problems with keeping sps

[pokmijn]

Ok why cant i keep any sps corals i couldn't keep any with my old light and my new one. hear's my readings:
ammonia- 0
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 15
phosphate- .25
ca- 400
alk- 10
mag- around 1300
my light is dual 175w 10k mh w/1 55 watt t-5 actinic

i tried pink birdnest, lower light acro after the second day it would already start to die(turning white) from all over.

i place it all the way at the bottom when i first put it into my tank. any idea anyone.

 

[Erok7620]

You need your nitrate as close to 0 as you can get it, 0 is best. How is your flow? Alk is also high. Calk a little low I think. Im new to SPS so hopefully a expert will elaborate. SPS wants plenty of light, if your getting them from a LFS with MH go ahead and place them high, but 350MH in a 55 is more than enough. I would say its not your lighting unless your bulbs are really old. I use 14k MH, I dont know how the 10k's are. Experts???

 

[Tank2379]

You might have to much lighting but I could be wrong.... I have a 55G and my Coraline has recently stop growing but everything else is. How long are you keeping your lights on during the day?

 

[Innovator]

The lighting is more than adequate for a 55g. Ca is fine. Alk is 10dKH? That is fine. Try to bring down your NO3, but not detrimental either quite yet. You mentioned can't keep "any" sps so what other sps have you tried? Your phosphate could be lower, try a PO4 remover or reactor. What kind of water flow do you have? Birdsnest corals are not considered "hardy" corals by any means unless captive-raised and I've noticed a preference for low lighting compared to that of acropora.

 

[pokmijn]

For flow i have two koralia 2 and maxi-jet 1200 with the mod
i haven't tried anything else cause i dont want to get it and kill it(but have had softies and leathers)
Birdnest was frag from a friend and acro was purchased from a lsf which was placed all the way at the bottom over 250 watt mh
my lights are one 6 hours a day

should i try other sps first and see what happens.

 

[Innovator]

If the birdnest is growing fine from a friend then it should be fine for transplant. I would make sure the frag has healed and somewhat regrown before acclimating to your tank. If you currently have leathers and other soft corals there may be a problem in the future with sps, but the frag turning white just seems like an acclimation or light acclimation response.

 

[Erok7620]

Dont want to get off subject but why have I always read 7-9DKH was optimal for alk? Doesnt high alk cause coral to not take on proper calcium, causing poor growth and color? Still new at this BTW. I thought 7-9 was ideal. 10-11 pushing it. I have alot to learn, thats why im here.. and we all are. Thanks in advance.

 

[pokmijn]

If the birdnest is growing fine from a friend then it should be fine for transplant. I would make sure the frag has healed and somewhat regrown before acclimating to your tank. If you currently have leathers and other soft corals there may be a problem in the future with sps, but the frag turning white just seems like an acclimation or light acclimation response.

well the colony of the birdsnest is growing great and he made sure the frag was healthy again before he gave it to me i tried like 5 of the frags already same result(2 on my old lights and 3 with the new ones.)
as of right now i only have a few zoas in there i took everything out because im change this tank to a zoas and sps only.

i start them low in a area with less light first to make sure they get use too my lights but it dont help they turn out the same

i need help fast before i waste all my money on something else and have to wait on corals again.

 

[Innovator]

How are you acclimating them? What kind of lighting does your friend have (sorry if I missed that info.)? If you try another birdsnest, turn off one of the halides and place in that area where there is residual light from the other...I understand your dilemma, but trying to figure out why someone's coral doesn't respond isn't as easy as 123 considering we, members, are on the outside looking in

Erok, a safe Alk reading is from 3.0meq/l-4.5meq/l. This should help you: A Simplified Guide to the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[pokmijn]

well i drip acclimate them for about 4-5 hours my friend has dual 250 watts mh but its in a 120
but if i turn off one of the light wouldn't it effect my other corals in that area cause i place the frag in shaded area when its first introduced to my tank.

 

[Innovator]

I would acclimate no more than 2hrs, anything more is overkill and better left to mobile invertebrates. Acclimation is usually a stressful adventure for corals and intense lighting can be an added stress factor. It isn't going to hurt your other coral by turning off the lighting or at least 1 halide for the day. You can even run them intermittently throughout the day at short intervals for light acclimation and see how the new coral reacts. You are going to have to play around and experiment to see what works.

 

[pokmijn]

ok ill keep trying different things...ill call my friend and pick up another frag tomorrow and see what happens with that one...any other help would be appreciated