Sps Tip burn- this is driving me insane.

[john90009]

My tank has been up for a year now and im not a noob with parameters so this is really starting to tick me off. I have my alk locked around 9.0 to 9.6 thats the most it will ever change in a month which is when i notice it and then it slowly drops abit. Out of no where my shades of fall crayola and pearlberry had there tips burn off. Now my red planet which has exceptional color but never took off with growth is now having one tip burn off. My parameters are perfict only thing i dont check is the really odd things like potassium and other elements that dont burn the tips off. last time it happend i did a water change and they seem to get better- i dont do much water changes because my amonnia or nitrates or nitrites never go up or are traceable so do you think its a basic elemnt that is added during a water change that will help the coral? Im really at a loss and dont wanto lose my shades of fall that finnaly just started to explode. This is really making me mad and if i dont fix it or figure out why its doing this im not gonna want to buy anything at macna this saturday. Thanks anyone who reads this or trys helping.

[flamron]

Alk spikes will cause tip burning. I would look in-depth at your dosing methods.

Nutrients may also cause stn - if you aren't doing many w/c's, then I would definitely think that this may be the cause.

What test kits are you using to verify your "traceable" results? I would look at starting some basic husbandry. SPS are very delicate, and a routine is a great way to have success with them. I change out 20-25% every two weeks. I may go a few days over, but I never miss my target time by more than that.

HTH,

[john90009]

Thanks for the fast response .my alk doesnt change much if anything it goes from 9.0 to 9.6 throughout the month. I check with salifert it has always been the easiest for me to check with. I know water changed help but throughout reading everything on the internet it seems when someone has s problem with the tips being burt its always directly caused by alk spikes i wouldnt think that water changes would be the cause cause theres no ammonia or nitrates or nitrites.

[flamron]

what salt are you using to do the water changes?

Also, how often do you dose?

[mpoletti]

I rarely know of any tanks with truly 0 nitrates and no water changes.

[john90009]

Reef crystals, and the only think that goes into my tank is top off water- calcium reactor and fish food-.

[tastingSalty]

do you dose anything with potassium in it? cuz that'll do it...

are you running an ULNS? an alk that high might cause burnt tips if so...

[tastingSalty]

ok nevermind....

[john90009]

Um i dont dose anything because everything seemed quite content so i didnt wanto go changing things. I dont think im running a ulns no zeo brightwell or anything kinda just basic with fish food and a skimmer hah.

[29reef]

How often do you test the water? Sounds like you test monthy? You don't add anything to your tank, and you don't do water changes that often? Sounds like you haven't exactly been testing the water in a proper way.

What you add, test, and remove from your aquarium are all very important to successful care. Maybe you can share a little more about the aquarium; what the results are of your LWT were and how often you test the tank and the equipment your using.

[Gary Majchrzak]

Reef crystals, and the only think that goes into my tank is top off water- calcium reactor and fish food-.
is there a pH controller on your calcium reactor?

[john90009]

yup a milwauki one.

[Gary Majchrzak]

what pH is shut off point at?

what's your Mg at?

[john90009]

shuts off at 7.1 my magnesium is 1290. Im having a strong feeling that its phosphates or a lack of elements that are provided in new saltwater changes- i did another water change yesterday and added a phosban reactor yesterday cause i bought one for real cheap at macna- and im thinking it was phosphates because some of the corals are showing a strengthen in the skin. Im going to invest is a extremely accurate phosphate tester like hanna or something- does anyone have any recommendations?Now that i have a job the reactor and vortech pumps dont seem that hard to afford :).

[Gary Majchrzak]

did you hook up the phosphate reactor yet?

[Gary Majchrzak]

some of the corals are showing a strengthen in the skin.
can you post a pic of the problem?

[john90009]

yes the phoban reactor is set up- i let my tank suck water from the sump to clean the reactor out and all the water coming out went into a bucket so it ran clear. I know running a phosban reactor can possibly drop phosphates to much or to fast and have an adverse affect on the coral so im thinking of having it off sometimes?

[john90009]

Ill go get the camera and try to see if i can take a clear picture of some of the dead tips- when i ment by straightening i ment they are not falling off the skeleton when they were showing bad signs i would blue the tips with a turkey baster and the water would easily pass between the skin and the skeleton.

[Gary Majchrzak]

yes the phoban reactor is set up- i let my tank suck water from the sump to clean the reactor out and all the water coming out went into a bucket so it ran clear. I know running a phosban reactor can possibly drop phosphates to much or to fast and have an adverse affect on the coral so im thinking of having it off sometimes?
this problem started before you hooked up the reactor, right?

Running small amounts of PO4 remover is a much better choice than running larger amounts occasionally.

[mark728]

Thanks for the fast response .my alk doesnt change much if anything it goes from 9.0 to 9.6 throughout the month. I check with salifert it has always been the easiest for me to check with. I know water changed help but throughout reading everything on the internet it seems when someone has s problem with the tips being burt its always directly caused by alk spikes i wouldnt think that water changes would be the cause cause theres no ammonia or nitrates or nitrites.

Hi 'PLEASE ' be very carefull with the Salifert Alk kit my kit is over 3dkh off my Elos Alk kit reads 9 1/2 dkh and my Salifert kit reads almost 13dkh I would look into a Elos alk test kit easy to use and very consistent results.

Salifert 13dkh
Elos 9 1/2 dkh
API 9 dkh

[john90009]

yeah the problem started a few day ago- and i was always told a phosban reactor is helpful at keeping what ever phosphate level is there lower- yeah im running about 2 inches of media in the rector and i have all the media moving not getting thrashed and blown like crazy.