Kung Fu Spider Crab Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 Hey all I recently bought a birdsnest and it's not doing so well. I've changed it to a couple of different locations in the tank, but at this point I think it's a gonner. So, knowing that I probably will buy another, what is the biggest factor, other than light, to keeping or gowing SPS. I have aT-5 light system and fairly good water movement. Anyfeedback would be helpful. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kung Fu Spider Crab Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 I should have guessed this was somewhere else. Just looked in the SPS forum and learned a few things, like I need to feed after the lights are off. Anything else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 birdsnest aren't much of feeders, maybe of microscopic things. So is it RTN? just not polyping out? I know they dont like a lot of heavy flow, mine do well with occasional blasts of current roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwcoralfarm Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 "Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet!" That is so awesome, story of my life, ha ha. Well to tell you the truth I have a bunch of sps and have never fed them anything. I can tell you for sure that there are many other people that do the same as me with great results. What we need to know in order to help are a few things here. First off, how new is your system, sps require a fairly well established tank, sometimes up to a year. I have never known birdsnest to be too picky but it depends on what type really. Also how many watts of light are you running? How close is it to the tank, how big is your tank? Tell us some more about your setup in general, also how is the birdsnest dying, there is a good possibility that you have something in there eating at it. Birdsnest requires only moderate flow and med to high lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 I have never fed my SPS either and they grow great. Can you give us your params? How about a pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Yes, don't feed either. I do know that there is a sweet spot with my T5's. Not so much high (since they kinda love light) but low. There is an area of a few inches that, if I place lower, they will brown out and not thrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Hey all what is the biggest factor Maintaining CA/ALK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 Maintaining CA/ALK. #1!!!! How are your other parameters? SPS do not tolerate high nitrates well... Is this your first SPS? How long has your tank been up and running? How many T5's are you running? What kind of bulbs? What kind of fixture? Can you give us a run down of your system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 How long do you run your lights? there I think that is all the questions we have.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted November 14, 2009 Share Posted November 14, 2009 When you do get another..... and another...... and another, be sure you don't run out and buy a big colony right away. Start with a small frag and see if it will survive first. Do you have any soft corals or LPS in the tank? How are they doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Did you check it for pests yet? Sometimes things just dont do well......sps corals are not the easiest of corals to keep when a new hobbiest. Do what these guys say and check your water parameters. Once you get it dialed in you can keep most anything in your tank. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kung Fu Spider Crab Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Man you people are great.(rock2) The birds nest is kinda just browning out from the tips in. I've placed it in a couple of different places and not really found the sweet spot. I do need a little clarification. They like high light, but not a lot of water flow? I'll stop trying to feed it I guess as well. (clap) I'll try and get a pic up tomorrow of the birdsnest. I updated in June some pictures so there are some good overall shots of how it looks on my profile. Here is the skinny Tank and livestock Tank has been up and running since 07-08. It's 72 gal and has a bunch of other life that is doing really well. Mushrooms, frog spawn, leathers, and one other SPS, millepora (scratch), seem to be doing fine. I should note that I had two acropora frags that have also since passed on that I bought at the same time as the birdsnest, a zoo frag that recently shriveled up about a month ago after nearly a year, and some yellow star polops that have slowly disappeared. There doesn't seem to be any fish nipping or giving them a hard time. Don't know if what has recently not done well helps, but thought I'd mention it. I've got one 3 koralia on one side and my pump bringing water back in on the opposite end. Water All water levels test out great. Cal about 480 Alk between 10 and 12 Run about .21 to .23 salt I change water religiously every two weeks, so all other levels, nitrates, etc, look great. Lighting Running 4 bulbs T-5 with 2 10k lights for about four hours a day. With the Actunics (sp) on from about 8 am to 8 pm. Sundial fixture 48". Birdsnest It's being placed in a number of different areas from the bottom to as high up as I can get it about 12" from lights. However, higher also means more water movement for me. So, I'll try and change that tonight. Lengthy yes... but hopefully I answered everyone’s questions. Let me know and THANKS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 put it in one place and leave it alone. Sps will adapt to the lighting they are given it just takes some time. Touching the coral and moving it will do more harm than not having enough or too much light from my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Man you people are great.(rock2) Lighting Running 4 bulbs T-5 with 2 10k lights for about four hours a day. With the Actunics (sp) on from about 8 am to 8 pm. Sundial fixture 48". 4 hrs of full light is not very much for corals with high light demands. Unless you have reasons for not giving it more light, I would bump that up to at least 8 hrs a day, though you may want to ramp that up over a few weeks to avoid giving your established livestock "sunburn". Your other corals will grow more quickly with more light, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwcoralfarm Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 I agree fully with the last 2 posts, Leave it in one spot and let it acclimate itself. Also I would try running your actinics for 1 hour in the morning and then bring your day lights on for 8 full hours with the actinics and then just actinics for 1 more hour at night. Ramp this up by about 1-2 hours every 2-3 days. Your softies will do fine with larger increases in light but stony corals may bleach out from getting it too quick, although you aren't dealing with a lot of light to start with so the worries their are small. Your zoo's melting away may have either been a Nudibranch introduced by a new coral that died off later from starvation, or could be from a period with high phosphate/nitrate levels. I would leave your birds nest in the middle somewhere, heavy flow can cause tissue loss like you are experiencing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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