Thinking bout giving up on sps

[superclown]

I changed tanks a few months back and added a bag if live sand the first week them let the old sand from old tank die and then I rinsed it thoroughly and let it dry then rinsed again. The gfo and carbon is changed every 2 weeks I alternate where basically I change carbon week one change gfo week too change carbon week 3 change gfo week. I also bleach my filter sock every 2 weeks

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[outdrsyguy1]

How often do you change your sock? I change and bleach mine every 3 or 4 days but I'm working on a system to get it to every other day. If your sock is going two weeks then you've found a major source of the problem.

 

[ralph atl]

SuperClown;840621 wrote: I changed tanks a few months back and added a bag if live sand the first week them let the old sand from old tank die and then I rinsed it thoroughly and let it dry then rinsed again. The gfo and carbon is changed every 2 weeks I alternate where basically I change carbon week one change gfo week too change carbon week 3 change gfo week. I also bleach my filter sock every 2 weeks

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

change your GFO & GAC weekly, but use less.....

 

[superclown]

Ok. I will get me about 5 more socks so I can bleach them all at once not trying to wash 1 in the washer every 3 days lol. I will also go to 1 week and cut my usage in half and see how that works

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[kirkwood]

You shouldn't try to keep SPS until you can test Alk, CAL, and Mag. If you say your SPS dies overnight, if your alk is very low you'd have a ph drop at night which would kill your SPS. No idea if that is your issue, but try testing your PH in the middle of your light cycle and again in the middle of the night to see your fluctuation... You already say you're using Salinity, which is a great salt, and if mixed correctly gives you perfect paramaters. You need to test Alk and CAL daily for at least 1 week in order to calculate your depletion ratios. Then you can properly calculate a 2-part dosing schedule. With salinity and a good water change schedule your Mag should stay in line around 1350. After that I would say to start with the easiest SPS like orange monti, green birdsnest, and/or green slimer. Don't try the more delicate SPS until you are sure you're system is ready.

I really don't think the temp swings are the problem. In the summer i've had my system fluctuate from 78-82 in a day while out of town with no ill effects on SPS. On the great barrier reef during low tide SPS will sit completely out of the water with full exposure to the sun...

 

[jayu]

I have to agree with what was mentioned earlier. Stability is key with SPS. Some SPS are a bit more demanding than others. I think you may be over thinking things too much. If you haven't previously been monitoring Alkalinity regularly, it looks as though that could be a major culprit. I'd do weekly tests on your parameters, and try to keep the fluctuations as minimal as possible.



Algae on the glass is not a major cause for concern. It's part of the game. If you have a major hair algae problem that's another story. Perhaps you just need some time to battle the problem. It's easier to get into the mess than it is to clean up. Also sometimes it takes a while for some SPS to get happy. I have a strawberry shortcake acro that took forever to color up. Once it did, it's been happy ever since.

 

[sonofdagon]

Superclown I'm up the road from you in Monticello. If you need any sps frags let me know. Need to thin and trim some of my large colonies. I'll be happy to give you some if you need them.

 

[superclown]

sonofDagon;840878 wrote: Superclown I'm up the road from you in Monticello. If you need any sps frags let me know. Need to thin and trim some of my large colonies. I'll be happy to give you some if you need them.

That is a awesome gesture however I would really love to get everything in check first

Regarding ph I keep my sump on at night when my lights go off I will test my ph in the morning to see if it changes any even with sump light on. I tested my magnesium and it seems fine. The algae I'm getting mainly is on the glass nothing on sand bed.

I really feel like my Milli is still hanging in fine but my green slimer and tri color is almost dead.. its hanging on by a hair everything else looks great

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[reeferman]

have you checked for pests like acro eating flatworms[aefw]?they are impossible to see so youll need to look for the bite marks.

 

[ripped tide]

reeferman;840994 wrote: have you checked for pests like acro eating flatworms[aefw]?they are impossible to see so youll need to look for the bite marks.

Yep. I rescued some corals from someone back in early December that had aefw. I didn't know about it because of how hard they are to see. I only dipped the corals, and didn't QT them. I didn't have the time or means to QT the volume of corals that were thrown on to me. Completely ****ed up my world.

I fixed it by pulling the acros that I could pull out and dipped then with potassium permanganate. Jeremy also enlightened me on a systemic treatment that I was able to use in the aquarium for the acros that I couldn't dip. Either way, I probably lost over $1500 in SPS before I could identify the issue-

I'll probably never get back into SPS like I had been. This was very discouraging to me. I'm liking acans and chalice.

