problems keeping sps alive???

Comtek · 04/01/2012, 06:00 AM

i am having troubles keeping sps corals alive.
my tank is 125 gallon with a 100 gallon sump.
lighting i a diy led light consisting of 44 Xp-G cool white and 44 Xp-E royal blue dimmed with meanwell 48P's

my water parameters are
calcium 440 - 480
PH 8.1 - 8.2
Phosphate 0
ammonia 0.3 (just added a bag of new sand to tank)
KH 130
Nitrite 0.1
Nitrate 15
Salinity 1.025
Temperature 78.5

tank is 1 1/2 years old

usually within a day or 2 the sps are completely bleached.
i'm only running my led's at about 40 - 50%

any other info needed just let me know and i'll do my best to answer

dburnett75 · 04/01/2012, 06:13 AM

what do you feed and what do you keep your temp.at??

Comtek · 04/01/2012, 06:21 AM

water steady around 78.5
kent phytomax is the only thing i add to my tank

Guttungen · 04/01/2012, 06:30 AM

Does this happens to ALL sps, or you god some survivers? I have no experiense with your lightning, but when sps don't get light acclimated and put under too heavy light too fast, it throws out its zooxanthellas, gets beached and starves to death. Too high levels of nutriants do the opposite and you get å dark green or brown coral. Copper (cu) is å killer too. There are a great number of things that could be the answer. These are just a few thoths.

MHG · 04/01/2012, 06:32 AM

88 LED's is about twice wht I have on my 60... I had 48 on my 60 and needed to shut off 12... They cooked all the coraline off my rocks... Got worse when I added optics.

What kind of optics and how are they spread around the tank?

I would crank them down to 20%... any growth your LPS had will stop... slowly crank them up over months. Add a couple of SPS frags on a magnetic rack and slowly inch them up about an inch a week.

This is what I did on mine and I now have a green birdsnest on the top growing very well. My lights are at 50% (36 led's) and I am finally getting some LPS growth again. I am gonna leave them at this level until I get my hands on a PAR meter... I am hoping I can get them up a little more so my LPS on the bottom grow again like before...

Comtek · 04/01/2012, 06:49 AM

no optics
they are spaced about 3 inches apart
i have a few softies that seem to be doing ok
florida ricordia's splitting.
i have a gorgonian on the sand bed that does not grow but it always has it's polyps extended.

Comtek · 04/01/2012, 07:48 AM

is my KH too low?

NYCBOB · 04/01/2012, 08:43 AM

what kind of sps are you keeping? why dont u try something easier at first like capricornis?

Comtek · 04/01/2012, 08:52 AM

just a perple digi frag once in awhile to see if it will survive but never does
now i'm just wondering what i should try next?

MHG · 04/01/2012, 09:07 AM

What percentage are your lights running at?

Comtek · 04/01/2012, 09:52 AM

they were at 40% when i put this last digi frag in but the next day the tips are white now 3 days later the whole top half is now gone.
i just set the lights down to 30% they are usually 6 - 8" from the tank.

Sk8r · 04/01/2012, 09:55 AM

On the dkh scale your alk should run around 8.3 to 9.3. I'm not sure what scale or test you're using.
And it definitely sounds light-related.

Playa-1 · 04/01/2012, 10:11 AM

I would take a hard look at your water parameters and the stablility of the tank.

Comtek · 04/01/2012, 10:33 AM

kh 130 is in ppm
so i guess it would be 7.28 dh

BigCountry74 · 04/02/2012, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Playa-1

I would take a hard look at your water parameters and the stablility of the tank.

x2

same thing happened to me when i tried a few sps frags. bleached out in 72 hours. it was definitely the water, my tank is still too new...

thegrun · 04/02/2012, 10:04 AM

Any ammonia will kill off your SPS corals and your nitrates need to be near zero.

sasharotty · 04/02/2012, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegrun

Any ammonia will kill off your SPS corals and your nitrates need to be near zero.

This, all readings should be zero. Your showing levels of all including ammonia.

power boat jim · 04/02/2012, 12:46 PM

As stated above, the ammonia should be 0. When that happens, give the tank time to adjust and then see how the coral does.

