New to coral, having some issues. Could use some advice..

[averagesteve]

Hello,

New to coral, started with three frags a few months ago from LFS, then ordered a bunch through an online retailer, some are ok others are really struggling and would like some advice on what I can do to make sure they all strive. But first... tank details!

75 gal (48 inch), 30 gal sump/fuge - 5 months old. about 80g total water volume

6x 54w t5 ati sunpower - new bulbs, was mounted 4inches from water, raised it to 8 inches yesterday. I do not have any PAR meter or means of measure it, but plan on getting a Seneye soon.

params:
ph - 8.0
alk - 9.0
no3 - ranges from 0.0 to 0.3 (Hannah HR)
po4 - ranges from 0.0 to 0.05 (Hannah LR)
1.026 SG
Haven't tested anything else, but I can if needed.

Anything else about the tank needed, just ask and I will provide.

I started about 2 months in with three inexpensive frags from the LFS to get my feet (or hands) wet with coral.
A birdsnest - bleached and died
A hollywood stunner chalice - bleached and died
A type of hammer - seems to about have doubled in size since.

After the birdsnest and hollywood stunner died, I really focused on getting my tank stable and testing more, once I felt comfortable, I ordered some corals from an online place and admittedly, I don't know what a couple of them are, I've had them about a month and:
Acropora Sarmentosa - tips started bleaching or tissue loss...
Psammocora - Hasn't changed much, looks fine
Duncanopsammia - Looks pretty good, I think it got bigger, always open.
Some kid of Acan/Micro lord: Started with 1 big and 4 small polyps, has a few more small polyps now, but the big one is looking pretty rough....
Some kind of Favia (I think) two of them: neither seemed to have changed at all... doesn't look like they grew, they don't really look rough either.. not sure if they are ok or are suddenly going to die one day.
Something I thought was a candy cane but it may not be: Lots of tissue loss here... exposed skeleton, looks terrible.
Cyphastrea -Haven't noticed any growth, looks to be getting a little lighter, probably about to bleach?
Ricordea Florida - This was a freebie, it was TINY when I got it, put it in the tank on a rock, it detached and went off into the flow, I couldn't find it for a couple weeks, then it showed back up about twice the size that it was with way better color.

So based on what is doing well and what isn't, can provide pictures if needed, but what could be the issues with the few that are looking rough? I'm definitely mostly concerned with what I thought was the candy cane as it's looking really bad and the acro which has some bleached tips going on....

Oh also I have GSP that is growing steadily that I moved a penny sized piece from another tank that I've had for a few years and that's about tripled in size.

Sorry for droning on this long post, just really trying to make it work..

Thanks everyone.

Edit: I missed one, some sort of chalice (I think) that also looks like it's receding a little...

 

[mnl119]

Hello,

New to coral, started with three frags a few months ago from LFS, then ordered a bunch through an online retailer, some are ok others are really struggling and would like some advice on what I can do to make sure they all strive. But first... tank details!

75 gal (48 inch), 30 gal sump/fuge - 5 months old. about 80g total water volume

6x 54w t5 ati sunpower - new bulbs, was mounted 4inches from water, raised it to 8 inches yesterday. I do not have any PAR meter or means of measure it, but plan on getting a Seneye soon.

params:
ph - 8.0
alk - 9.0
no3 - ranges from 0.0 to 0.3 (Hannah HR)
po4 - ranges from 0.0 to 0.05 (Hannah LR)
1.026 SG
Haven't tested anything else, but I can if needed.

Anything else about the tank needed, just ask and I will provide.

I started about 2 months in with three inexpensive frags from the LFS to get my feet (or hands) wet with coral.
A birdsnest - bleached and died
A hollywood stunner chalice - bleached and died
A type of hammer - seems to about have doubled in size since.

