bleaching coral

[urundi]

hi i am having a problem with my 1 coral bleaching out.

first i thought it was growing because it was just the tips, but now it has almost taken over the entire coral.

ive had this coral for about 2 months without any problem and now all of a sudden it has been started.

i test the water every other day and no sudden changes has been made and everything is as it should.

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

Parameters please?

 

[urundi]

magnesium 1400
calcium 450
po4 undetected
no3 no2 undetected
silicates undetected
dkh 12 / using red sea coral growth salt and only ro/di water freshly taken every week.
using red sea color program and everything is also ok there.
temperature 26 degrees.

changing water every 2 weeks 20liters and once a month 60liters.
i let it mature for 24 hours in a second tank

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Any changes to lighting intensity or schedule? dKH is kind of high, in my opinion.

 

[happyhourhero]

I would wager that one is toast. Too high of Alk with too little nutrients.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

I would wager that one is toast. Too high of Alk with too little nutrients.

Agreed. Although, I have had some LPS come back from being completely white.

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

I would wager that one is toast. Too high of Alk with too little nutrients.

I agree. Need more nutrients and try to lower alk a bit (slowly)

 

[urundi]

problem is that the alk is due to the salt mix i use from red sea the coral growth how can i get it lower? or do i just have to get my ca and mg up so yess to what point ?

 

[anthonywesty]

High alk with no nutrients is your problem. And is not bleaching is dead.

 

[urundi]

how you mean nutrients. i dose special coral food directly to the coral with a sringe every day.
i know the alk is high but the strange to that iz that its standar into a blend special made for coral growth from red sea. how can i reduce it

 

[ws6kid]

If that is a wild coral and not grown in someone's aquarium, that dkh is 5 points higher than natural sea water. Wild corals are pretty sensitive to change in general.

Reduce the alk slowly by doing small water changes with an alk level lower, like 8.5 ish in the new water. It will eventually get lower.

Feed the corals and fish more to raise nutrient levels. If you have filter socks, remove them. Make sure you aren't running GFO with 0 phos, and don't run carbon if the water appears clear.

 

[urundi]

i have no gfo reactor running.
and the coral is a frag.

i administer rotifer food directly to the coral about 3ml everyday.

which salt blend do you recommend because i use red sea coral growth salt but seems to be the problem.
because it contains 12.5 dkh into the blend

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

I use instant ocean Reef crystals. My alk is about 8 to 9

 

[urundi]

but then my question is why red sea manufactures a coral growth salt blend that has allround perfect stats but has a dkh 12.5 alqo written on the cover of it.

 

[urundi]

ive contacted a friend and he says that he thinks the reason why he died could be to the intensity of the light i have the coral in the middle of the aquarium and he said that may never put a coral like that in the middle og a aquarium this species should be put on the bottom of the tank

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

Lighting is always a possibilty.. you could try moving to substrate and see if it recovers

 

[slipknotgrrl83]

but then my question is why red sea manufactures a coral growth salt blend that has allround perfect stats but has a dkh 12.5 alqo written on the cover of it.

Not to sure myself

 

[tj w]

Agreed with the above statements about the dkh being that high without any no3 and po4.

 

[happyhourhero]

I believe that salt is aimed at propagation systems where the higher alk can promote faster growth. I like to keep my dkh down around 9.

My opinion is that coral is dead. You can preserve future acros by either getting aquacultured frags, switching salts or raising you phosphates and nitrates.

 

[cheezybuda]

ive contacted a friend and he says that he thinks the reason why he died could be to the intensity of the light i have the coral in the middle of the aquarium and he said that may never put a coral like that in the middle og a aquarium this species should be put on the bottom of the tank

Start with the alk. That is the most likely problem. If not, then look at light. Don't make it too complicated