SPS issue

[steve r]

i am having a probelm with my SPS and one LPS. a monit cap, and birdsnest have bleached. the monit is still there but not looking good. the birdsnest is gone. one LPS ( a candycane ) has receeded. another candy cane is fine and a monti digitata is actually thriving. as another note my soft corals are doing better than ever

amm 0
trite 0
trate 0
phospates 0
KH/ALK 8.0 dKH or 2.86 meg/l
calcium 320
plenty of flow
temp 79.5-82
SG 1.024
no cyano

could it be the calcium? all the corals were doing great in the other tank. i also think it might be the new lights. CF to MH. i shortened the photo period and but all the coral on the bottom. some SPS have been moved up now. coral that bleached are at all levels of the aquarium. the new tank is about a month old.

any thoughts

steve r

 

[steve-s]

Low Ca will definately be a concern but should not cause what your seeing. Still a good idea to get that back up to NSW levels. Preferabley closer to 410-415 ppm given your SG. Low Ca will cause poor growth and a low density skelaton.

The two main problems I see that could definately be at issue is the light acclimation and tank age. How was the new tank set up?

As far as the light is concerned, altering the photoperiod doesn't do much at all when upgrading to MH from a fluorescent fixture. They will burn just as easily in an hour. Increasing the distance from the light source helps but is not nearly as effective as shading the lights by using several layers of screen door material. This reduces the intensity and allows the corals to gradually acclimate to the new light. Every week or so you can remove one layer and gradually step up the intensity over time. Something I would suggest you still do.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve r]

i assume it is a light acclimation issue. the new tank was setup using 70lbs of live rock from old tank and 40 lbs of live sand. i added about 40lbs new sand and about 30lbs new rock. i used almost all of my old water, but did a couple water changes in the first and a half. i will get on the screen shield idea

i now have room to hang a small bag or bucket to drip kalk. is this the prefered method ( besides Ca reactor ) the two part b ionic never seemed to raise my levels. just maintaned them. BTW, i use kent salt mix

thanks for your input.
steve r

 

[steve-s]

Light will be most of it I think but in regards to SPS corals specifically, 2 months is not enough time to stabalize a new set up. Even with the added seeding materials, I would not suggest adding any type of delicate corals until at least 6-8 months. Under normal conditions and starting a new tank, you really shouldn't add these types of corals until closer to a year.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve r]

these corals were from my other tank. i guess i should say tank transfer not new tank. i needed to put them somewhere they were all thriving in the old tank

steve r

 

[steve-s]

I understood what you meant. For SPS though, even this is still considered too unstable to be adding them this soon.

Cheers
Steve