After the birdsnest and hollywood stunner died, I really focused on getting my tank stable and testing more, once I felt comfortable, I ordered some corals from an online place and admittedly, I don't know what a couple of them are, I've had them about a month and:
Acropora Sarmentosa - tips started bleaching or tissue loss...
Psammocora - Hasn't changed much, looks fine
Duncanopsammia - Looks pretty good, I think it got bigger, always open.
Some kid of Acan/Micro lord: Started with 1 big and 4 small polyps, has a few more small polyps now, but the big one is looking pretty rough....
Some kind of Favia (I think) two of them: neither seemed to have changed at all... doesn't look like they grew, they don't really look rough either.. not sure if they are ok or are suddenly going to die one day.
Something I thought was a candy cane but it may not be: Lots of tissue loss here... exposed skeleton, looks terrible.
Cyphastrea -Haven't noticed any growth, looks to be getting a little lighter, probably about to bleach?
Ricordea Florida - This was a freebie, it was TINY when I got it, put it in the tank on a rock, it detached and went off into the flow, I couldn't find it for a couple weeks, then it showed back up about twice the size that it was with way better color.

So based on what is doing well and what isn't, can provide pictures if needed, but what could be the issues with the few that are looking rough? I'm definitely mostly concerned with what I thought was the candy cane as it's looking really bad and the acro which has some bleached tips going on....

Oh also I have GSP that is growing steadily that I moved a penny sized piece from another tank that I've had for a few years and that's about tripled in size.

Sorry for droning on this long post, just really trying to make it work..

Thanks everyone.

Edit: I missed one, some sort of chalice (I think) that also looks like it's receding a little...

Your pH and nitrate look a little low. Poor aeration would cause low pH.

Specific gravity looks on the high side. How are you measuring SG? My hydrometer measures about 0.03 low compared to my refractometer which I trust more. Is it possible copper got into your system somehow?

 

[averagesteve]

Your pH and nitrate look a little low.

Specific gravity looks on the high side. How are you measuring SG? My hydrometer measures about 0.03 low compared to my refractometer which I trust more. Is it possible copper got into your system somehow?

SG I measure with a refractometer these days. I keep it around 35ppt which is 1.026 as that's what the salt says to have it for a mixed reef I believe...

I use RO water, I don't know how copper could get in there, the inverts seem fine.. I haven't done an ICP test ever, but it's on the list to do.

pH I'll check again, sometimes it's 8.0 other times it's 8.2 using the red sea kit, Going to be getting a Seneye soon to monitor that and check the PAR.

 

[mnl119]

SG I measure with a refractometer these days. I keep it around 35ppt which is 1.026 as that's what the salt says to have it for a mixed reef I believe...

I use RO water, I don't know how copper could get in there, the inverts seem fine.. I haven't done an ICP test ever, but it's on the list to do.

pH I'll check again, sometimes it's 8.0 other times it's 8.2 using the red sea kit, Going to be getting a Seneye soon to monitor that and check the PAR.

Copper: if you were adding some fish and dumped the bag instead of netting and going into the water... that could happen, but sounds like you have no fish, so that's probably out.

SG: Most reefers I know shoot for about 1.024-1.025. If your refractometer is off/uncalibrated your true SG might be a few points higher. You are probably OK here though. I don't trust hydrometers. Have you calibrated your hydrometer?

pH: Are you using a skimmer? They're great for aeration.

 

[averagesteve]

Copper: if you were adding some fish and dumped the bag instead of netting and going into the water... that could happen, but sounds like you have no fish, so that's probably out.

SG: Most reefers I know shoot for about 1.024-1.025. If your refractometer is off/uncalibrated your true SG might be a few points higher. You are probably OK here though. I don't trust hydrometers. Have you calibrated your hydrometer?

pH: Are you using a skimmer? They're great for aeration.

I'll check copper. I have a test kit for it, just haven't used it.

Fish: 2x clowns, 2x banggai cardinals, 1x red firefish, 1x diamond goby, 1x lawnmower blenny, 1x flame angelfish (honestly the flame angel is a dick and I'm suspicious, but I've never seen it actually pick at the frags)

Am using a skimmer. Refractometer was just calibrated and double checked again.

about to retest ph and copper.... brb

 

[mnl119]

I'll check copper. I have a test kit for it, just haven't used it.

