Why can’t I keep SPS alive?

Gsxkid

Well-Known Member
BRS Member
I have plenty of zoas now but any sps I put in my tank slowly sometimes quickly turns a beautiful white. As much as I love having white sticks in my tank it would be nice to keep them alive.

I have an auto top off
Doser ( dosing BRS
Led lights (black box)

water parameters are

1.025 salinity. Refractometer
400-440 cal. Hanna
Kh 11. Hanna
Mag. 1300+\- Salifert

Is there something else I should be watching for SPS corals
 

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Not ans SPS expert by any means, but 11 dKH seems awfully high. I try to keep mine in the 7.8-8.2 range and from everything that I've ever read from serious SPS keepers they try and mimic NSW as close as possible. What's your NO3 and Po4 measurements?
 
Not ans SPS expert by any means, but 11 dKH seems awfully high. I try to keep mine in the 7.8-8.2 range and from everything that I've ever read from serious SPS keepers they try and mimic NSW as close as possible. What's your NO3 and Po4 measur

Both near zero using API test kits which I know aren’t the best.
 
Well there you go, raise them suckers up a bit. Again, I'm no SPS expert but try to keep with the Redfield ratio. Currently my nitrates are roughly 2.5-5 and phosphates are about .03-.05
 
Another problem could be your getting false test results with using api test kits. I keep my alk at 9 this gives me a cushion on either side just incase I need to adjust. How much par are those black boxes dumping into your tank? What percentage are you running them? What do you use for flow?
 
I'd consider trying some hardy SPS like Montipora digitata or Pocillipora damicornis. I keep my alkalinity quite elevated all the time. I've never seen a problem with it. I've not seen much problem with temps between 75-83F, but certainly around 80 is safest.

If you have a really heavy growth of certain soft corals you might have a high level of some naturally secreted chemicals that might be interfering with the growth of SPS corals. You didn't mention how often you do water changes and whether you are using activated carbon. You might want to step up the use of both of those. Of course SPS also need more water motion than soft corals, not sure what you have there. Also you might want to describe how these corals die when you add them, is it slow or fast? Are there fish that are pecking at them? Do you have fish? Do you introduce the new corals in the low light area of the tank and move them up slowly to the bright light over about 3 weeks? I'd not sweat the low nutrients thing either. I've not measured phosphate or nitrate in years.
 
Another problem could be your getting false test results with using api test kits. I keep my alk at 9 this gives me a cushion on either side just incase I need to adjust. How much par are those black boxes dumping into your tank? What percentage are you running them? What do you use for flow?
API was only used for nitrate and phosphate
 
I'd consider trying some hardy SPS like Montipora digitata or Pocillipora damicornis. I keep my alkalinity quite elevated all the time. I've never seen a problem with it. I've not seen much problem with temps between 75-83F, but certainly around 80 is safest.

If you have a really heavy growth of certain soft corals you might have a high level of some naturally secreted chemicals that might be interfering with the growth of SPS corals. You didn't mention how often you do water changes and whether you are using activated carbon. You might want to step up the use of both of those. Of course SPS also need more water motion than soft corals, not sure what you have there. Also you might want to describe how these corals die when you add them, is it slow or fast? Are there fish that are pecking at them? Do you have fish? Do you introduce the new corals in the low light area of the tank and move them up slowly to the bright light over about 3 weeks? I'd not sweat the low nutrients thing either. I've not measured phosphate or nitrate in years.
I Haven’t tried putting them in low light then moving into brighter light. I don’t run carbon. I have
1 powder blue tang
3 clownfish
3 black/white damsels
1 six line wrasse
1 neon dottyback
1 purple dottyback
1 banner cardinal
1 coral beauty angelfish

They typically die slowly. The last one I had looked like it’s skin peeled off. I’ve had others that bleach from the bottom up. Others that bleach from the top down
 
High Alk with near zero po4 & no3 is not a good combination. If you want to keep that high Alk, I would suggest bringing up the nutrients by increasing the feeding. Also you would want to have a high flow for that 11 dKH.

I would also check for is the alk stability. How frequently do you test the alk and does it tend to drift too much from your baseline?

From your stock list, I would also keep an eye on the coral beauty angel. Though centropyge are good inhabitants for a SPS tank, they do tend to nip on the coral polyps. When you have large colonies, it is usually not an issue. But when you introduce frags, they don't get time to settle down with the nipping from the fish.
 
Salifert is a good reliable easy alkalinity test. While you can run a high alk tank, if you're just getting going, I'd recommend reducing it to 8-9 dkh. As several people have said, for sps flow is crucial.
 
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