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Innovative Marine Aquariums

SPS help.


jorahx

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Hey guys, 

 

so i have a innovative marine 20g with a nanobox duo plus light. but i am having issues with growing any sps. some friends gave me two frags and i placed them near the top of my rock work so they can soak up the most light possible, plus they have the return pumps going right by them for excellent flow. but i still havnt gotten any sign of life from the two sps. it has been about 2 weeks for the first frag, and 1 week for the second. 

 

any tips or thoughts would be much appreciated. thanks you. 

 

 

tank 1-8-18.jpg

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Yr tank may not be mature enough.  I had trouble for first 8 months, I believe my tanks water was too unstable for sps as everything was maturing.   

 

 many factors like v stable water/  nitrates,  phosphates levels , correct calcium, alk, mag levels, flow, light ( too strong can b as bad as not enough).  

 

More info would be handy. 

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i dont really expect growth. mostly just them to open up i guess. all the rest of mine in the tank seem to be having no problem 

29 minutes ago, HarryPotter said:

Don’t you think giving water parameters would help? 

 

water par's are all good, except phos i dont know since i dont have a test for it yet. 

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2 minutes ago, jorahx said:

i dont really expect growth. mostly just them to open up i guess. all the rest of mine in the tank seem to be having no problem 

 

water par's are all good, except phos i dont know since i dont have a test for it yet. 

 

What is "good"? 

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Maybe they’re in too much light. Did you acclimate them lower or just blasted them with light from the beginning?

What kind of SPS? some will not open up in direct high flow. Parameters seem ok, while the ALK seems ok I’d get it up to 8.5-9dkh 

Edit: tank looks very new. Everything is a small frag....

let us know ...

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Just now, xiaoxiy said:

Duo settings and how old is the tank?

 

tanks little over a month old.

 

i had them origonally on the bottom with the rest of the frags for a few days before moving stuff up. 

ill get a picture of the nanobox light settings.

 

i have no idea what kind of SPS. i dont know much about the names of them, ill try to get a closer photo of them. 

 

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Just now, jorahx said:

 

tanks little over a month old.

 

i had them origonally on the bottom with the rest of the frags for a few days before moving stuff up. 

ill get a picture of the nanobox light settings.

 

i have no idea what kind of SPS. i dont know much about the names of them, ill try to get a closer photo of them. 

 

I've always had trouble with new tanks and SPS, however that may just be me. Are you having trouble with polyp extension, browning, bleaching, tissue recession or a mix of the above?

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1 minute ago, Andreww said:

Not seeing how a tank so new can support SPS even with stable parameters. But that’s just my opinion. Do post pics though...

 

How does a new tank have a harder time with coral growing?  Every time I check my water params none have seem out of wack. But I am new so I don't know how to grow them. And thank you guys for the interest in helping me. 

 

 

The lights setting are the same as when I first got the light. Didn't know what strengths I should use so didn't want to mess with what they were. 

 

 

IMG_2792.PNG

IMG_2793.JPG

IMG_2794.JPG

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The majority of people keeping successful SPS tanks report a greater success rate as the tank matures and goes through all the nasty stages first. 

Thats not to say SPS don’t grow in a new tank, they just grow and color better in established tanks.

Heres the thing, your tank is still barely out of the nitrogen cycle, and the SPS pieces you put up top are still adjusting . I’m not familiar with Nanobox but I know they are strong lights. A quick glance at your program makes me think the light is too much for your tank at this stage. I’d dial back everything around 35-40% and go from there but I’ll leave a nanobox owner to suggest something probably better than I can...

 

Heres a good , simple to understand SPS article.

https://reefs.com/magazine/an-sps-recipe-for-success/

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thank you for the response. and yeah my tank just doesnt like SPS right now. everything else is growing wonderfully.

 

even the birdsnest are happy. (but i hear those are hardy and always happy)

 

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Good to hear. Yeah I’ve had mixed results with birdsnests. Some are good for a while then RTN for no reason. Some grow and grow for what seems like forever. And they’re prone to collecting debris in between the branches more than other SPS so definitely keep an eye on that. 

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Just now, Andreww said:

Good to hear. Yeah I’ve had mixed results with birdsnests. Some are good for a while then RTN for no reason. Some grow and grow for what seems like forever. And they’re prone to collecting debris in between the branches more than other SPS so definitely keep an eye on that. 

 

good tip! ill make sure to keep them clean. 

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FYI, birdsnest are also SPS.  The two new ones you got are acros, also SPS but much harder than birdsnest.   Your light is way too strong given how close to the water line it already is.  Montipora, birdsnest, and stylophora are good SPS to start out.  Acros will thrive in a more mature and stable tank.  

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Christmas Corals

looks like you're doing everything right. keep up on the water changes and you should be set!  stable water parameters are also appreciated by sps. have fun. tank looks beautiful! ??

 

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4 hours ago, ninjamyst said:

FYI, birdsnest are also SPS.  The two new ones you got are acros, also SPS but much harder than birdsnest.   Your light is way too strong given how close to the water line it already is.  Montipora, birdsnest, and stylophora are good SPS to start out.  Acros will thrive in a more mature and stable tank.  

 

yeah i have a few birds nest which seem to be doing great. maybe ill try raising the light up another couple inch's. wish i had a PAR meter haha. 

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7 hours ago, Andreww said:

Not seeing how a tank so new can support SPS even with stable parameters. But that’s just my opinion. Do post pics though...

 

Why not? What’s different? 

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