I am Slowly Murdering my Coral

[fort384]

I started my first reef tank about 6 months ago. Since then I have had a lot of issue with coral.

First some tank specs/background:

57 gal tank, 20 gal sump.

0 ammonia/0 nitrite/0 nitrate/ 0.02 PO4 generally/79F temp, 8.1-8.3 pH/calcium is always high, as is alkalinity.

Lighting: 2X Aqua Illuminations SOL White. 12 hour photo period, but 2 hour ramp up and ramp down to a max of 30% white, 35% blue currently (been increasing this slowly over the last month or so).

2 MP10s set on EcoSMART and both running at around 50% of max.

Fish: 2 Percula Clowns, 2 Black Bar Chromis, 1 Anthias, 1 Royal Gramma.
Inverts: 1 coral banded shrimp, lots of hermits and snails

Basically since starting, I have managed to murder about 60-70% of the coral I have put in the tank. It started with the slaying of a couple of hammer corals early on, but over the past several months, most of my coral has just slowly faded/died. The only coral still doing well is a frogspawn, and a birdsnest. I have probably killed 100+ heads of zoa. I have some still left living, but more are dying every day it seems like. It seems like the heads get smaller and smaller, and disappear. I killed some pulsing xenia, also slowly - it did great for a couple of months, and then over the course of about 4 weeks, it just shrunk until there was nothing left. I murdered a trumpet coral and some fauvia in the same way. Looked ok at first, but then started to recede and the skeleton started showing until there was nothing left. Same with some sympodium. It looked great for awhile and then it just slowly died. My jasmine polyps did great for awhile, but here lately they are starting to look less well.

Obviously I am doing something wrong. Where to start here?

The lighting seems like it is set really low, but early on I went around in circles with this, and ended up nuking several corals within a weeks time by running the light at around 60%. So, after doing some reading about optics and renting a PAR meter I settled on some pretty low max numbers. But do the symptoms I am describing sound like lighting deficiency?? I have started to creep the light up about 3% a week over the past month or so, and honestly, if I had to venture a guess, I would say the coral looks WORSE, not better.

It is really frustrating... (not to mention EXPENSIVE!).

 

[nikki_kaiser]

I've been reading up in corals because I'm adding some to my tank soon as well so I'm going to follow along! What supplements do you use and what do you feed them?

 

[fort384]

I'm not currently using any supplements. I feed rods reef and that's it.

 

[DWilliams]

I'm not currently using any supplements. I feed rods reef and that's it.

You seem to be doing everything right.. I haven't used leds yet so I don't know as much as in the light. I'd try using supplements if I was in your position. I've had awesome results with AquaVitro, I use all of there products.

 

[Gboy66]

After thinking about it, i'd agree that the lights are definitly a problem. The whole having the ability to adjust the percentage seems hard. You would just have to find a sweet spot and you havent yet. The adjusting is necessary, but i imagine the corals dont like the constant changing..however little. My advice would be to just keep on trying to find that sweet spot.

Could you get us some exact numbers as far as calcium and alk? Alkalinity is pretty sketchy. If you have it high, you get crazy growth...but if you have it too high, it could burn alot of corals. I think your next step would be to find out some exact numbers.

Sorry fort:/

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Adding on to the comment above this is just a thought. Maybe instead of constantly changing the light intensity, you should start moving corals and up and down and watch how they do. Zoas should definitly be near the bottom of your tank, where were they when you lost so many fort?

 

[fort384]

KH 7.7 Calcium 500.

I have lost zoas at the top, middle, and bottom of the tank.

 

[Gboy66]

KH 7.7 Calcium 500.

I have lost zoas at the top, middle, and bottom of the tank.

Calcium looks good, but the alk looks to be a bit high...

Did they shrivel up because of too much light? Thats what mine do if they have too much. My Palys dont have as large a "stalk" when they get too much. Do you add all corals directly to the sandbed when initially added?

 

[fort384]

not to the sand bed, but most of them were started low.

I don't know if it is too much light or not enough light. I have no idea. The zoas in particular, are just slowly shrinking away. Just looking at it here today, the largest colony I have left has a bunch of closed up zoas on it, and the ones that are open are tiny.

My frogspawn looks better every day though.

I don't know.

I contacted AI customer service a couple of months or ago, and they told me that I ought to be able to run the lights starting at 50% and creep them up to 60-80% of max. I tried running them for about 3 days at 50% though, and the coral took a HUGE turn for the worse so I turned it way back down.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

How do you acclimate the corals fort? Do you buy them all from the same store?

