Firestarter

Just started a new pico SPS tank in the office yesterday. Transferred all my dying / bleached out SPS frags from my home tank after another white slime breakout. This tank will serve as a recovery tank to the frags and the objectives are to get the frags back in good health again. Equipment Filter: HOB filter Wavemaker: Boyu SP101 Light: Green Element Evo 6x3W (Modified 4 Blue / 2 White) I plan to supplement Ca and KH with small amounts of kalkwasser daily. As you can see from the pic, most of the SPS frags are bleached but not dead. Currently I've only switched on the 2 blue lights (supplemented with an overhead desk light + light from the tank next to it) so as not to shock them.

I know the perfect wavemaker for tanks of this size. In fact, its actually a very small powerhead. I'm using one as well, I believe we have the same tanks judging from your tank pic in another thread. The model of this powerhead is Boyu SP-101 (the smallest) if I'm not wrong. Cost about $5-$7 at PolyArt / C328.

Also it seems that your light is dangerously low. At first I thought its not in the pic but its actually hiding behind the tank brim in the pic, am I correct? You might need to raise the light higher, the LED is also heating up your tank at such close proximity. Suggest you upgrade your light as AdmiralTan said, don't think it is enough for your SPS.

Are you running any wakemakers? I don't see any in the pic. The output flow may not be enough to provide good flow, you need a wavemaker.

Cloves are like weeds. They grow everywhere until it becomes a nuisance. Just sharing my 'nuisance' blue cloves that have taken over my powerhead. Second pic is a carpet of GSP that is taking over my golden cloves in the back.

I don't think its recommended to stir up the sand. You can put a thin layer of new sand though.

Seems like there is a chemical imbalance going on in my tank.. my cal is at 420. It takes a week for my kh to drop 1dkh. I used to drip kalk initially but have since stopped. Now only dosing cal daily to maintain the cal. My kh is at 12dkh now and cal at 420ppm. I am doing 20% wc now and will see how things go..

Tested my Red sea salt (normal) KH is at 7. I do a 30% wc weekly but have changed it to fornightly to allow my nutrients to increase due to lack of nutrients in the water. Have also tested my kh with 2 separate kits and both gave the same results. It takes 2 weeks for my kh to drop by 2 dkh.

Hi bro, I'm using the normal red sea salt. What brand do you usr for your sps?

Guys, my kh does not seem to drop. It has been high at around 11-13 dkh. Currently only dosing Seachem Calcium and amino acids. Sometimes after a water change, the measured dkh will decrease to 10. But the next day it raises up to 11-12 dkh even without dosing. The tank consists of sps frags, dosing 6ml of cal daily to maintain my cal at 420ppm. What causes kh to raise on its own?

Sorry my mistake, its ml not ppm. As in I dose 2ml per day. I suggest you start with a small dosage first before increasing slowly if you really want to dose. My tank now is free from any algae but my sps is still stning.. pros and cons I guess..

Just would like to share my bad experience with vinegar dosing with my SPS tank. Before dosing, my NO3 is around 40ppm, did not test PO4. First week of dosing (2ppm daily for 55L tank) - my SPS seemed to enjoy the decrease in nutrient levels and fast growth observed. Second week - decided to up the dosage to 4ppm daily, all SPS seemed to do fine. Third week - one day I came home to find my tank filled with tiny white gooey specks floating around. I had already anticipated this harmless bacterial bloom so I just shrugged it off. As days go by more and more white gooey stuff started to engulf the tank glass, my wavemakers and pump were clogged with this white crap... water is cloudy. It seemed like a never ending bacteria bloom. It was the worse mistake I had ever made in reefing. Tested my NO3 = 0. SPS started to STN one by one, suspected that the lack of nutrients in the water is starving my corals. Its been almost 2 months since I stopped the vinegar dosing and my NO3 is still at 0. I'm dosing amino acids heavily daily to try to bring my nutrients up. Did 50% WC twice in this 2 months. Managed to clear all the white stuff, water is clear. But there are still white stuff stuck in my pumps that fly out whenever I turn them off and on. I would strongly advise against any form of carbon dosing unless you know what you're doing. Simple GFO product (Seachem Prosguard only costs $8 a bottle) is enough to control nutrients.. why take the risk? Carbon dosing fuels bacteria growth unnaturally... when this bacteria growth gets too much and out of control, that is where the trouble starts. Just sharing my experience.

Using coral chips is an old school method and I don't think it is as efficient as dosing. Besides, it also traps dirt leading to increase in nitrates.

+1 on this. You can try dosing kalkwasser, it helps to raise your KH and CAL. Cheap and effective method, but take note that it raises your pH as well.

Bro, like I said before, do a proper restart with full proper cycling and you will not have problems like these....

I would advice against using undergravel filtration if avoidable.

More pics please!

You didn't include the most impt detail, the dimensions and thickness?

These slugs are to be left in the wild. Some slugs only feed on the same sponge that they hatch from.

Did you check your ph?

If you did a proper cycle there should not be a spike in ammonia over a few LS dieoffs. At the end of a full cycle, your nitrates should increase. Your nitrates stayed at 0 which means that your cycle was incomplete. I know this sounds harsh dude, but these problems you're facing are the results of not cycling your tank.

Did you do a proper cycle for your tank in the first place?

Dude I think its better to do a restart since your tank is only 1 month old.

Thanks for the advise ReefFish. I'm facing a similar issue with my SPS bleaching and I think you just helped solved my problem (or rather, reaffirm my conclusion) I've dumped all my carbon and Seachem Phosguard while doing a WC yesterday, and I'm dosing RedSea Reef Energy A & B excessively. Hope to bring my NO3 and PO4 up soon.

Thanks for sharing your tank params. Very very nice sps you have there!