Why cant u keep sps?

[JCOLE]

You’re not the exception. There are many ppl that keep sps just fine with dry rock and many ppl that struggle with sps with live rock. Dry rock needs more time is all.

Yes I know. It was more for the ones saying that you cannot keep SPS period with Dry Rock. Kinda hard to say that when so many have done it.

 

[ycnibrc]

I hope I am just the exception. Started with all dry mined rock from Amazon a year ago. I have a full Acro dominate tank and everything started from frags and is doing well currently. I did add a bunch of bacteria over the last year though.

I created this thread is because I saw the problem with reefer using dry rock and don't add any bacteria source. My whole main topic for this thread is u need to add bacteria to your tank to promote the biological side of the reef tank.
No matter how u add it via live rock or dosing bacteria are needed for Sps tank to thrive.

 

[ycnibrc]

Yes I know. It was more for the ones saying that you cannot keep SPS period with Dry Rock. Kinda hard to say that when so many have done it.

My tank were started with all dry rock however I run zeovit so my tank were dose with bacteria source from day 1. If you start a tank with all dry rock and don't add any bacteria it's like a fish only tank

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

My tank were started with all dry rock however I run zeovit so my tank were dose with bacteria source from day 1. If you start a tank with all dry rock and don't add any bacteria it's like a fish only tank

Fish and a little time produce all the bacteria that is needed for sps.

 

[JCOLE]

I created this thread is because I saw the problem with reefer using dry rock and don't add any bacteria source. My whole main topic for this thread is u need to add bacteria to your tank to promote the biological side of the reef tank.
No matter how u add it via live rock or dosing bacteria are needed for Sps tank to thrive.

Understood and I am 100% behind the necessity of bacteria needed for a thriving SPS system. My response was to the couple comments that said success was only with 100% live rock.

 

[Spyke326]

Is Zeovit the only product that can be added regularly to get additional bacteria?

Tank ( Reefer 170 ) has been up for 18 months. 4 months ago I added 3 pieces of KPA rock ( 1 to the DT and 2 to the Sump ) and it hasn't really seemed to effect much yet other than SPS aren't really dying, they just seem like they are in limbo.

 

[MnFish1]

While I tend to agree with you, I'm going to play the devils advocate here.....

What makes you think it's a lack of bacteria? We have no way to test for this, other then anecdotal evidence from experienced reefers. But you have other people who throw SPS in a dead dry rock tank and they thrive(not too many do this, but well known experienced reefers have done it without issue).

I hoenstly think it comes down to just plain old experience and how to recognize an issue before it becomes an actual issue.

Correct - think of people that keep frag tanks - with nothing else. @AquaBiomics was doing bacteria tests on tanks - my tank is doing fine yet had a very low diversity. I am not sure you can pick one thing. IMHO - most coral issues relate to the type of coral being kept - next to other coral that sting it - or release chemicals to kill it - eventually - in most of these tanks with 'huge colonies' - it seems to me - what ends up surviving in the long term - the rest die. I think we maybe buy too many frags - thinking they are all going to survive

 

[ycnibrc]

Is Zeovit the only product that can be added regularly to get additional bacteria?

Tank ( Reefer 170 ) has been up for 18 months. 4 months ago I added 3 pieces of KPA rock ( 1 to the DT and 2 to the Sump ) and it hasn't really seemed to effect much yet other than SPS aren't really dying, they just seem like they are in limbo.

No there are other company such as Aquaforest, redsea , Fauna Marine and brightwell have their own bacteria dosing. I mention zeovit just because I use it and have good experience.

 

[PachecoBoston]

Well first and for most im not a scientist or marine biologist my theory base only on my experience and observation on my reef tank. I just want to help those that have problems keeping sps. In this discussion please keep it positive and dont make it to “i know better than u or led is better than halide “. We are not here to discuss equipment or brand.
Now lets me start out what i have seen so far. I have successful sps tank in 2008 and now i just start my tank again for 2.5years. U can read more here

Build Thread - 360g zeovit staghorn dominate reef tank

Do you think the halide just doesn’t show the colors as well as the LEDs, or do the colors physically change once you switch? (Currently running a 150w MH)

www.reef2reef.com

Most of the threads that have problems seem to have a common denominator i will cone back to this. But all the questions regarding the problem tank are
1)Whats your parameters
2)what kind of light/light schedule?
3)what kind of pump and flow?
4)keep alk, ca and mag stable
5) ICP test
6)nitrate/phosphate level
7)water change
8)feeding
9)copper/iron over dose aka magnet rust
10)salt

Ok lets presume u can fix all of these but still your tank don’t do well. What can cause that?
Well lets go back to the common denominators. All tank nowadays start with dry/dead rock aka not from the ocean. Live rock can be misunderstood, a piece of rock in my mature tank i can call it live rock but its not because i start just like everyone else with dry rock. Years ago we actually get live rock from the ocean which carry multiple strain of beneficial bacteria then we kept it in our tank for a year or more which create a nice population of bacteria for the corals especially sps.
Now we all start from dry rock and we started the cycle then start adding corals in after 6 mons. Presumption your tank parameters are good also everything else , your frags will be nice and growing for a few months then all of a sudden start to look bad then die normally around 9 mons to a year. This too me is an indication thats your tank dont have multiple bacteria strain which corals need. Probably u didnt add any additional bacteria to your tank and im not talking about carbon bacteria to reduce phosphate or nitrate.
Further more we buy only frags nowadays which different from before when we bought colonies. Wild colonies from the ocean carry those beneficial bacteria which can populate in your tank. I run zeovit which is a system heavily base on bacteria but there are many others system which offer the same.
So to end my thoughts the biggest change that i have seen is the lacking of beneficial bacteria which can cause your reef tank not capable to sustain a healthy sps.
I hope that i can help in anyway getting your tank better and healthier and with healthy tank make the hobby more enjoyable and grow

Anthony

So what you are saying is keep the bacteria level up? should I inject bacteria once while in my tank?

