Acropora/Birdsnest look normal?

[gklossner0916]

I just bought my first sps coral and placed it in my tank two days ago along with birdsnest, recordia, and a pulsing Xenia . I haven’t seen the polyps open up on it or the birdsnest yet though. Would anyone mind looking at the pictures of it and give me some input if it looks okay?

For context. It’s in a 11gal tank (probably only 6gal of actual water) placed near the top for more light/flow. Measured par in that area to roughly be 220. As for parameters, the most growth specific are below:

Calcium: 420ppm
Alkalinity: 11 dKH
Magnesium: 1280Mg
* started to use Red Sea formula to bring numbers into their suggested mixed tank range. Numbers above are 1 day after first doses*

Pictures attached are of both corals, zoomed out location in tank, detailed water parameters, and original picture from online store for what they look like at their best.

Thanks in advance for input!

 

[Formulator]

They look ok, but I suspect they won’t last long unless I’m missing a huge metal halide light hanging out of the frame… what lighting do you have on the tank?

You are comparing them to store pictures likely taken under 100% blue light with a lens filter. They will never look like that in your tank under white light.

 

[20 Pills]

the thing people forget about lighting is that it's not all about par, it's also about wavelength. photosynthetic algae in corals photosynthesize best under blue light because well, that's the lighting of the ocean. it's also what gives it its fluorescent coloring. You'll absolutely need a coral light to save your investment. A cheap and easy light i would recommend for such a small tank is this one: Amazon product
I would also recommend that you keep up with water changes and increase the water volume in the tank. it'll help maintaining nutrients and water levels much easier. the BEST way to manage a tank's water volume is by adding a lid. you can get cheap polycarbonate panels online or at home depot for 10 to 15 dollars. In total, you're looking at $40 to help your setup and to keep it maintained easily which is a worthy investment for keeping your corals happy and yourself. I know corals are expensive so dropping another 40 to save your investment is a good idea. Also make sure to look into properly acclimating organisms including corals. first drip acclimate, then temperature acclimate, then do a reef dip to stop pests from entering the tank

 

[crazyfishmom]

For now they look good but the kind of swings in water parameters that you’re showing in your numbers worry me. These corals need stable water parameters.

 

[Uncle99]

The three you posted are fine, I like to run MG a bit higher at 1400ppm.

But I cant see a post of the nitrate and phosphate levels which feed all life, including corals.

What are nitrate and phosphate levels in your system?

zero in either can be very problematic as it may allow the “bad” stuff, to outcompete the “good”

A how old is your system?

The corals look normal now, just want to make sure they are happy.

Test nitrate and phosphate and keep them 5-10ppm and .1-.2ppm respectively. You can easily dose these up if needed. Keep these two “pinned” no rise no fall, week over week.

Also salinity, did I miss that, sorry if I did. I run 35ppt always.

Flow, those corals can withstand high changing linear flows.

Good luck

 

[Formulator]

Agree with the advice above. A swing from 8.5 to 11 dKH in a day will kill just about any SPS. I also noticed no powerheads. You may get some flow from your filter output, but the SPS you picked out need more than that will provide.

Long story short, unless you can quickly (like today) add an appropriate light and a powerhead to that tank, returning those corals would be a great idea if at all possible. Your current setup will not sustain them.

 

[Dburr1014]

That birdsnest looks in real bad shape.
Like it looks like the bottom of it lost its flesh but the polyps are there and the top I see flesh.
The other Coral is just really browned out.

Yeah the other problem I see is you have very high alkalinity no nitrates and I'm going to assume you have no phosphates either. With running a high alkalinity like this you really need to have higher nutrients.

 

[gklossner0916]

They look ok, but I suspect they won’t last long unless I’m missing a huge metal halide light hanging out of the frame… what lighting do you have on the tank?

You are comparing them to store pictures likely taken under 100% blue light with a lens filter. They will never look like that in your tank under white light.

That makes sense. Didn’t think of the lens filter idea. I have an AI blade 21in light. I just turned it to white for a clearer picture

 

[Formulator]

That makes sense. Didn’t think of the lens filter idea. I have an AI blade 21in light. I just turned it to white for a clearer picture

That is relieving! I’m not an LED guy personally, but not seeing it in the picture - shouldn’t it be closer to the water?

You will definitely need more water flow for them. I would suggest adding a small power head/wavemaker.

The primary concern is going to be chemical stability though. You can’t let Alk change more than 0.5-1 ppm per day and that change should only be intentional in rare occasions if something gets out of wack. Aim for no more than 0.2-0.3 dKH variation day-to-day. If you can do that for a month, then you can try SPS. As mentioned above, with low nutrients you Alk is way too high at the moment. The previous 8.5 dKH number would be a good target to maintain for you. Also need to keep salinity dead on and stable. Make a water level line and add freshwater every single day to keep it at the line.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The corals look dull or brown to me, and the tank needs more flow, should have a powerhead in there.

I suggest to check the par level, get a powerhead in there, and stabilize the parameters.

it lasted 2 days so far, so you can still save them, but the overall environment needs some tweeking for the corals to thrive.

 

[Formulator]

The corals look dull or brown to me

Yes, but mine look that way under 100% white light. Kind of washes them out. Agree with all your suggestions though.

 

[gklossner0916]

The three you posted are fine, I like to run MG a bit higher at 1400ppm.

But I cant see a post of the nitrate and phosphate levels which feed all life, including corals.

What are nitrate and phosphate levels in your system?

zero in either can be very problematic as it may allow the “bad” stuff, to outcompete the “good”

A how old is your system?

