Why do my hard-to-keep SPS corals THRIVE and my EZ-to-keep Mushrooms wither up and die?

[N70SJ]

They start out great like the above pic then over a couple months they wither up?

 

 

 

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[Jorge]

I suspect ultra low nutrients! I still believe an sps only tank is much easier to keep than a fine balanced mixed reef.

[Blue Z Reef]

Definitely the nutrient load. I always had this issue with running a mixed reef. Better my sps was doing, worse the shrooms and zoos did usually and vise versa. Finding the middle ground can be tricky when SPS colors thrive at the fringe of stability for everything else.

Do you dose any aminos? May want to look into something to replenish the nutrients your system is using up.

[N70SJ]

Thanks Jorge n BlueZReef,  My mushrooms have always done poorly. Thought it was from too much light. But I lowered my MH's to 2 double ended 250W 14,500K bulbs and 4 T-5s.  Is my light also too bright. My Zoes do good though. I do a 100 gallon water change every 30 days. Don't add any aminos or anything else.

[Jorge]

Easy is probably a bad choice of words. Doing large water changes, big skimmers, lots of flow and other equipment to keep low nutrients is not easy nor cheap. I had a similar problem with my previous set up. What worked for me was phytoplankton twice a week and then eventually ended three times a week. The acropora colored up beautifully, lps looked full and mushrooms stretched out twice in size.. 

Not saying that will work for everyone but it's worth a shot.

[CuttleFishandCoral]

I wouldn't categorize the mushrooms pictured as easy. There is a lot of yumas coming in that are maricultured and are extremely hard to keep from melting. 

There are some yumas around the area that are aquacultured by hobbyist that are hardy. 

[Jorge]

^ tis is true! Occasionally one or two yumas Jeff brought in would slowly waste away for no good reason. Meanwhile, all other lps and softies looked perfect.