Help with SPS - they always die

[apb03]

Lighting is my guess as well. The LPS seem ok and the tank is pretty mature. You'll probably want to triple the number of xr15s.

Which acros have you tried? Maybe try something less picky like a Green Slimer or a Stylophora to start.

 

[OscarHaglund]

Like others have mentioned, your lights are very likely too low.
If you do not want to buy new lights then the best you can do is probably to get rid of the diffusers (they will lower par by maybe 20%). Then slowly over a few weeks ramp up your lights to 100%.

At this point you can try some weed sps like monti cap

 

[slingfox]

You may want to get an ICP test to double check levels and make sure there are no contaminants in your water.

 

[visioned]

It's almost certainly the lighting. XR15s are not very powerful lights. You'd need at least 4, probably 6 to keep SPS in a 137g tank.

100%.

a single xr15 g6 have 200ish par 4-6 inches below the light running 100% all channels.

 

[KirM]

how do you recieve your coral what's your steps before they go in your tank? what parameters are they coming from? it may be a dipping issue or stress it happens alot.

When they arrive I dip them in a coral dip solution that I got from my reef shop. Then I wash them in tank water and place them in the tank. I do the same thing for the SPS and LPS but the SPS never survive.

 

[KirM]

You may want to get an ICP test to double check levels and make sure there are no contaminants in your water.

How and where would I do this?

 

[KirM]

First, I don't trust the results from the ION D. Sorry.
Even if I did I'd recommend backup tests to check it.

Salifert tests for Alkalinity and Nitrate, and Hanna for Phosphate.

How are you checking salinity?
I ask as Sodium seems low.

Please do not rely on the GHL salinity probe unless you have checked it against another instrument.

Other have commented that you do not appear to have sufficient light, and I agree.

Do you still not agree with the ION D results even after testing it with the Reference solution that they provide?

 

[KirM]

100%.

a single xr15 g6 have 200ish par 4-6 inches below the light running 100% all channels.

What is the PAR range that you recommend for SPS and LPS?

 

[DanyL]

How and where would I do this?

You can either purchase a kit online and ship it yourself, or ask your LFS to do this for you.

Do you still not agree with the ION D results even after testing it with the Reference solution that they provide?

Honestly, I’ll take Salifert’s results any day over an automated test.
Yes, even with references - unless they can also be cross verified with other test kits.

What is the PAR range that you recommend for SPS and LPS?

LPS - 70-200, some can even be pushed up to 400.
SPS - 200-400 for most common corals (not only acros)

You can really push most acros to around 400-600, some will get better colors while others may even require it.

I also have acros getting beyond 600, into the 700-800 range, but there are only few that can really benefit from it.

 

[Necrodaemus]

If lighting is truly your issue, before buying more Radions, look into ReeFi Uno 2.0/2.1 Pros. They will give you much better bang for your buck than Radions.

 

[DanyL]

If lighting is truly your issue, before buying more Radions, look into ReeFi Uno 2.0/2.1 Pros. They will give you much better bang for your buck than Radions.

That much is true.
Couldn’t agree more.

 

[KirM]

If lighting is truly your issue, before buying more Radions, look into ReeFi Uno 2.0/2.1 Pros. They will give you much better bang for your buck than Radions.

Thank you!

 

[Charles Zinn]

your magnesium seems low....have you done an ICP test.. Do an ICP test and while you are waiting for result listen to Frag Garage'sw podcast with Oceamo it maay give you some ideas which will help you water quality. Its not just dkh,calc, mag, nit. po4 where is you potasiuim, floride iron and othertrace elements like maganeese vanadium. best of luck

 

[Formulator]

your magnesium seems low....have you done an ICP test.. Do an ICP test and while you are waiting for result listen to Frag Garage'sw podcast with Oceamo it maay give you some ideas which will help you water quality. Its not just dkh,calc, mag, nit. po4 where is you potasiuim, floride iron and othertrace elements like maganeese vanadium. best of luck

Trace elements are not a concern in a new and sparsely populated tank with a regular water change schedule. I would suggest the OP not waste his money at this point unless looking for a pollutant. Anyways, I think we identified the issue as insufficient lighting.

 

[Dburr1014]

Has well as low lighting as most people have said, the next thing is flow.
Two MP40's I don't believe is enough.
They can be cranked up but you won't get the ramdom flow. I think one gyre on one side and the two MP40's on the other side would be a huge complement.

 

[Mschmidt]

Imo, I don't think low light or low flow would kill I. 24 hours. They could be (and likely are, to beat the dead horse, two xr15s isn't enough light) problematic, but wouldn't be that quick. Stress would.

If you're not temp acclimating or are plopping them in their final spot and they're getting stressed, they could go that quickly. It could be the salinity too.

Otherwise, as formulator said, could be a pollutant.

 

[divewsharks]

What SPS are you trying? Where are they coming from? There are easy ones and some that more sensitive.
What coral dip are you using?
How are the SPS dying, overnight tissue gone- exposed skeleton? Or something different?

 

[Stevorino]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say that I don't think it's lighting that is the immediate concern:

If lighting was the primary issue, I would expect a much slower death than 2-14 days. That's not to say I disagree with the general consensus that 2 XR15s is probably a little weak.

My money is that the coral dip is stressing the corals after shipping and/or that the parameters need to be dialed in. Also, when I acclimate corals, I put them on a low light rack and slowly move them up over the course of time.

Victor from WWC has a good youtube video on their recommended process for receiving corals.

I agree with @gbroadbridge that I'd go get a new test kit for Nitrate & Phosphate and compare. I'd also personally bring that dkh down into the 8's to give the corals a softer landing.

 

[KirM]

your magnesium seems low....have you done an ICP test.. Do an ICP test and while you are waiting for result listen to Frag Garage'sw podcast with Oceamo it maay give you some ideas which will help you water quality. Its not just dkh,calc, mag, nit. po4 where is you potasiuim, floride iron and othertrace elements like maganeese vanadium. best of luck

Thank you, I will look into that.
I need to get another kit for the potassium.

 

[DanyL]

If anyone have ever had the unfortunate experience of an already acclimated frag falling to an area with insufficient lighting (probably 50-100 PAR) and only realizing what have happened after 3-4 days knows that stress signs show up pretty quickly, and RTN/STN will follow if left alone.

So I’m not very confident dipping is the main cause here, and I doubt the results were the same if the dipped frags were put in a well lit environment.

I will say however that introducing a frag with either one of the of the reasons mentioned (improper params, harsh dipping, no temp acclimation, etc) will most definitely add additional stress and may result in a lesser success rate, and combining more than one can easily lead to a 100% death toll.