The corals look normal now, just want to make sure they are happy.

Test nitrate and phosphate and keep them 5-10ppm and .1-.2ppm respectively. You can easily dose these up if needed. Keep these two “pinned” no rise no fall, week over week.

Also salinity, did I miss that, sorry if I did. I run 35ppt always.

Flow, those corals can withstand high changing linear flows.

Good luck

Thanks for the info. The setup is 3 months old. So still very new. My nitrates have been 0 this past month since I was doing weekly water changes. I can let them climb some. As far as salinity. I have been ranging 1.024-1.026. Nt sire in phosphate as I am still waiting on a test kit to arrive I ordered.

Follow up question from what you posed though. Any reason to keep magnesium that high. I’m assuming for stability. From what I read. Higher mag helps stabilize alkalinity and calcium.

 

[Formulator]

Thanks for the info. The setup is 3 months old. So still very new. My nitrates have been 0 this past month since I was doing weekly water changes. I can let them climb some. As far as salinity. I have been ranging 1.024-1.026. Nt sire in phosphate as I am still waiting on a test kit to arrive I ordered.

Follow up question from what you posed though. Any reason to keep magnesium that high. I’m assuming for stability. From what I read. Higher mag helps stabilize alkalinity and calcium.

Why is your salinity a range? You should be able to keep it steady at a single value. Swinging from 1.024 to 1.026 all the time will tick off your corals, stress fish and inverts, and make it impossible to keep your other parameters stable. I would make this a priority.

There is some anecdotal evidence that certain LPS grow better with higher magnesium, but I’ve yet to find a primary source of scientific evidence to support those claims. Though there is something to be said about group experience and I think most folks with successful tanks are probably running somewhere in the 1300-1400 range.

 

[gklossner0916]

Why is your salinity a range? You should be able to keep it steady at a single value. Swinging from 1.024 to 1.026 all the time will tick off your corals, stress fish and inverts, and make it impossible to keep your other parameters stable. I would make this a priority.

There is some anecdotal evidence that certain LPS grow better with higher magnesium, but I’ve yet to find a primary source of scientific evidence to support those claims. Though there is something to be said about group experience and I think most folks with successful tanks are probably running somewhere in the 1300-1400 range.

 

[gklossner0916]

I provided a range because that's what I am seeing when testing salinity. I see lots of evaporation in this tank since its currently open at the top. I plan to follow the advice mentioned above of putting a cover over top to help counteract that.

Also thanks for the info on magnesium. Always happy to learn more.

 

[Formulator]

I provided a range because that's what I am seeing when testing salinity. I see lots of evaporation in this tank since its currently open at the top. I plan to follow the advice mentioned above of putting a cover over top to help counteract that.

Also thanks for the info on magnesium. Always happy to learn more.

Cool. Sorry I didn’t notice this was already addressed above. With this size tank, they make very simple automatic top off bottles that you can mount to the rim of your tank if you don’t mind seeing the bottle sitting there. Very reasonable price too.

IceCap Gravity ATO

 

[gklossner0916]

Cool. Sorry I didn’t notice this was already addressed above. With this size tank, they make very simple automatic top off bottles that you can mount to the rim of your tank if you don’t mind seeing the bottle sitting there. Very reasonable price too.

IceCap Gravity ATO

That's a great idea and honestly my Tidal 35 filer would hide most of it anyways if it sat behind it.

 

[Uncle99]

Thanks for the info. The setup is 3 months old. So still very new. My nitrates have been 0 this past month since I was doing weekly water changes. I can let them climb some. As far as salinity. I have been ranging 1.024-1.026. Nt sire in phosphate as I am still waiting on a test kit to arrive I ordered.

Follow up question from what you posed though. Any reason to keep magnesium that high. I’m assuming for stability. From what I read. Higher mag helps stabilize alkalinity and calcium.

It seems that for my system, LPS look flufiier at 1400 ish to me.

 

[mdpitts]

Why is your salinity a range? You should be able to keep it steady at a single value. Swinging from 1.024 to 1.026 all the time will tick off your corals, stress fish and inverts, and make it impossible to keep your other parameters stable. I would make this a priority.

There is some anecdotal evidence that certain LPS grow better with higher magnesium, but I’ve yet to find a primary source of scientific evidence to support those claims. Though there is something to be said about group experience and I think most folks with successful tanks are probably running somewhere in the 1300-1400 range.

Well, I just learned something myself. I thought as long as your salt was within the acceptable numbers you were good. I just started making my own salt water so that in itself is kind of tricky. Reading your great advice I’m going to crack down on one number for my saltwater.

It’s crazy I’ve been at this and researching like a crazy person that I’ve never see that advice before. It makes all the sense in the world and I coulda used this 8 months ago. No wonder so many newbies run into problems. I love good, blunt, to-the-point advice.

 

[Formulator]

Well, I just learned something myself. I thought as long as your salt was within the acceptable numbers you were good. I just started making my own salt water so that in itself is kind of tricky. Reading your great advice I’m going to crack down on one number for my saltwater.

It’s crazy I’ve been at this and researching like a crazy person that I’ve never see that advice before. It makes all the sense in the world and I coulda used this 8 months ago. No wonder so many newbies run into problems. I love good, blunt, to-the-point advice.

Glad it was helpful! Some people don’t like my direct nature, but its just who I am at this point lol.

If you are using one of those floating dial type salinity meters, it will make your life 100x easier to get a refractometer. You can find them on amazon for $20 or less. Just make sure you get one for saltwater and not the wine-making ones that have wrong measuring units.