Jestersix

I NEED HELP FIGURING OUT WHY I CANT KEEP SPS

TwinsReef

TwinsReef

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Hello everyone, I've been trying to keep spy but for some reason they don't do good in my tank.

I have a redsea reefer 300
2 radion xr15 at 40 intensity ab+
2 mp40 at 50% reef crest
Nitrate 31.7
Alk 7.6
Ph 7.8 -8.1
Phosphate 0.19
Salinity 34.8 ppt

Thanks for your input
 
Got any photos or anything to update in your tank journal? Much easier to see what's going on! Also what are you dosing? How stable you keep your alkalinity and how high is your PAR, photo period, magnesium, etc.? Are you seeing coralline algae growth?

There's a ton of factors that tend to lead to SPS health and note that true mixed reefs can be the hardest to keep.
 
My knee-jerk reaction other than the comments above (Ca, Mag, temp and temp swings) is those phosphates are about double as high as the SPS sweet spot. I also wonder what PAR you're getting. With that said, I wasn't able to keep SPS confidently until I upped my at-home water RODI unit to a 5 stage with double carbon filter, in hindsight it seemed like too many chlorine/chloramines were getting through. Lastly, stability stability stability
 
One of my LA friends had a thread on R2R. Why I can’t grow sps ? His name is Vincent, owns abc corals. It’s a huge thread. Basically he says your biome isn’t strong enough. You need to grow your biome. I’ll try to find the thread.
 
Darkxerox said:
Got any photos or anything to update in your tank journal? Much easier to see what's going on! Also what are you dosing? How stable you keep your alkalinity and how high is your PAR, photo period, magnesium, etc.? Are you seeing coralline algae growth?

There's a ton of factors that tend to lead to SPS health and note that true mixed reefs can be the hardest to keep.
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No algae issues, I don't have a par meter but my schedule is from 7 am to 7pm, I'm dosing all for reef with their recommended dosage for my water volume, I do see coralline algae growth all my LPS and softies are doing well. I have only checked alk, haven't checked mag and calcium
 
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Pictures of my tank
 

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jstiltne said:
My knee-jerk reaction other than the comments above (Ca, Mag, temp and temp swings) is those phosphates are about double as high as the SPS sweet spot. I also wonder what PAR you're getting. With that said, I wasn't able to keep SPS confidently until I upped my at-home water RODI unit to a 5 stage with double carbon filter, in hindsight it seemed like too many chlorine/chloramines were getting through. Lastly, stability stability stability
Click to expand...

ashburn2k said:
age of your tank, temp, what other corals have you successfully kept? what's your Ca? Ca plays crucial role in grow SPS
Click to expand...
ashburn2k said:
age of your tank, temp, what other corals have you successfully kept? what's your Ca? Ca plays crucial role in grow SPS
Click to expand...
ashburn2k said:
age of your tank, temp, what other corals have you successfully kept? what's your Ca? Ca plays crucial role in grow SPS
Click to expand...
1yr, temp at 78, I can keep LPS and softies, I will be checking CA and mag when I get home
 
jstiltne said:
My knee-jerk reaction other than the comments above (Ca, Mag, temp and temp swings) is those phosphates are about double as high as the SPS sweet spot. I also wonder what PAR you're getting. With that said, I wasn't able to keep SPS confidently until I upped my at-home water RODI unit to a 5 stage with double carbon filter, in hindsight it seemed like too many chlorine/chloramines were getting through. Lastly, stability stability stability
Click to expand...
I have also wonder about my four stage rodi system, however I bought a separate td meter and reads 0
 
Found it. It’s a long read. He explains if you did everything right. Why is it still dying.
www.reef2reef.com

Why cant u keep sps?

Well first and for most im not a scientist or marine biologist my theory base only on my experience and observation on my reef tank. I just want to help those that have problems keeping sps. In this discussion please keep it positive and dont make it to “i know better than u or led is better...
www.reef2reef.com www.reef2reef.com
 
Not much more to be said here. Other than water parameters, 40% on a XR15 is pretty low I run 2 XR15s at 90% over my SPS rack and my other 3 at 60% over my LPS. What are your PAR values? The thin Zooxanthellae in SPS use light as its energy source, so low light mean starved coral.
 
Turkeysammich said:
Just a Quick Look at your system. If you’re a new to the hobby. And you started out with dead rock and dead sand. Your turn around point is a year to year and the half depending on biome additions or subtractions.
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Rocks are from a 3 year old system, I used live rock and even dosed beneficial bacteria. Some sps are doing okay and some aren't doing well at all ..
 
Reefinglens said:
Not much more to be said here. Other than water parameters, 40% on a XR15 is pretty low I run 2 XR15s at 90% over my SPS rack and my other 3 at 60% over my LPS. What are your PAR values? The thin Zooxanthellae in SPS use light as its energy source, so low light mean starved coral.
Click to expand...
I'm still in the wait list for the groups par meter, that's why I haven't adjusted my lighting
 
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