SPS problem seriatopora,stylophora

[Greg11]

Hi everybody I'm Greg new to this forum( little language barrier)
I have 120 gal SPS mostly,the tank was doing pretty good till now, when all my seriatoporas ( bird of paradise,ponape birds nest,green birds nest,pink birds nest)start loosing polyps and bleaching out completely and I can see the same start happens with my stylophoras
What I don't get it is all my acroporas doing great and I didn't change anything in my system they are all under the same light,flow and levels,using same salt all the time
Ca-430,alk-8,mg-1300-1400,ph8.1-8,3
Nitrate,phosphate undectable.
( Elmo's,salifert test kits)
Is here anybody with similar issues, need an expert help
Thanks

[Greg11]

Some more info about my system
120 display,70 gal sump,20 gal refugium
2 mp40,2 radions with 4 t5 ati bulbs, apex,3000 Ss reef octopus,external blueline70 pump
The only I can think is too low nutrient in my system,but feeding my corals and adding aminos regularly,feeding fish twice a day with good amount of food
No gfo,no carbon
Dosing 2 part and magnesium

[sbreefer]

do you RODI all water that goes into the tank?
what is the photo period?

[Greg11]

Its all Rodi 4 stage
Photoperiod 14 hours but first 4 and last 4 hours very low

[tdb320reef]

I think it is something to do with elevated bacteria. I cannot keep birdsnest, psamacora or stylos anymore in my system. For the first year an half they did better than any other coral. My Acros, Montis, LPS, ANEMONES and Softies are doing great.

[Greg11]

Its set up on sunset and sunrise and t5- 4 hours

[Greg11]

They all grow nice for last year and suddenly start dying( seriatoporas)

[Greg11]

Is there any good article about elevated bacteria ?

[sbreefer]

why would bacteria hurt them? you mean necrosing bacteria?
I dose vodka with no issue.

[sbreefer]

I wonder if you have a trace element you dont test for WAY out of balance. send a sample to aquariumwatertesting.com i use them once every few months. caught a very low potassium a while back.

[Greg11]

Never test for potassium,boron,iron etc but I think I will, I know nothing about elevated bacteria I'm not too experience,
My only question is why all other SPS doing good and only 2 species don't

[tdb320reef]

why would bacteria hurt them? you mean necrosing bacteria?
I dose vodka with no issue.

http://aem.asm.org/content/75/24/7797.full

[chopper320]

I have this exact same issue with seriatoporas and stylophora. My acros and montis are great. I do have some green cyano that immediately forms on the dead areas of the seriatoporas. I wish I could figure it out too.

If it is a bacterial issue, what is the solution in an sps tank?

[Greg11]

I dont think there is any solution for that- hope it is
I was thinking maybe its some trace element...

[Greg11]

Hopefully here is somebody who can help

[chopper320]

I've been looking for answers on this problem for a while. It seems to be a somewhat common issue especially with seriatoporas. I've seen a lot of people suggest that they are less tolerant of ph and alk swings but I keep mine pretty stable.

[Greg11]

My ph and alk are basically stable for last year

[Greg11]

Just find out my potassium is about 310 and read about it a little, start dosing tonight
Hope this is it

[Oldude]

I had this issue a few years ago and never could figure exactly what caused it. I sent water in for testing and it came back pretty normal so I think it may be caused by something we either can't or don't test for. Good luck with the resolution, I feel your pain.

[sbreefer]

that is low. read about depletion. i am not sure this is your issue. I had a metal issue for a while and after adding 2 20" DI stages, it finally pulled it and growth took off. food for thought. we have a local lab that found copper at about .04 ppm. -------.02ppm can inhibit sps growth. Old dude-- I'd love to come by the next time I'm in Calgary to see you tank!

Tim

[Greg11]

Thanks,I ll try everything you guys suggested, I was thinking its some kind of bacteria but who knows..

[Chris Lakies]

Ive found that these type of corals (for me) dont like PAR over 300. My ponape bird does best around 200 par.

[a.browning]

I had this same issue and it ended up being potassium. It tested at 310 and is now at 400, and everything is looking good again.