04/01/2012, 06:00 AM	#1
Comtek Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 312	problems keeping sps alive??? i am having troubles keeping sps corals alive. my tank is 125 gallon with a 100 gallon sump. lighting i a diy led light consisting of 44 Xp-G cool white and 44 Xp-E royal blue dimmed with meanwell 48P's my water parameters are calcium 440 - 480 PH 8.1 - 8.2 Phosphate 0 ammonia 0.3 (just added a bag of new sand to tank) KH 130 Nitrite 0.1 Nitrate 15 Salinity 1.025 Temperature 78.5 tank is 1 1/2 years old usually within a day or 2 the sps are completely bleached. i'm only running my led's at about 40 - 50% any other info needed just let me know and i'll do my best to answer

04/01/2012, 06:30 AM	#4
Guttungen Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Norway Posts: 98	Does this happens to ALL sps, or you god some survivers? I have no experiense with your lightning, but when sps don't get light acclimated and put under too heavy light too fast, it throws out its zooxanthellas, gets beached and starves to death. Too high levels of nutriants do the opposite and you get å dark green or brown coral. Copper (cu) is å killer too. There are a great number of things that could be the answer. These are just a few thoths. __________________ http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=20089121 Current Tank Info: 142g SPS

04/01/2012, 06:32 AM	#5
MHG Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,788	88 LED's is about twice wht I have on my 60... I had 48 on my 60 and needed to shut off 12... They cooked all the coraline off my rocks... Got worse when I added optics. What kind of optics and how are they spread around the tank? I would crank them down to 20%... any growth your LPS had will stop... slowly crank them up over months. Add a couple of SPS frags on a magnetic rack and slowly inch them up about an inch a week. This is what I did on mine and I now have a green birdsnest on the top growing very well. My lights are at 50% (36 led's) and I am finally getting some LPS growth again. I am gonna leave them at this level until I get my hands on a PAR meter... I am hoping I can get them up a little more so my LPS on the bottom grow again like before... __________________ MHG (LIRA Member) 60G Cube, CREE 3w LED's 15W/27RB/3 UV, Prodibio, GFO, Carbon

04/01/2012, 09:07 AM	#10
MHG Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,788	What percentage are your lights running at? __________________ MHG (LIRA Member) 60G Cube, CREE 3w LED's 15W/27RB/3 UV, Prodibio, GFO, Carbon

04/01/2012, 09:55 AM	#12
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 23,158 Blog Entries: 54	On the dkh scale your alk should run around 8.3 to 9.3. I'm not sure what scale or test you're using. And it definitely sounds light-related. __________________ Sk8r "Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale, not meq/l; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp abt 80, nitrate/ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal will not rise if mg is low. Alk reading far more imp't than PH; WATER QUALITY MATTERS!" "If anything CAN go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment."---St. Murphy. "For beginners---nothing good happens fast on an ice rink or in a fish tank." Current Tank Info: 105g, kalk, 250mh 10000; AquaCEV120; Iwaki 100, bsemnt sump/fuge; hermits, snails, mandy, scooter, blue chromis, azure damsel, starry & tailspot blennies, firefish, royal gramma, redstripe goby, YWG pair, lps;

04/01/2012, 06:13 AM	#2
dburnett75 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: westlake,Louisiana Posts: 43	what do you feed and what do you keep your temp.at??

04/01/2012, 06:21 AM	#3
Comtek Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 312	water steady around 78.5 kent phytomax is the only thing i add to my tank

04/01/2012, 06:49 AM	#6
Comtek Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 312	no optics they are spaced about 3 inches apart i have a few softies that seem to be doing ok florida ricordia's splitting. i have a gorgonian on the sand bed that does not grow but it always has it's polyps extended.

04/01/2012, 07:48 AM	#7
Comtek Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 312	is my KH too low?

04/01/2012, 08:43 AM	#8
NYCBOB Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: NYC Posts: 1,170	what kind of sps are you keeping? why dont u try something easier at first like capricornis?

04/01/2012, 08:52 AM	#9
Comtek Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 312	just a perple digi frag once in awhile to see if it will survive but never does now i'm just wondering what i should try next?

04/01/2012, 09:52 AM	#11
Comtek Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 312	they were at 40% when i put this last digi frag in but the next day the tips are white now 3 days later the whole top half is now gone. i just set the lights down to 30% they are usually 6 - 8" from the tank.

04/01/2012, 10:11 AM	#13
Playa-1 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 7,502	I would take a hard look at your water parameters and the stablility of the tank.

04/01/2012, 10:33 AM	#14
Comtek Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 312	kh 130 is in ppm so i guess it would be 7.28 dh

04/02/2012, 10:04 AM	#16
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 7,214	Any ammonia will kill off your SPS corals and your nitrates need to be near zero.

04/02/2012, 12:46 PM	#18
power boat jim Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Elmwood Park IL Posts: 1,301	As stated above, the ammonia should be 0. When that happens, give the tank time to adjust and then see how the coral does. __________________ 180 gal SPS with 6 AI sol blues. Current Tank Info: 180 Gal sps, 6 AI blues. 70 gal Sump, Ca reactor, Super skimmer and not much else