SPS parameters

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#1
I am going the Argo dominated tank with couple of LPS and Zoas that survived the crash. So I got a test SPS and I was wondering what are your parameters for SPS?
Mine are
Nitrate: Oppm
Alk 11.8 dKH
Cal 470 ppm
I am trying to lower Alk and Calcium but I am waiting for it to slowly lower by its self. Rather than me rush it.
My water change test at
Salinity 1.026
Alk 11.2 dKH
Cal 465 ppm
Should I lower the salinity?


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lowbudget

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#2
if your new water is 11.2. everytime you do wc it will do up. what salt you are using. 11.2 isnt high. what is your mg?
 

lowbudget

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#5
low nutrients you like to go 7-8. but regular tanks 11 is okay of stuff is not dying

dont let the numbers fool you. as long as its stable, you are good
 
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#6
low nutrients you like to go 7-8. but regular tanks 11 is okay of stuff is not dying

dont let the numbers fool you. as long as its stable, you are good
Got it will keep it the same I just got a cheap gorgeous sps that hopefully shows Im ready to start the sps tank


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theMerchant

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#7
You need to test ul po4. Keeping po4 below. .06 has worked for me.

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watchguy123

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#11
There is such a large range of acceptable sps parameters. Typically, higher alk 9-12 dKh would have nitrates higher than zero. When nutrients get really low, unless alkalinity decreases then sps tips may burn. However, every tank seems to have a wide range of a happy spot so if things look good.....

Also keep in mind that nitrates and phosphates have a relationship to each other and if they get out of balance then nuisance/plagues can develop. Generally zero nitrates and some phosphates can be problematic. Redfield ratio isnt the ratio you need to target but it seems (my guess) is that nitrates need to be anywhere from a low of five or six times the ppm of phosphates or anywhere up to a couple hundred or so to one.

If youre changing 10-15% water changes then the alk and Ca of your new water will only have a minor impact on your parameters. Having said that, I prefer a salt brand that is close to my ideal target levels nonetheless.

I think of lps doing better with more nutrients available and zero nitrates seems too low to keep them happy

Nitrates can quickly get bound up by lots of stuff, so zero doesnt necessarily mean zero available nitrates. But I get concerned with zero nitrate readings
 
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#12
[MENTION=3886]watchguy123[/MENTION]
Maybe I will reduce the amount of NOPOX I am using. I was thinking of dosing PO4 once algae was gone but I just got a CUC that is doing an amazing job.
Here is the piece I got



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reefes pieces

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#15
Don't give up. Just get those parameters where you want them first and see if they hold and then add them sticks in.
 
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#17
If it was me... Id shoot for an alkalinity more in the middle of whats recommended. Good advice from Mark. I would stop using the nopox all together. You are stsrving the system if you dont have a large bioload.
 
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#18
Start with something a little easier... like a birdsnest or stylo for example.
I got a nice bird nest from UltraGem hopefully it does well.
If it was me... Id shoot for an alkalinity more in the middle of whats recommended. Good advice from Mark. I would stop using the nopox all together. You are stsrving the system if you dont have a large bioload.
I think my I am starving my system I am removing the NOPOX and I am going to go back to the basics and also removing the Protein Skimmer and just stick with water changes.


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watchguy123

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#19
I got a nice bird nest from UltraGem hopefully it does well.

I think my I am starving my system I am removing the NOPOX and I am going to go back to the basics and also removing the Protein Skimmer and just stick with water changes.


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Maybe consider just stopping the NOPOX first. That should have an impact. Maybe wait a little while before removing the protein skimmer. Slow changes are always better. SPS take a long time to grow and be happy, they get really unhappy fast and then it takes twice or three times as long to turn them around. Although people run skimmer less tanks successfully, skimmers certainly remove DOC's (to some extent) and help oxygenate the water as well as more stuff. If you remove the skimmer, and if you are not using carbon (I am not referring to carbon dosing) then you will likely need to add something like ROX carbon to help with the DOC's. If you add too much ROX carbon, that is bad as well. So.., since NOPOX is a profound additive, eliminating it's use will have an effect.

Perhaps consider getting your parameters where you think they should be, hold steady for a while and then add some SPS. Acros are so darn expensive that you don't want to be doing a lot of experimenting with them. Get your tank zoned in, do the boring testing routine daily when you stop your NOPOX, so you clearly see where your nutrients are heading and if/when they have stabled out. Then move forward with either more changes like taking your skimmer offline or if stable then adding more sps. Fish (bioload) and appropriate feeding are a great way to add nutrients to a tank as well. Just some stuff to think about. All of this is a balancing act and it can be really challenging to get it tuned in.

None of us are reef experts, we are all novices, some with more experience or maybe just more luck than others.
 
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#20
Maybe consider just stopping the NOPOX first. That should have an impact. Maybe wait a little while before removing the protein skimmer. Slow changes are always better. SPS take a long time to grow and be happy, they get really unhappy fast and then it takes twice or three times as long to turn them around. Although people run skimmer less tanks successfully, skimmers certainly remove DOC's (to some extent) and help oxygenate the water as well as more stuff. If you remove the skimmer, and if you are not using carbon (I am not referring to carbon dosing) then you will likely need to add something like ROX carbon to help with the DOC's. If you add too much ROX carbon, that is bad as well. So.., since NOPOX is a profound additive, eliminating it's use will have an effect.

Perhaps consider getting your parameters where you think they should be, hold steady for a while and then add some SPS. Acros are so darn expensive that you don't want to be doing a lot of experimenting with them. Get your tank zoned in, do the boring testing routine daily when you stop your NOPOX, so you clearly see where your nutrients are heading and if/when they have stabled out. Then move forward with either more changes like taking your skimmer offline or if stable then adding more sps. Fish (bioload) and appropriate feeding are a great way to add nutrients to a tank as well. Just some stuff to think about. All of this is a balancing act and it can be really challenging to get it tuned in.

None of us are reef experts, we are all novices, some with more experience or maybe just more luck than others.
Thank you I will take it slow. Now that you mention carbon the day before my arco died I switched out the carbon. I really hope to tune this tank.


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