[SPStoner]

I think you are on the right track. As a few have stated, Calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity are probably the three most important parameters for stony coral health. Get a good test kit for these three. I prefer Hach, Instant Ocean, or Lamotte. Spending the extra $$ on these three kits can save you plenty in the long run. Your flow is fine, as are your lights. (more to follow on this...)

I think your aquascape looks ok now. Are you getting good flow behind and between the rocks? This is important as over time, detritus will settle in just about every area that there is insufficient flow and will cause problems similar to what you are seeing. Also, it was mentioned already, but double check whatever device you are using to check your salinity. Maybe take some water to a LFS and have them check it to compare to your readings. Seems redundant, but like cwegescheide I had this same problem many years ago and it turned out to be a bad hydrometer. I would definitely stop adding any trace elements, as mentioned earlier. There is no way to test for them, and most of what is depleted can be made up, in the proper amounts, via water changes.

Now, two more things. First, inspect your remaining acros very closely for pests such as AEFW (flat worms) and Red Bugs. There are many good threads in this forum to help you identify them.
You should be quarantining all new corals and frags prior to introduction into your display. At the least, a preventative dip.


Next, regarding lighting. If the color of the corals is more important to you than growth, you should go with a bluer halide bulb, like a 20K or at the least, a 14K like Phoenix or Aquaconnect. Do a search for Sanjay's lighting studies for a comprehensive analysis of many of the available bulbs. I have not used the Reeflux bulbs yet, so these may be blue enough, but not sure form the pictures.... You may also want to eventually add more supplemental actinic, preferably VHO's. These will really make the colors pop in your SPS.

Last thing, Birdsnext, in my experience, do not like bright light. My 6 colonies all look much better when I keep them very low in the tank, away from direct halide light.


Try not to get too frustrated. Make changes in husbandry one at a time and be patient. If you change 4 things at once, you will never know which if any fixed the problem, and may end up creating new ones.


Hope that helps....


Tony