What am I doing wrong?

[Surfzone]

I can't seem to keep any sps alive very long. My tank is about a year old and everything I've added lasts a few weeks or less. It starts with tissue loss from the tips and goes from there. I can grow coraline like crazy not sure what I'm doing wrong.

60 gallon cube
Lights are XR 15 gen4 with 4 t5s for 12 hour cycle at 70% with a diffuser.

Alk 8.0-8.5 never moves more than 0.1 per day Hanna
Ca 440-450ppm Hanna
Mg 1300ppm red sea
No3 16ppm red sea
Po4 0.06ppm Hanna ULR Phosphorus
Salinity 35 ppt
Temp 78-79

 

[Brad Miller]

Sounds like too long of a lighting on time and too strong of light

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Are you carbon dosing or using gfo?

 

[Surfzone]

No gfo or carbon dosing no3 and po4 kept in check by cheato

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Have you done an icp test?

 

[litenyaup]

Too long of a light cycle is going to be my guess. How often do you do water changes and how many gal? Also what kind of flow do you have?

 

[KSReef]

I would start with the lights too. Make sure you have decent water movement.

 

[NickC]

What’s your water change schedule like?

 

[Surfzone]

10 gallons weekly

 

[WWIII]

Have you tried any of them in a more shady lower light area of the tank? What kind of flow is in there?

 

[litenyaup]

What is your ph?

 

[NickC]

10 gallons weekly

Hmmm. Everything else grows and looks happy except acros, or do all SPS struggle?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Have you checked your par?

 

[ndrwater]

Going to definitely agree with the others saying it's the lighting.. Radions at 70% is a LOT of light.. even with the diffusers... Depending on where the coral is placed in the tank, especially if they haven't been acclimated to that high of PAR, you could be actually cooking them..
In a 60 cube (20" deep yes??) I would be at about 35-40% intensity to start... See what happens to the corals..
Now I am not saying that you couldn't run as high as 70%, quite the contrary. You just need to get there slowly.. Most retailer/distributors run at a lower intensity. Plopping corals into a tank at 70% is like plopping a redhead into the Sahara desert, at noon.... In August....

 

[Surfzone]

Flow is provided with 2 mp 10s as well as a mp 40. All sps struggle in the tank.

 

[Neo Jeo]

+1 on light time and water movement.

 

[litenyaup]

Any idea what you ph is?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

And what are the details of the 12 hour light cycle? Ramps and peak hours?

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Sounds like too long of a lighting on time and too strong of light

I was going to say the same thing.

XR-15 Pros at 70% and T5s for 12 hours is a lot light. Sps tissue recession from the tips down is almost always light burn or alk burn. You are most likely cooking the crap out of them. I would reduce total light time to 8-10 hours and lower intensity on the Radions at least 20-30%. What program are you running, AB+ is awesome and the standard now. Are you messing with the light settings at all? Doing so is not good, find a program you like the loom of and just leave it. Any changes to the spectrum and intensity need to be done very slowly. Are you able to keep and grow other corals like acans, euphilia and zoas? Did you use live rock or dry rock?

 

[Surfzone]

Alright I do run the ab+ with an hour ramp up and down. pH stays between 7.8 and 8.3. I have no Par numbers but it seems to be that lighting is the issue. This weekend I'm going to rent a PAR meter from my LFS. I'm also going to shorten my light schedule. What PAR range should I be shooting for through out the tank?