LPS struggles

[bwidner]

Ok so I am relativley new to LPS (under a year of experience) had 2 early deaths when I started stocking corals a year ago (frogspawn and neon green trumpet) and have had some problems with the new inhabitants tank has been stable for months so I went out and bought a frogspawn torch coral and neon green trumpet overthe last 2 months, the neon green seems to be barely surviving, floursihed after a month of having it for 2 weeks stragith grew 2 new heads and was open and happy and now back to barely hanging on. The frogspawn and torch were bought the same day and the frogspawn immediatly opened up and the tentacles got nice and fat, then 2 days later i wake up and its dead no tentacles at all. So i checked water parameters and
SG 1.024
nitrate 0
trite 0
amonia 0
calcium 500
alk 4.25/mgL
ph8.2
phosphate .1
temp stays steady at 79-83 fluctation between day and night
inhabitants
2 percula clowns (reside in grenn star polyp colony)
1 hippo tang
1 lawnmower blenny
1 bi-color blenny
1 black brittle star
1 purple lobster
multiple turbo and nassairuis snails
multiple hermit crabs,
Lighting= 220w of VHOS (bulbs 2 months old)
I know lighting may seem low but due to the natural sunlight I get in the house with the windows the tank actaully get during the day about 6-7wpg (used a friends submersible wattage meter he spent $300 on as he is going to try a outdoor reef lagoon)

Also since the day of the frogspanws death the torch has been as open and happy as can be, I supplement with reef plus 2x a week, can anyone hlep me with this!! I have never had any softies die on me and realy like the look of LPS but if nothing changes it will remain a softie tank

[dendro982]

Not much of help, my neon green trumpet and frogspawn were under direct sunlight and in low light tanks, rougly the same parameters as yours.
May be too hight flow?

My trumpet died from brown jelly, after was repetedly dropped down.

Actually, LPS should grow in the softies tank very well. May be try some carbon, if you have leathers (I don't have)?

[Underwaterparadise]

Are you running a CA. reactor? What are your magnesium levels at?

[bwidner]

dont test for magnesium, I thought that it was only necessary on sps tanks? If this could be a mojor cause looks like I will be adding a mag test kit in the next few days

[bwidner]

oh and no ca. reactor, I run a modified seaclone and a phosban reactor and well as carbon in a media bag where a sponge would normally be in the sump

[Underwaterparadise]

What are you using to maintain ca. at 500 and how often are you dosing?

MG. is just as important if mot more so for LPS IMO then SPS. With your Ca. @500 you should be OK though. Also a 4 degree temp swing is a lil much in less then a 24hr time frame

[bwidner]

i dose with ca once a week, I guess even after the ro/di process my ater is high in calcium, I will pick up at mg test kit today hopefully and check that out, the temp swing is something I cant get under control...I have the heater set to 79 in the sump but during the day the tank ALWAYS get like 3deg warmer than what the heater is set too...I may pick up a fan to help keep it down a little more

[laostitan]

I had the same problem with my GSPolyps. How long have u been adding the supplements. The problem that i was having per Reef Central assistance, I had to much Nutrients in the tank, causing it to actually go down hill... I taught it was the light, water, fish, everything, but never taught the supplements. Now my tank is on clean up mode, trying to go back to the basics of water changes, skimming and filtration…. Hope that helps

[bwidner]

should I stop dosing I know 500 is a little on the high end but I also know stability is VERY important, the LFS by my work was out of the Mg test kits so that will have to wait until tommorrow

[dendro982]

bwidner: 500 ppm Ca may be the just test kit.

I had one API kit, what shows same levels. Stopped using it, but later was told on the forums to buy another bottle - from different store or some time later, they will be from different batches. Now the second API kit shows reasonable levels, that correspond to Seachem Ca test kit.

[laostitan]

Are u dosing anything other than CA... b/c i was dosing miro-vert and Phytoplex... that is what is believe to have caused my tank to go down hill... Since i stopped, my GPS and Candy Cane are starting to recover... But this is only a thought.

[bwidner]

i dose reef plus 2x a week and alk once

[roblack]

Could be your bicolor blenny. I loved mine, but caught him eating my chalice corals, nipping at acros, and they are known to eat montis from what I have heard. I wouldnt be surprised to find out they also sometimes eat the corals you are losing. Not sure, but something to check out.

[bwidner]

could be however it looked more like they disintigrated than were ate, I will keep an eye on him though

[bwidner]

Ok one other question I just thought of, the temp in my tank is higher than what most are, (was about to buy a chiller but everything started to thrive this summer when the temp crept to 84) could that be a cause of the frogspawn struggling? I asked the owner of my LFS where I got it and he couldnt figure it out and thought it was that particular piece, so he gave me an aqua cultured frag from his display tank, and it appears the head is splitting....although I have moved it 4 different places in the tank, and it seems to be somewhat happy now about 1/2 the tentacles are open and fat.....is this because of the splitting its doing?

[Underwaterparadise]

Frog spawn,hammer, etc all do not do well in higher temps IME

[bwidner]

what would you consider higher temps? also I have a tyorch I picked up at the same time that is doing VERY well it had 3 heads and currently 2 are splitting

[bwidner]

Well it seem the piece was already dying my LFS is the bet I have ever been too in many different citites and he replaced it with a new frogspawn I have had for 4 days now it was a small 1 head frag and now it 2 heads seems very happy in its new home