Coral Killer- Need Help

[nycfishy]

I keep killing my coral. This is about 10 days after I put in my tank. Had not bought new coral for previous 6 months as this kept happening. Tank is RSM130, lighting is LED (lights were off when I took darker pics). I am guess the one pics has brittle star arm eating the dead flesh?
Kenya trees and xenia grow like weeds in my tank. What am I doing wrong?
Temp- 79.8F
Phosphate- .17ppm
Nitrate- pretty close to 0 with API test kit
ph 8.08
Mg- 1240 ppm
kH- 6.2 dKH
Ca- 430 ppm
Ammonia- o
Salinity- 1.025

 

[Trodny]

I am no expert at all and am constantly learning more but just based on your numbers I think your ALK and calcium are out of balance. ALK optimal ranges are from 8.0-10.2 CA ranges are 420-450 and MAG IS 1290-1350. Now every tank is different and some may argue those ranges, I can't speak for everyone just what I have found. Based on your CA your ALK should be at 9.75DKH to be balanced.
That's my 2cents, hope it helps!

 

[nycfishy]

would unbalanced numbers have that quick an affect?

 

[greybolt03]

+1 on the ALk

 

[tsouth]

Try something like a monti cap instead. It may be a little more forgiving. Have you ever kept sps before? What about euphyllia or lps?

 

[Nandez13]

I'd recommend raising your Alk to 9 dkh and Mg to 1400. If you're planning on keeping SPS, your parameters will have to stay somewhat consistent. Fluctuations in them can kill your coral or be the reason that they don't grow. How are you dosing?

Also, what intensity do you keep your LEDs at? I ramp up/down my LEDs with the peak being at 60%. LEDs can burn your corals easily and SPS are not that forgiving.

 

[duke62]

Before you do anything what kits are you using?

 

[nycfishy]

For Kits
red sea kit for mg, ca, kH
API for ammonia, nitratres
Hanna meter for phosphates
For light intensity I had lights turned about halfway down, just tired increasing to see if that would help.


Would ALK or any of the other parameters being off result in corals dying so quickly? they have only been in the tank about 10 days.

 

[Nandez13]

For Kits
red sea kit for mg, ca, kH
API for ammonia, nitratres
Hanna meter for phosphates
For light intensity I had lights turned about halfway down, just tired increasing to see if that would help.


Would ALK or any of the other parameters being off result in corals dying so quickly? they have only been in the tank about 10 days.

Alkalinity or temperature swings can kill your corals overnight (Rapid Tissue Necrosis). I don't think increasing your lighting will help.

 

[theMeat]

Maybe not testing right. Bring a water sample to lfs and have them double check.
Your alk def low, everything else within range. Mag on the low end of what's good. Swings are bad. Light effects Ph, ph effects alk, and alk effects cal. So check ph in the morning before lights come on, against at night before lights go off. Same thing with temps

 

[piranhapat]

Phosphate are to high and Alk too low....that's if your reading are right

 

[HanKami]

Slowly raise your alk between 8.5 -10.5, what type of salt are you using in you water changes and how frequent or your water changes?

 

[nycfishy]

water change every 2-3 weeks
for salt alternating between red sea and tropic marin
check ph again and it's 8.18
will check alk again this afternoon.
I dose a capful of 2 part 1-2x week


Could lighting kill coral in a week? would like to rule that out.

 

[BKLYNREEF123]

forget about measuring the PH for now. Concentrate on getting your alk in line. That is way more likely to kill your coral than whatever you have going on with your lighting. If you want to see sps growth and good color get the Po4 down, and I would recommend a better kit for no3. I would bet you have higher No3 than 0.

 

[Odysi]

The one thing I have learned within the last 2 years is good husbandry is key. Now that could be different processes for everyone different additives, schedules on water changes etc. Knowing how much 2 part you need to add daily is part of this. I agree with everyone on this your Alk and Ca are off and your phos is alil high. If you can slowly adjust your lvls to the desired #'s and keep them stable then I'm sure you success rate would be much better.

 

[theMeat]

While .17 phosphate isn't good, and could lead to unsightly algae, it's no where near a level that will cause corals to die within a week.

 

[BKLYNREEF123]

He has STN from his alk being low. .17 po4 is high for sps and will defiantly be to the detriment of the coral. It won't cause STN but you won't have good growth or color with .17. There are plenty of ways to
Skin a cat and while some systems have done ok with high po4 the majority of successful colorful sps tanks run closer to .02-.05


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nycfishy]

ok to get the alk in line should I just slowly dose BRS Sodium bicarbonate or better to dose 2-part or kalk in ATO?

 

[nycfishy]

ok measured alk again, got 6.6 so still low.
what's best way to slowly get it higher?

 

[theMeat]

I enjoy kalk in ato. Cheap, easy, and keeps ph stable too. On hi demand tanks with lots of corals consuming it might not be enough, but even then you'll use a lot less 2 part or whatever to keep it in line.
Keeping mag up closer to 1300 or higher helps keep alk and cal from swinging too.