 

[CoralShop]

I keep wrasses for this reason.

Ripped Tide;840998 wrote: Yep. I rescued some corals from someone back in early December that had aefw. I didn't know about it because of how hard they are to see. I only dipped the corals, and didn't QT them. I didn't have the time or means to QT the volume of corals that were thrown on to me. Completely ****ed up my world.

I fixed it by pulling the acros that I could pull out and dipped then with potassium permanganate. Jeremy also enlightened me on a systemic treatment that I was able to use in the aquarium for the acros that I couldn't dip. Either way, I probably lost over $1500 in SPS before I could identify the issue-

I'll probably never get back into SPS like I had been. This was very discouraging to me. I'm liking acans and chalice.

 

[ripped tide]

Haha, yeah the tank they came out of had a ton of wrasses, so no one would have known there was an issue. The tank I put them in didn't have any wrasses. It was one of my frag tanks.

It was a lesson learned that if I take on a big task, I need to be properly prepared and have a qt. the previous owner would have never known about the issue to warn me because of the wrasses he kept. The aefw are impossible to see with out a microscope or magnifying glass.

Luckily, now I know how to fix the problem if it ever happens again.

 

[snowmansnow]

Yes check your alk.. Mine seem to do best around 9dkh

as far as acclimation, I simply float for temp and then put them in.

what LED system are you using?

give digis a go... and see what happens, just some green and purple digita..they seem to be wicked hard to kill.

also, once you get levels stable... leave stuff along.

my best growth in my tank has come when everything is running fine and I simply keep my tinkering hands out of there and stop moving stuff around.

B

Edit: oh for cyano... use chemiclean

if the stuff has gained a foothold its REALLY hard to get rid of.

b

 

[dustin]

Temp swings where my biggest issue with sps. Look at them in nature. As soon as a reef heats up 1 or 2 degrees above its normal swing, the sps stop growing and start fleshing out and bleaching.

 

[superclown]

That really bites man. I will look and see if I can see anything

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[reeferman]

im gonna hit Jeremy up and see what the systemic treatment is.i beat them about a year ago,they are tough, but would love to know a safe whole tank treatment.
most people who have them never know they have them.they just experience stn from the base up and other folks advise that its an alk problem,which very well may be but not always.i cant stress enough how terribly hard they are to see but if you familiarize yourself with the bitemarks,they become much more evident

 

[ralph atl]

SuperClown;840686 wrote: Ok. I will get me about 5 more socks so I can bleach them all at once not trying to wash 1 in the washer every 3 days lol. I will also go to 1 week and cut my usage in half and see how that works

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

you really need to use GFO and GAC in a reactor as water is forced through it....

Filter Socks are too passive and they are not effective wasting money and causing trates & phates to escalate over time...

here:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-gfo-carbon-reactor-dual.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-gfo-carbon-reactor-dual.html</a>

eheim compact:
[IMG]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/eheim-compact-pump-1000.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/eheim-compact-pump-1000.html</a>


HC GFO:
[IMG]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-bulk-gfo-granular-ferric-oxide-high-capacity.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-bulk-gfo-granular-ferric-oxide-high-capacity.html</a>


GAC:
[IMG]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-bulk-premium-rox-0-8-aquarium-carbon.html">http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-bulk-premium-rox-0-8-aquarium-carbon.html</a>

 

[kilralpine]

GFO and CARBON need to be ran on any SPS tank in my opinion; the chemical warfare that semi-mixed reef will produce needs to be absorbed somewhere - carbon. GFO is there to help eliminate the escalation of phosphates. I believe filter socks are an EXCELLENT form of mechanical filtration as it will catch larger particles that may not get skimmed, ate by fish, ect ect. They CAN be nitrate and phosphate factories if not implemented and used properly; change them every 2-3 days and wash them with either just really hot water or with bleach. People say the felt socks are much worse in this respect because they are thicker and have more places for stuff to get stuck in them; I use them and have only seen massive improvement in the reduction of phosphates and hair type algae in particular. I have about 4 of them and I rotate them until I have 3 dirty at which point I throw them in my washer on basically stain fighter mode + hot water + extra rinse, bleach every other time. If I were to buy socks again I would likely go with a really fine mesh instead of felt.

 

[superclown]

I run gfo in a reactor I only use filter sock on drain to catch excess items and waste in the overflow. I use carbon in a mesh filter sock that sits inside a 4 inch fabric sock

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[ralph atl]

just trying to think of stuff from your posts......change weekly though as planned...GAC in a reactor will also help....