would just feed the fish, change 20% of the water ever week for a while, get some more consumers for the GHA and add some T5s. Then, wait.

 

[dave57]

This sounds like a case of doing to much.

Do you change water regularly? The chaeto needs iron or it will stall. The chaeto will outcompete your hair algae eventually... the hair algae gets consumed and knocked back and the chaeto is allowed to thrive. If you do not change water to replace the iron, then get a supplement.

Do not supplement anything else or feed your tank. Just feed the fish.

How is your skimming? Do you have a strong skimmer that you clean regularly?

Do not dose organic carbon on/off or without strategic consistency... this can mess up stuff as organic consumption shifts places in the tank and can cause massive growth and die off. I would avoid organic carbon in a reef.

I do not personally think that those lights are good alone to have top-tier acropora... they grow some, but not all... color some, but not all. Anecdotally, LED-only tanks oft need everything else to be perfect to thrive whereas tanks with ohter lights can overcome parameters and swings better. Others will disagree. I would add some T5s for spectrum gaps. Coverage gaps are not an issue yet with small frags, but you will get there.

I would just feed the fish, change 20% of the water ever week for a while, get some more consumers for the GHA and add some T5s. Then, wait.

I do change about 10% weekly, also looking to get a fixture that can support both. I do have a simplicity skimmer rated for 300 gallons. I looked at my stag this morning and tissue was missing from the top I could be over illuminating as my white channel is at 60%

 

[jda]

I would turn the whites down. They can harm coral with bad spectrum and peaks. You are not alone in this. This is where the T5s can help do most of the heavy lifting and you can do sunrise/sunset and blue-up the tank with the diodes.

Keeping a clean skimmer can up the production. Stepping this up can help 10-20%, which can add up.

If the chaeto does not step up production as you lower the amount of GHA, then consider some iron additive. Flourish from Kent or Ferrion from Brightwell are popular. 10% water change should be able to handle this, though. Right now, the GHA is probably outcompeting it, but the chaeto with no consumers will catch up.

You likely have more phosphate than the Hannah can check since it is getting quickly grabbed by the algae... I would take measure visually and watch as the GHA goes down. In a few months, if the GHA is all gone and the Hannah reading is the same, then you have less phosphates. I hope that this ramble made sense.

 

[dave57]

I would turn the whites down. They can harm coral with bad spectrum and peaks. You are not alone in this. This is where the T5s can help do most of the heavy lifting and you can do sunrise/sunset and blue-up the tank with the diodes.

Keeping a clean skimmer can up the production. Stepping this up can help 10-20%, which can add up.

If the chaeto does not step up production as you lower the amount of GHA, then consider some iron additive. Flourish from Kent or Ferrion from Brightwell are popular. 10% water change should be able to handle this, though. Right now, the GHA is probably outcompeting it, but the chaeto with no consumers will catch up.

You likely have more phosphate than the Hannah can check since it is getting quickly grabbed by the algae... I would take measure visually and watch as the GHA goes down. In a few months, if the GHA is all gone and the Hannah reading is the same, then you have less phosphates. I hope that this ramble made sense.

Thanks for your input makes perfect sense, I’ll continue watching it and possibly add some iron if I don’t see improvement. I did lower the whites down to 35 percent well see if I see coral color improvement. I’ve heard too much white can create too much oxygen within the coral making it go pale. I’m also running some carbon for clearer water, I slowed down the flow as I have also heard it can cause sps to pale. I’m really considering the aquatic life fixture a hybrid led t5

 

[Bow69]

Thanks for your input makes perfect sense, I’ll continue watching it and possibly add some iron if I don’t see improvement. I did lower the whites down to 35 percent well see if I see coral color improvement. I’ve heard too much white can create too much oxygen within the coral making it go pale. I’m also running some carbon for clearer water, I slowed down the flow as I have also heard it can cause sps to pale. I’m really considering the aquatic life fixture a hybrid led t5

I just installed the new Aquatic Life Hybrid with my Radions. Love this fixture.

 

[dave57]

Got the lights too, I did notice with the addition of new lights things for much more pale. I lowered my leds to about 20 percent overall intensity and allowed the t5 to provide the majority of the light, I’m happy to say my gha disappeared with three doses of vibrant. A small spike of phosphates which was expected with the algae die off. 250-350 overall par above my acros. Nitrates and phosphates no3 1.5 po4 0.024
Have been much more stable now that the cheato has kicked in. Corals have been recovering. They’re still pale but improving. I am also feeding a lot more and actually feeding the corals oysterfeast, phytofeast, reef frenzy in small amounts daily. The fish are being fed twice daily now. There has been so much skimmate production which is expected with the increased feedings. In summary I believe the corals need a little more time to adapt to these new conditions in order for them to color up some more.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Just a few tips or things I would change. Your Flame Angel may be nipping at the sps, even if you dont see it. Removing it maybe helpful since you are having poor PE. I would switch from EVS 2 part to BRS 2 part or kalk. Both are lower cost and dont have added trace elements you dont or cant test for. Increase your water changes. 10% weekly is nothing on a 100g tank. 20% would be better as regular maintenance. If trying to decrease no3 or p04 or reset trace elements larger 50%+ water changes are needed.

 

[Smite]

Isn't ESV more concentrated though? Seems BRS was pretty diluted. I know a few sps keepers with stellar results who swear by ESV. I think you are struggling with consistency, nutrients then lighting. Pick a spectrum that is visually appealing with ample par and leave it be. Consider that maybe you ramp time is too long and essentially not stable, its constantly changing for 25% of your lighting schedule. Get your nitrates to 10ppm or under and maintain a steady value. Focus on ALK stability, temp and salinity with calcium and magnesium being in a acceptable range. My sps responded as well to oyster feast as any of the pohls products. I feed at night, seem to get a better response. I mix mine with reef roids but I dont have much of an algae issue. Read up on the relationship between light, alk and nitrate values. Higher nitrates seem to do better with a higher alk and par level.