 

[ycnibrc]

So what you are saying is keep the bacteria level up? should I inject bacteria once while in my tank?

My observation with reef tank is over time the bacteria in the tank needs a boost due to die off, Coral growth demand . Back in the day there were mature reef tank all of a sudden crash and no one know what cause it and we call it old tank syndrome. Some blame deep sand bed release toxin some blame high nitrate or phosphate but I think it's because the beneficial bacteria diminished. When the corals start growing it will consuming more bacteria and if one day the rate of utilize is more than reproduce then your reef tank biology will slowly degrate and eventually cause a crash. Zeovit recommendation to dose zeo Bak and zeostart3 even if your tank is mature. Reefing is more observation and experience. It's hard to prove it scientifically

 

[SeaDweller]

The thing is bacteria multiply exponentially, and probably reproduce quicker than anything in the tank can consume. they die off just as fast too.

it doesn’t hurt to try, but I’ve stopped MB7, and don’t notice a decline (then again I have real live rock too). However, I know experienced hobbyists that don’t need bottled anything, especially bacteria, and they do just fine. They don’t buy this bacteria idea, and their tanks prove it.

in reality it comes down to... SKILL.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

The thing is bacteria multiply exponentially, and probably reproduce quicker than anything in the tank can consume. they die off just as fast too.

it doesn’t hurt to try, but I’ve stopped MB7, and don’t notice a decline (then again I have real live rock too). However, I know experienced hobbyists that don’t need bottled anything, especially bacteria, and they do just fine. They don’t buy this bacteria idea, and their tanks prove it.

in reality it comes down to... SKILL.

Don’t over export and everything will be alright

 

[SeaDweller]

Don’t over export and everything will be alright

It begs the question now, who was doing poorly, then dosed any bacterial ANYTHING, and all of a sudden reversed or stopped the decline? And can it be attributed to just bacteria? Or multiple WC? Or being a better hobbyist?

those who added bacteria ONLY and noticed a turn around should speak up for the other hobbyists.

 

[AcroFan144]

I am having the same problem as OP described. Despite good parameters, flow and light, my 10 month tank started with dry BRS reef saver can not grow SPS. Rocks are covered in coraline algae and parameters are stable.

Any SPS frag I put it does nothing for a month or two, or grows just a bit, without encrusting. After that, it looses its tissue over a week and dies.

Searching for a solution I have come to this thread. I have removed my chaeto, and will try AF probiotic method, which includes bacteria dosing. I will try to add new frags in one month, and will report the success or failure I encounter.

 

[Tanggy]

Just to share with you my experience so far. Back in Dec 2019 my tank just turned 2 years old. I had tons of coralline and a few patches of sponges. So I decided on trying out a few SPS. Stupid me, instead of going for the typical beginner sps I went for WD, HW and OP. So it didn't workout to well. Back then my parameters were spot on Alk 7.0. CA 420. Mg 1300. I was dosing NOPOx. It didn't take long before I lost the HW, OP and a few others. So I switched over the the Zeovit system in Feb 2020. Still my corals were dying. So I made a decision to change all by "live rock" I bought from my LFS to real live rock from KP aquatic. Took me about 6 wks to add replace 55lbs of live rock. Since then I've finally see some progress with my SPS. I am still dosing Zeovit. The original WD frag I have from Dec 2019 finally is growing. I am a firm believe in using real LIVE ROCK.

 

[Daddy-o]

It begs the question nIow, who was doing poorly, then dosed any bacterial ANYTHING, and all of a sudden reversed or stopped the decline? And can it be attributed to just bacteria? Or multiple WC? Or being a better hobbyist?

those who added bacteria ONLY and noticed a turn around should speak up for the other hobbyists.

I dosed a ton of different bacteria and did not notice a positive change.

 

[ycnibrc]

I dosed a ton of different bacteria and did not notice a positive change.

How long have you been dosing it? For my tank the change start around 1 year and the growth explosion begging. It takes time for the biology of your tank to establish almost like a new cycle

 

[ycnibrc]

I am having the same problem as OP described. Despite good parameters, flow and light, my 10 month tank started with dry BRS reef saver can not grow SPS. Rocks are covered in coraline algae and parameters are stable.

Any SPS frag I put it does nothing for a month or two, or grows just a bit, without encrusting. After that, it looses its tissue over a week and dies.

Searching for a solution I have come to this thread. I have removed my chaeto, and will try AF probiotic method, which includes bacteria dosing. I will try to add new frags in one month, and will report the success or failure I encounter.

No matters which system or brand that you chose the result won't be drastically improved until 1 year. Give it time and your efforts will be rewarded

 

[t5Nitro]

I started dosing prodibio biodigest and bioptom every 15 days. Hoping that's what my dry startup tank needs!

Question: I set my tank up with dry real reef rock. Im debating taking out the right structure in my tank and replacing it with real ocean rock which was from fiji that I saved but its since been bleach cleaned and dried. Obviously not live with ocean bacteria any more but would this rock still serve better as a bio filter than this man-made stuff? Would it be a poor choice to remove half my rock in my small 75 gallon in terms of a possible cycle doing this?

 

[Daddy-o]

How long have you been dosing it? For my tank the change start around 1 year and the growth explosion begging. It takes time for the biology of your tank to establish almost like a new cycle

I dosed at christmas