Peng Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 So I've had some pretty good months of good growth...But recently after I switched from Seachem ReefBuilder & Advantage Calcium to Kalkwasser, SPS are getting pale, losing color, showing less PE, and shielded area start to STN. They also look like their skin is getting thinner and thinner with retreated polyps. The shielded areas (shielded by coral branches) started to STN, leaving branches still alive. I have cyannobacteria and algae all the time. Recently algae on powerheads are dying off (not all...GHA still present). Cheato in the refugium is also dying off from the bottom slowly. I've pulled off the Phosguard and carbon. It's a 90 gallon aquarium with 3 tangs and couple small fish. I feed them a lot but never used any coral food. Big alkalinity swing has occurred several times when I was adjusting the kalkwasser dosage. 2 Evergrow LED lights, about 12 hours a day. I haven't changed water for about 2 weeks. I'm going to do a 1/3 water change later today. This kind of phenomenon I have seen for many times. Usually out of some reason corals grow very fast and then start to show "pale" very quickly and then STN/RTN... Some people say it's nutrients; some say it's lighting, while some say it's alk swing... I'm have no idea what is causing it & its repetition. Every time it comes I lose some corals... Please help... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReefBox Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Peng I would tend to believe it is the alk swings. They are devastating on sps and corals. Low nutrients will lead to pale colors but usually not STN or rtn also remember change things slow nothing good happens fast in this hobby stability is the key Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Depending on how old the D120s are you may want to check the Blue diodes, I've noticed quite a few threads where people's have been dying around the 18-24 month mark, it happened 6 of my 9 I "used to" use It was any fix but they went out none the less Also agree with Brian about the need of stability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peng Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 Peng I would tend to believe it is the alk swings. They are devastating on sps and corals. Low nutrients will lead to pale colors but usually not STN or rtn also remember change things slow nothing good happens fast in this hobby stability is the key Thanks Brian I'll try to keep it stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catfish2 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I would agree with the alk swings being a likely candidate. I have also heard of super low nutrients being a cause of bottom up stn, but there are plenty of people that run ultra low nutrient systems who don't have stn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I have also used Lugol's Solution(Kent) as a dip and also add to my tank for quite awhile now, and have not had many problems with either my sps or lps over the years. Any chance have you been using it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peng Posted April 5, 2015 Author Share Posted April 5, 2015 I have also used Lugol's Solution(Kent) as a dip and also add to my tank for quite awhile now, and have not had many problems with either my sps or lps over the years. Any chance have you been using it? I haven't but I don't know if that was the reason. I will try to change some water and keep the parameters stable. I realize that the last couple months of fast growth was in correspondence with the stable parameters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitrillion Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 I haven't but I don't know if that was the reason. I will try to change some water and keep the parameters stable. I realize that the last couple months of fast growth was in correspondence with the stable parameters.i would say some of it is from alk swings! But I would start dosing aminos once a week! Have u changed the filters in the todo in a while, that would do it! Glad to see Ya back haven't seen Ya in a while:) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Swinging Alk for sure. And what's the fix? Stable alk. Pretty easy. why are you switching to Kalk? Imo, switching a tank to kalk in the middle of growing season is a bad idea. Kalk dosing takes lots of trial and error...if you have a tank full of sps, why risk it? If you want a cheaper alternative tk dosing...there are plenty of alternatives that don't require as much trial and error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitrillion Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Swinging Alk for sure. And what's the fix? Stable alk. Pretty easy. why are you switching to Kalk? Imo, switching a tank to kalk in the middle of growing season is a bad idea. Kalk dosing takes lots of trial and error...if you have a tank full of sps, why risk it? If you want a cheaper alternative tk dosing...there are plenty of alternatives that don't require as much trial and error. ya I would try a calcium reactor if it was me! They are much cheaper and are stable Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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