Fish: 2x clowns, 2x banggai cardinals, 1x red firefish, 1x diamond goby, 1x lawnmower blenny, 1x flame angelfish (honestly the flame angel is a dick and I'm suspicious, but I've never seen it actually pick at the frags)

Am using a skimmer. Refractometer was just calibrated and double checked again.

about to retest ph and copper.... brb

Well, the only other thing I can think of is your light source seems really powerful for a 75 gallon. The old "rule of thumb" in the old days was 2 watts/gallon when using fluorescents. You've got over 4W/gallon in a fairly shallow tank. Maybe try playing with the intensity (lowering). Too much light can cause bleaching to be sure. I haven't used anything other than LED lighting for a while.

UPDATE: Just googled a bit... rule of thumb was 2-5 watts per gallon, so you are probably OK, but since you have a problem you might want to try adjusting.

As far as nitrates go, you could try increasing feedings bit to bump it up. I'm assuming you've checked ammonia/nitrite?

 

[averagesteve]

Ok, recalibrated the refractometer, SG is actually 1.024. Copper test was undetectable. pH test was about 8.2 (red sea test kit, kinda hard to see the colors, definitely above 8.0 and lower than 8.4.

Here are pictures of the three frags that seem to be worse off. I did raise the light up from 4 inches to 8 inches in case it was to much light while I wait on the Seneye.

Also, can someone confirm what the third one is? Thought it was a candy cane.

 

[Stephen8169301]

Calcium measurements? Magnesium?

 

[averagesteve]

Calcium measurements? Magnesium?

Alrighty, I dislike doing these because they are the ones where I have to jiggle it drop by drop (red sea pro kit) titration? Either way, mag seems fine at right around 1400.... Calcium is kinda suspect, actually came out to around 300.... Usually when I do this test it's closer to 400.... but this time I really feel it was about 300...

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

That’s a powerful light
Especially 4” off the tank as originally set up. Good it’s been moved up and u are getting a par meter. Mayb 10-12”. I’m sure BRS has a video. That’s more than capable of sps top and middle w lps on sand. Nutrients are low. Flow? And a flame angel in a reef is a gamble. If calcium is that low def increase to 400 Just need stability. How are u supplementing?

 

[Dave1993]

i see 0 nitrates your coral are starving m8 buy some nyos nitrate + thank me later when your corals are thriving

and ur phosphates are they 0 or 0.05 big difference and hanna should tell you if they are 0 dose some

 

[averagesteve]

That’s a powerful light
Especially 4” off the tank as originally set up. Good it’s been moved up and u are getting a par meter. Mayb 10-12”. I’m sure BRS has a video. That’s more than capable of sps top and middle w lps on sand. Nutrients are low. Flow? And a flame angel in a reef is a gamble. If calcium is that low def increase to 400 Just need stability. How are u supplementing?

i see 0 nitrates your coral are starving m8 buy some nyos nitrate + thank me later when your corals are thriving

and ur phosphates are they 0 or 0.05 big difference and hanna should tell you if they are 0 dose some

On the light: I realize now it was low. I always see threads about "why is my whatever doing poorly" and a lot of peopel say it's low light, so I'm always paranoid about light being low. When I first received these corals, I put them on the sand bed for a week and honestly they seemed really good for that week, wasn't until I moved them to their spots that they seemed to decline.

Edit: I moved the light up because it seems the standard for T5s on a 75 is about 8-10 inches, but honestly, I only really see people using the 4x 54w on a 75 and not the 6x, maybe I'll move it up more. I guess it's better to have low light than high light for a bit as I've heard it's easier to bring a coral back from brown than bleach.

Flow: I have two jebao scp-70m on the back wall, random mode.

Supplementing: using All-for-reef only about 3ml a day to maintain the alk at 9

I also have tropic marin plus NP as the LFS guy said that if I'm really running 0 no3 and po4 I'm going to have issues, however when I use this my po4 goes really high, like .33, so I stopped using it, also I have a ton of algae that I manually remove.... lots of hair algae.

