SPS keep dying .. :(

[bhtteo]

Hi all,

I'm very disappointed and demoralised cos my SPS keep dying... i really don't know how why it can "turn white" out of sudden even some of them already in the tank for 2 months already..

Other types of corals are growing well in my tank.

Can anyone tell me how to keep SPS? any useful link to refer?

Thanks...

[ClOwNy_LoVeR]

bro i think normally sps takes about 2 months to white out when its brown if yor tank cannot support.but if very well coloured lik purple then means smt bad suddenly happen.cause it happened to me be4 1year back:)i am not very sure but i am sure the advance reefers here are willing to help u :)cheeersssss.

oh ya do correct me if i am wrong thanks

[hammy]

Hi all,

I'm very disappointed and demoralised cos my SPS keep dying... i really don't know how why it can "turn white" out of sudden even some of them already in the tank for 2 months already..

Other types of corals are growing well in my tank.

Can anyone tell me how to keep SPS? any useful link to refer?

Thanks...

1)Can u tell us a bit more on ur water parameter , Ca, Mg, pH, kH, nitrate and phosphate.

2)Your lighting and and wave maker employed ?

a pic of ur tank will be good before anyone of us make any comment as SPS are usually more sensitive . Sometime they can even STN and RTN when ur water are in super great condition. They dun have a period of 2 months to white out, if ur water parameter is not suitable, theu usually show it quite fast .

[Copperband]

Clowny lover... I want to rebutt your statement... If your water is really bad... your SPS can turn white in a matter of hours not months...

Bhh- As per above statement... Please tell us more about ur setup and husbandry...

[bhtteo]

Thanks for the feedback!!

After another 2 months, I'm managed to keep SPS alive!! The main reasons of my initial failure are due to (so far what i can identified):

1. not sufficient waterflow

(I added 2 SEIO 2600 powerhead - 10,000 ltr/hr)

2. NO3 and PO4 not reach zero.

(I didn't do anything on this but now the tank seems automatically adjust the level to 0)

i'm so happy to see my SPS are growing now!!!

Cheerssss.....

[jasment]

actually, a little nitrate is good for sps.. probably just like 3ppm or below...

[tineng]

actually, a little nitrate is good for sps.. probably just like 3ppm or below...

acutally, i am curious where you get such information from??? From what i have been reading, SPS from the ocean comes from places where No3 reading are not even close to 1ppm.....

maybe a link or 2 would be enlightening...

[iantoh]

hi there jasment,

i'm more inclined to bro tineng's view, and would be keen to know the basis of your suggestion. it'd be interesting to learn more bout the success of maintaining discernable nitrates within an sps sytem.

bro bhteo,

do note that nobody really knows everything there is, to the care of SPS corals, or any corals for that matter. we are only guided by practices that have yielded success, plus the knowledge established by the reefing and scientific community. its great to hear you've upp-ed the flow levels in your system, but do note that sps corals do not take well to being directly blasted with constant laminar flows, as it will likely inhibit the extension of its polyps, and cause its tissue to slough off. itd be best if the powerheads are pointed to push water above the colonies, as that will move the water surrounding that area as well.

you've not told us how youre maintaining ca, alk and mg levels, but if youre observing growth on your pieces, well done ya! its a great first step. now, to just keep the parameters stable.

cheers,

ian

[reeftask]

hi there jasment,

i'm more inclined to bro tineng's view, and would be keen to know the basis of your suggestion. it'd be interesting to learn more bout the success of maintaining discernable nitrates within an sps sytem.

bro bhteo,

do note that nobody really knows everything there is, to the care of SPS corals, or any corals for that matter. we are only guided by practices that have yielded success, plus the knowledge established by the reefing and scientific community. its great to hear you've upp-ed the flow levels in your system, but do note that sps corals do not take well to being directly blasted with constant laminar flows, as it will likely inhibit the extension of its polyps, and cause its tissue to slough off. itd be best if the powerheads are pointed to push water above the colonies, as that will move the water surrounding that area as well.

you've not told us how youre maintaining ca, alk and mg levels, but if youre observing growth on your pieces, well done ya! its a great first step. now, to just keep the parameters stable.

cheers,

ian

one success reefer. especially he said the powerheads. I think you should learn more from this guy. He knows alot.

[jasment]

whao... sorry for the mistake, have a recollection and realised its lps; more so gonio that needs a little nitrate.. but bro ian and tineng are fast to point that out..

paiseh..

[zipp86]

actually im a detractor of the whole nitrate is harmful theory, some reefers including myself keep SPS with nitrates as high as 50ppm, i read somewhere that actually the nitrate is not the harmful ion to the coral but when your nitrate is high, usually a whole host of other problems come into play, any bros willing to support my statement? haha, one thing i do to keep my SPS alive is the never fail water change but of course 0ppm is still best la..

[zipp86]

check out reef centrals forum they have useful info there

[XPeriment 626]

actually im a detractor of the whole nitrate is harmful theory, some reefers including myself keep SPS with nitrates as high as 50ppm

[jasment]

actually im a detractor of the whole nitrate is harmful theory, some reefers including myself keep SPS with nitrates as high as 50ppm, i read somewhere that actually the nitrate is not the harmful ion to the coral but when your nitrate is high, usually a whole host of other problems come into play, any bros willing to support my statement? haha, one thing i do to keep my SPS alive is the never fail water change but of course 0ppm is still best la..

i support lah cos i thought i read somewhere like what you've just said but i only have 6 months sps experience wherelse bro ian and bro tineng very long liao leh...

i suppose they are right la,, i seldom read marine articles...

