View Full Version : why am i losing my sps 's ?
janey
03/23/2010, 10:26 AM
I lost my Hydnophora, chalice, duncans which was growing nicely, birdnest, my purple digi some of it is bleaching..
my green monti w blue poly seem as if algae was growing on it. I been using a turkey baster to blow it off. Also my sun corals are losing it orange color..
My Perimeter's are
Temp 79
sal. 1.026
ph 8.3
mag 1260
cal 430
Alk 9
redox 340 mv
my lights are (1) 175W MH with 2 VHO's. i have a remote DSB,
I have phosban reactor, and a carbon reactor running , a UV , a skimmer, and behind the tank there a section where i have cheto with 24 hr light.
thanks
janey
strike2867
03/23/2010, 10:32 AM
Were they getting brown? That could mean high Nitrates.
ihavtats29
03/23/2010, 10:45 AM
browning is also caused by old bulbs, look for temp, alk , salinity , and any other swings, anything you have done recently in your tank that would cause a fast change in any water parimeter will cause these issues, chalice and duncan corals are LPS and require spot feeding if they cannot get the food on thier own from the water collum, suncoral is nonphotosynthetic and has to be spot fed directly to each pollup also should be mounted out of direct light, a recent addition of GFO will cause this also for it pulls out phosphate out of the water at a very rapid pace. new bulbs can also cause bleaching ,
Mr James
03/23/2010, 10:57 AM
...I have phosban reactor....
You have the phosban reactor but don't provide Phosphate or even Nitrate params.... Do you test for these? What are they?
Uncle Luke
03/23/2010, 11:20 AM
My bet is nitrates... Any bioballs or old sponges? How often do you do water changes?
Ron Popeil
03/23/2010, 11:22 AM
sounds like phosphates to me.
janey
03/23/2010, 11:47 AM
The bulbs are new 20K been using them for 2 months now, before i was using LED's before .
I do about 4-5 gal w/c every sat or sun. Its a 65 gal tank.
Just tested Nitrates i'm getting about a 10ppm reading.
Also i been placing marineland bonded filter pad , and also the white felt like the one used to make filter socks in the sump right before the skimmer.
I have (2) 1" drainage with 100 miron socks which i change every 2 to 3 days cause they get brown, and sometimes green, when i clean the back section where the cheto at. and that get really brown and some of the cheto algae gets red too.
oh another thing Yes the temp been going up and down like 75 to 81 cause its cold up here in Poconos , PA ...:{ and also i been using Oceanic salt and then started using tropic marin , and back to oceanic.
Ron Popeil
03/23/2010, 11:51 AM
have you tested your water with a low range phosphate colorimeter?
janey
03/23/2010, 12:37 PM
I don't know but sometimes i feel its the phosban? I do rinse it before i run it into sump. and i see my glass with brown spots ... Here are some pic taken jusy now...
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww69/saltwater6152/100_0384.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww69/saltwater6152/100_0386.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww69/saltwater6152/100_0395.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww69/saltwater6152/100_0392.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww69/saltwater6152/100_0394.jpg
Here my sump
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww69/saltwater6152/100_0387.jpg
janey
03/23/2010, 12:38 PM
I don't have a phosphate tester / meter...
janey
03/23/2010, 12:41 PM
maybe my uv bulb needs replacing?, I stop using the ozone cause the reading is high. Should i keep running it ?
And i do add about 5ml of vodka everyday. sometimes i forget though.. like 2 day laps., and sometimes vinegar.
Lyfey
03/23/2010, 01:23 PM
Vodka is the culprit. Hands down. Same thing happened to me when I dosed vodka for the first month. Vodka doesnt work on some systems.
janey
03/23/2010, 01:52 PM
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy i just added some... DArnnnnnnnnn . I'll do a small water change and stop adding vodka . and see what happens..
\
Thanks
J
jbird69
03/23/2010, 02:02 PM
I think you may have too much going on. vodka, phosban, chaeto, carbon, UV, ozone, did I miss anything ;).
Do a series of 20% waterchanges. Like 2/week for 2-3 weeks. Make sure to keep your salinity and temperature stabile thru the process. SPS really need stability.
Once you settle down after the water changes I would only put the gfo and gac reactors back on line, maybe the chaeto. Stop the ozone, UV and and vodka.
You may lose several colonies but youve gotta get back to basics.
Mr James
03/23/2010, 04:31 PM
Vodka is the culprit. Hands down. Same thing happened to me when I dosed vodka for the first month. Vodka doesnt work on some systems.
You may have missed where she said her nitrates are 10ppm.. They should be 0. And I agree with the guy who said you have WAY too much going on.
Did you say you dose vinegar?? Use 1 salt mix and stick with it. Get yourself a good phosphate test kit and test for it...afterall, you have a phosban set up...
janey
03/23/2010, 04:35 PM
Ok, will do Thanks everyone , and jbird69
ihavtats29
03/23/2010, 07:03 PM
I think you may have too much going on. vodka, phosban, chaeto, carbon, UV, ozone, did I miss anything ;).
Do a series of 20% waterchanges. Like 2/week for 2-3 weeks. Make sure to keep your salinity and temperature stabile thru the process. SPS really need stability.
Once you settle down after the water changes I would only put the gfo and gac reactors back on line, maybe the chaeto. Stop the ozone, UV and and vodka.
You may lose several colonies but youve gotta get back to basics.
key word stability, either your heater is set too low or is not big enough..... and seems like your lights are heating the tank 6 degrees get you heater set right or get a heater with more wattage , cooling fans in the canopy to help keep the lights from heating the water and if needed another fan blowing across your sump, it will increase evaporation rates but will cool the water a bit. regular water changes and like stated slow down , ive had my best results with weekly water changes and a little carbon/phosguard mix in a reactor under a slow flowrate , never dose anything unless your testing for it
janey
03/24/2010, 10:14 AM
OK, Thanks again...:}:}
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