 

[fort384]

I have bought them from 3 different stores. I have lost coral from all 3 stores, and have some living from all 3 stores.

I drip acclimate for 1-1.5 hours, and usually do a lugols dip to kill any hitchhikers.

 

[Ingy]

I don't see that alkalinity as being high. In fact I believe it is on the low side. And if you use Seachem salt it is quiet low.
I thought 7-11 was recommended and higher if you use the borate enhanced Seachem.

 

[fort384]

I use redsea coral pro salt.

 

[Gboy66]

I don't see that alkalinity as being high. In fact I believe it is on the low side. And if you use Seachem salt it is quiet low.
I thought 7-11 was recommended and higher if you use the borate enhanced Seachem.

Hmm, i always thought 8 was the max, maybe its just preference

 

[Keithhjs]

Interesting. I run the AI Sols also. They are about ten inches above the surface & I started my peak output at 70% or so and over a month crept up to where I am now at about 90% white & 95% on blues. Some of my corals started on the sand & others started mid to top instantly. Most of my corals do well. Great growth on Acans, blastos, chalice, SPS, candy canes, etc. I did lose a BTA though. Not sure if your lights are on high enough. How far above the tank are they? Also did you qt them or disinfect them? I disinfect and then dip in revive each piece. I also feed them daily (prob get most people disagree with that) and target feed several times a week using several coral foods. With the mps you run I would think you have adequate flow but you may need to adjust that. Also, u have any algea restricting their growth? Are the corals or frags open up nicely and or healed when you get them at the LFS?

 

[fort384]

Yes they look great at the LFS and for the first week or two in the tank. Then the slow decline begins. And no algae.

 

[reefrunner69]

Just a shot in the dark...is it possible you have something in your tank eating the coral, maybe a nudibranch, or starfish or the hermits?

 

[Convict2161]

I'm coming in late so please excuse me if my questions are redundant.

How many AI SOL BLUES are you running?

How far from the water are they?

I have the same light, what are your % at?

Whites %

Blues %

Royals %

Do you do the acclimation setting when adding the coral?

Also your alk could go up a but I don't think that's killing your corals. My dkh is 12 some may say that's high. The range is 7-11 so I don't see that as the killer. I'm willing to bet its the light or lights.

I'd like to try and help bud if I can. I'm not an expert but I've had the AI for almost a year now.


I wanna know specifics of you don't mind. Like your ramp up schedule and what is your highest point an how long it stays at it. Also your ramp down and if you have any total darkness.

I have my lights to go off totally at 3am-7am then slowly ramp up to noon and stay at that high point until 2pm then it slowly ramps down and down until it hits moonlight at 8pm then off at 3am.

I had to start dosing since the coral growth took off. I use B-ionic.

Do you feed your corals at all? I use reefs nutrition live phyto 20 drops every 3 days.

Also what kind of flow do you have?

A full tank shot would help.

I'd really like to try and help and figure this out together.

Thanks

Dino

 

[Gboy66]

I'm coming in late so please excuse me if my questions are redundant.

How many AI SOL BLUES are you running?

How far from the water are they?

I have the same light, what are your % at?

Whites %

Blues %

Royals %

Do you do the acclimation setting when adding the coral?

Also your alk could go up a but I don't think that's killing your corals. My dkh is 12 some may say that's high. The range is 7-11 so I don't see that as the killer. I'm willing to bet its the light or lights.

I'd like to try and help bud if I can. I'm not an expert but I've had the AI for almost a year now.

I wanna know specifics of you don't mind. Like your ramp up schedule and what is your highest point an how long it stays at it. Also your ramp down and if you have any total darkness.

I have my lights to go off totally at 3am-7am then slowly ramp up to noon and stay at that high point until 2pm then it slowly ramps down and down until it hits moonlight at 8pm then off at 3am.

I had to start dosing since the coral growth took off. I use B-ionic.

Do you feed your corals at all? I use reefs nutrition live phyto 20 drops every 3 days.

Also what kind of flow do you have?

A full tank shot would help.

I'd really like to try and help and figure this out together.

Thanks

Dino

Thanks for comin Dino. Helps you have the same light

 

[Convict2161]

Thanks for comin Dino. Helps you have the same light

No problem buddy. I hope I can have some questions answered so I can give it a shot. I'll try my hardest to help. From what I've read so far I'd say it's the lights. I've burned a few corals with the light and people don't realize (like I didn't as well) how strong this light actually is. This thing packs a HUGE punch. And messing with it over and over again will only do more harm then good. I think I changed my settings 2x's in almost a year.