[Copperband]

Zipp86.. Wow i learn something new... May i ask how is your SPS colours doing? Care to post a picture of your reef..

[sky107line]

Pix pls!!

[hammy]

actually im a detractor of the whole nitrate is harmful theory, some reefers including myself keep SPS with nitrates as high as 50ppm, i read somewhere that actually the nitrate is not the harmful ion to the coral but when your nitrate is high, usually a whole host of other problems come into play, any bros willing to support my statement? haha, one thing i do to keep my SPS alive is the never fail water change but of course 0ppm is still best la..

i am sorry to say that it is misleading to tell the forum people that IT IS OKIE to keep SPS at 50ppmn of nitrate. The key here is not whether they live or die ...

They might not DIE , but i am quite sure they will not thrieve as well as they could.

On the other hand, i only change water occasionally as i realise that whenever i change water, my water parameter will fluactuate a bit for a while before it come to a stable value again. And also i would not advice reefer not to change water as every system is different with different equipments to ensure stability of ur water parameter.

I am plain lazy to change water, yet i like SPS, so to counter that, i just have to invest in better equipment.

[VanDeam]

hehe .. well i believe ZERO No3 is the best but i kept my SPS in 100 PPM .. were all brown and bearly holding green , but after doing some upkeep to my system , adding equipments , clearing sump every week , siphoning all dirt , feeding twice a week only( but use 8cube of frozen each ) , and installing mangrove and de - nitrator ! I manage to bring my No3 to 50 and recently 25 . i notice Dramatic changes .. My brown SPs turning green , Green are turning BLue and purple , and now i even have YELLOW ..

have a few real life reefers that visited can ask them . hehe

so i believe No3 plays big part on Coloration at least !!

Credits to :

KennethK for ur SPS !!

Drato11 for placing my Wavemakerss !

reefzz for telling and advicing me on ways to reduce NO3

well nothing much wrong with my tank but i keeping over 25 fish in a 3.5x2x2 and mostly Tangs hence my bio load is off the chart . just imagine 5 Blue tangs lol ..

just my 2cent.

[tineng]

actually im a detractor of the whole nitrate is harmful theory, some reefers including myself keep SPS with nitrates as high as 50ppm, i read somewhere that actually the nitrate is not the harmful ion to the coral but when your nitrate is high, usually a whole host of other problems come into play, any bros willing to support my statement? haha, one thing i do to keep my SPS alive is the never fail water change but of course 0ppm is still best la..

you the master...i have never succeed in keeping SPS when nitrate was at even 20ppm.....at best brown montis and digi, but only manage 5-6 months before theykonk....

maybe you like to share with us your methods and equipment or a few full tank shot and growth shot....it be great if we can cut back on all those equipment needed to keep no3 low.... :D

[barnacle]

you the master...i have never succeed in keeping SPS when nitrate was at even 20ppm.....at best brown montis and digi, but only manage 5-6 months before theykonk....

maybe you like to share with us your methods and equipment or a few full tank shot and growth shot....it be great if we can cut back on all those equipment needed to keep no3 low.... :D

would love to see some latest pics of ur sps.

[zipp86]

pics in my tank thread can show you, all the while my nitrate never below 50ppm even with chaeto.. now currently keeping a reef with big Angels, tangs and many fishes plus certain LPS plus anemone.. i downgraded from mostly sps as too busy, still have 1, 2 pieces la..

[tineng]

pics in my tank thread can show you, all the while my nitrate never below 50ppm even with chaeto.. now currently keeping a reef with big Angels, tangs and many fishes plus certain LPS plus anemone.. i downgraded from mostly sps as too busy, still have 1, 2 pieces la..

errrr.....you dam funny leh, claim that SPS can keep in high NO3 condition then now say only 1 or 2 piece in your tank before no time to keep.... :bow:

[Reefaholic]

Misleading info. Keep SPS at 50ppm? I am speechless. It may survive, but brown is what you will get. Even for easiest sps species.

The lower the nitrate (best below 5ppm) the better the colour of your sps. And many have claim and are experiencing more to have vibrant sps colours. Like potassium, magnesium and strontium. And you didnt even get to that yet.

Kh is another importance issue to prevent your sps from STN. Normally with high nitrate you will get RTN.

The key is stability. I think most of us always forget. By maintaining stability of your right water parameters, not only you can see growth but also strive in colours.

Once your sps strive, then the pests come in, you still have alot to learn. More than just parameters.

Good luck.

[sky107line]

errrr.....you dam funny leh, claim that SPS can keep in high NO3 condition then now say only 1 or 2 piece in your tank before no time to keep.... :bow:

[zipp86]

hi well no time cuz of studies, i sold all to a reefer keeping only staghorns cuz i like the shape, well, in my tank which i am sure was 50ppm, my SPS majority became green, its true. However my point is nitrate is not as harmful as you think, just that lower levels will definitely increase one's level of success. It is not impossible to keep SPS with 50ppm. Phosphate will kill SPS but not nitrate. Best species to play with when having high nitrate to me is Acro especially from bali. They hold colour pretty well. This is just my 2 cents, to all disbelieving reefers, pls go try out and see for yourselves. I did, some others did. Thats why we know.