Help with SPS - they always die

[KirM]

Thanks for all the great comments and tips!

 

[KirM]

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


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.



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.

I got a PAR meter.
Checked it above the water and it was between 900 and 1100.
Just under the water surface about 4" it was about 280-335.
About 12" deep in the water it was about 65.
Deeper than that it was about 48 - 50.

 

[KirM]

These are the LPS that I currently have. They are growing so well and look amazingly happy now. But I am so confused as to why these lights that are supposed to be so great can't penetrate the water surface. I know reflection and refraction etc plays a role but it's sad that it goes from over 900 PAR to 65 PAR 12-16" deep in the water. Yes, only 2 lights are not enough but why is it that directly under the light in the water with the pumps off the PAR is so bad.

 

[Dburr1014]

These are the LPS that I currently have. They are growing so well and look amazingly happy now. But I am so confused as to why these lights that are supposed to be so great can't penetrate the water surface. I know reflection and refraction etc plays a role but it's sad that it goes from over 900 PAR to 65 PAR 12-16" deep in the water. Yes, only 2 lights are not enough but why is it that directly under the light in the water with the pumps off the PAR is so bad.

If you turn up the lights a little bit it'll give you more punch thru the water.

You definitely need more lights than what you have though the 137 gallon tank. Maybe even adding led bars would help.

 

[DanyL]

These are the LPS that I currently have. They are growing so well and look amazingly happy now.

All the corals in the pictures are softies, not LPS.

Their lighting requirements are indeed similar to LPS, however, they are far more tolerant to the lack of sufficient lighting, flow, as well as water parameters and stability.

This difference is critical, because if you were indeed growing LPS successfully, it would’ve meant that your water parameters are at least good enough to support hardy stony corals.

However, because this isn’t the case, I highly recommend testing your water with manual test kits, as well as sending an ICP test to make sure your trace elements are within a reasonable range and to eliminate the possibility of contaminations in the water.

I would also revise and make sure you are using RODI water with TDS 0.

Once you’re feeling confident that all your parameters are in check, and you have sufficient lighting and flow - start with basic LPS corals like candy, Duncan, etc - if everything goes well and you see growth, you can proceed to more difficult LPS like Torches and Gonioporas, as well as simple SPS like Stylopora, Seriatopora, Montipora, etc. Leave acros to when you are able to grow everything else, since they are more sensitive than the others.

But I am so confused as to why these lights that are supposed to be so great can't penetrate the water surface

Unfortunately this is something common.
Radions don’t have a great value compared to their cost, but their marketing is top tier and are being pushed and presented by the industry as “the best”, which leads many to think they are.

Yes, only 2 lights are not enough but why is it that directly under the light in the water with the pumps off the PAR is so bad.

They are capable of growing all corals when they are quantified appropriately, however with their latest generation and the move to a wider spreading reflectors they essentially rendered the XR15 as a fixture that isn’t powerful enough to penetrate normal sized tanks without completely blanketing the tank.

They did get quite a lot of slack for that, so they eventually copied ReeFi and released an 80 or 90 degree reflector which helps with penetration, but it is an additional purchase and even with it installed the XR15 fall short compared to other fixtures.

If you are considering different options I can personally recommend the ReeFi Uno 2.0 from my experience. They cost half as much as the XR30, but have a wider spectrum, multiple spreading options (both 90 and 120 degrees reeflectors are included), more power than the XR30 (215W vs 270W), as well as come with 3 times the warranty with great and personal support.

There are also other options which are considered as good value like the ReefBreeders, however it has a different form factor, and I have no personal experience with them - but the reviews are very positive and many praise them for their capabilities.

 

[Solo McReefer]

I got a PAR meter.
Checked it above the water and it was between 900 and 1100.
Just under the water surface about 4" it was about 280-335.
About 12" deep in the water it was about 65.
Deeper than that it was about 48 - 50.

And that's directly underneath each light, correct?

 

[robanister]

Hi Everyone,

I would appreciate your thoughts.

I have a 137 Gallon reef tank that is just about 15 months old. I have all reef safe fish. I have 4 LPS corals that are doing very well. I have lost many SPS corals - they live for a few days to about 2 weeks then die. I tried hammer corals twice a few months ago but they died within 24 hours of being placed in the tank.

I have a GHL system that doses Alk and Mag (newly started dosing). I was previoulsy testing calcium and magnesium and nitrate with a Hannah tester until I got the ION D used. The nitrate readings have been very very different with the ION D vs the Hannah tester. The ION D reads between 10 and 12ppm and the Hannah tester around 23.6 ppm. I used the reference bottle from GHL to confirm the readings from the GHL ION D probe. I need a new ION D probe as it no longer measures calcium. The last calcium test a few weeks ago on the Hannah tester was about 460.

Current readings with the ION D, sensors and KH director:
Temp 78.9F
pH 8.34
Salinity 1.026
KH Director: 9.6 dKH
Nitrate 11-12 mg/L
Magnesium 1,235 mg/L (working on improving this)
Sodium 9,711

I have a protein skimmer and sea lettuce in a refugium the light is on about 10 hrs a day to try to improve growth of the sea lettuce. I had chaeto but that was not growing. I also added a pump in the refugium to try and get the macroalgae moving. The light is from BRS and designed for macroalgae growth.

I have 2 lights attached to the tank both Radion XR15w G6 Pro. The lights are on a preprogrammed cycle for coral health and growth. There are also 2 MP40Ls that go through different cycles during the day.

The tank is automatically topped up with RO-DI water.

I would like to have SPS corals but in the past few months they all die. I have not tried any in the past 3 months or so.

Thank you!

Did you send icp. May be contamination. I had tin at 24 previous tin was 0. So yeah. It happens. Have to icp with deaths. And inspect frags closely. Start with icp move to stability.

 

[KirM]

Did you send icp. May be contamination. I had tin at 24 previous tin was 0. So yeah. It happens. Have to icp with deaths. And inspect frags closely. Start with icp move to stability.

I have to send out the ICP

 

[KirM]

And that's directly underneath each light, correct?

Correct

 

[KirM]

Correct

 

[KirM]

Should I get the ReeFi Uno 2.1 Pro with ReeFi tank mount?

 

[Solo McReefer]

Should I get the ReeFi Uno 2.1 Pro with ReeFi tank mount?

Are you serious about growing acros?

 

[bobnicaragua]

Should I get the ReeFi Uno 2.1 Pro with ReeFi tank mount?

Reefi UNOs are very good, I have the 2.0, but you already have the radions.

You could add T5 or LED bars to your existing light. The bars will increase par and help with the shadowing that comes from modular style lighting.

 

[VDC]

I'm running 4 XR15 G5 PRO for 12 hours daily with AB+ profile on my 130+ Gal Tank. Grows SPS immediately after one month of cycling. Tank currently at 6 month mark.

What are your bo3/no4 levels?

 

[VDC]

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.

Do they have a comparable xr30 light?

 

[bobnicaragua]

Do they have a comparable xr30 light?

The UNO.

 

[KirM]

Are you serious about growing acros?

I would like to.

 

[KirM]

Do they have a comparable xr30 light?

All I have is the 2 XR15 Radion lights

 

[KirM]

The UNO.

It sounds like the ReeFi Uno 2.1 Pro is very good.

 

[bobnicaragua]

It sounds like the ReeFi Uno 2.1 Pro is very good.