 

[mrpontiac80]

Alrighty, I dislike doing these because they are the ones where I have to jiggle it drop by drop (red sea pro kit) titration? Either way, mag seems fine at right around 1400.... Calcium is kinda suspect, actually came out to around 300.... Usually when I do this test it's closer to 400.... but this time I really feel it was about 300...

Do yourself a major favor and pick one of these up https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/smart-stir-magnetic-stirrer-for-test-kits-autoaqua.html
One of the better investments for testing. No more jiggling
I keep my calcium about 430-440
Magnesium 1440

 

[Dave1993]

On the light: I realize now it was low. I always see threads about "why is my whatever doing poorly" and a lot of peopel say it's low light, so I'm always paranoid about light being low. When I first received these corals, I put them on the sand bed for a week and honestly they seemed really good for that week, wasn't until I moved them to their spots that they seemed to decline.

Edit: I moved the light up because it seems the standard for T5s on a 75 is about 8-10 inches, but honestly, I only really see people using the 4x 54w on a 75 and not the 6x, maybe I'll move it up more. I guess it's better to have low light than high light for a bit as I've heard it's easier to bring a coral back from brown than bleach.

Flow: I have two jebao scp-70m on the back wall, random mode.

Supplementing: using All-for-reef only about 3ml a day to maintain the alk at 9

I also have tropic marin plus NP as the LFS guy said that if I'm really running 0 no3 and po4 I'm going to have issues, however when I use this my po4 goes really high, like .33, so I stopped using it, also I have a ton of algae that I manually remove.... lots of hair algae.

just dose so it goes to 0.1

 

[averagesteve]

Do yourself a major favor and pick one of these up https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/smart-stir-magnetic-stirrer-for-test-kits-autoaqua.html
One of the better investments for testing. No more jiggling
I keep my calcium about 430-440
Magnesium 1440

just dose so it goes to 0.1

I'm honestly just going to get the hannah alk and mag next time I order stuff.

I will dose so it goes to .1, when I dosed based on the instructions it went to .33 so I'm going to dose 1/3rd of that for a week and see how it's going..

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

On the light: I realize now it was low. I always see threads about "why is my whatever doing poorly" and a lot of peopel say it's low light, so I'm always paranoid about light being low. When I first received these corals, I put them on the sand bed for a week and honestly they seemed really good for that week, wasn't until I moved them to their spots that they seemed to decline.

Edit: I moved the light up because it seems the standard for T5s on a 75 is about 8-10 inches, but honestly, I only really see people using the 4x 54w on a 75 and not the 6x, maybe I'll move it up more. I guess it's better to have low light than high light for a bit as I've heard it's easier to bring a coral back from brown than bleach.

Flow: I have two jebao scp-70m on the back wall, random mode.

Supplementing: using All-for-reef only about 3ml a day to maintain the alk at 9

I also have tropic marin plus NP as the LFS guy said that if I'm really running 0 no3 and po4 I'm going to have issues, however when I use this my po4 goes really high, like .33, so I stopped using it, also I have a ton of algae that I manually remove.... lots of hair algae.

It’s a learning curve. That’s a great fixture. Once your tank is dialed in and stable. Keeping numbers that work for u. Some
Nutrients no3 15-20. Po4 ..08-.1. Great for sps. Good luck.

 

[Salty2021]

I run my nitrates as high as 20 to 30. Seems like a lot of light. Not sure as I use less. Also seems like a fairly new system. Took me awhile with algea

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I run my nitrates as high as 20 to 30. Seems like a lot of light. Not sure as I use less. Also seems like a fairly new system. Took me awhile with algea

Yeah my numbers are like no3 20 and po4 .1-.15. Corals don’t mind.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

I'm honestly just going to get the hannah alk and mag next time I order stuff.

I will dose so it goes to .1, when I dosed based on the instructions it went to .33 so I'm going to dose 1/3rd of that for a week and see how it's going..

Salifert mg is good. I had to old Hanna Mg and it was a fail. Did they fix it. Didn’t bother to chk.

 

[averagesteve]

Salifert mg is good. I had to old Hanna Mg and it was a fail. Did they fix it. Didn’t bother to chk.

I have to look into the salifert tests. Are they easier than the red sea tests?