Brown Acros???

Dowtish · Jan 22, 2012

I am trying to figure out what the cause is for having acros brown out in my tank. I have a mixed reef with various softies, LPS, and SPS. But it seems that anything from the acro sp. just can't get happy in my tank. I have great color and growth on montipora caps, and digitata. My pink and green birdsnest look great, but any acro frag I put in my tank browns out in a matter of 2 weeks. I run a 90 gallon with a 20 long sump with a SWC 160 cone, and run Ecobak and GAC. My lights: its a 4 bulb Aquaticlife 4x54w with Geismann bulbs (2 Aquablue +, 2 Actinic +)

My parameters:
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0.03 hanna
Alk 9 hanna
Calcium 440
Mag 1500
ph 8.0-8.1

Any suggestions or ideas???

dedubya · Jan 22, 2012

any chance it's your ecobak biopellets? I recently started using npx biopelllets and 2 of my longtime acros have turned brown and I cant figure it out, but the only new thing added in a long time was the use of a reactor with npx biopellets

Troylee · Jan 22, 2012

Flow, nutrients, and pest are the main cause... Have you dipped any to check for aefw?? Also your po4 is kind of high it will brown them out and stunt there growth... Oh yeah you said all of them brown within 2 weeks?? Sometimes that is normal as they acclimate but should rebound within a couple weeks..

Monroereef · Jan 22, 2012

Troylee said:
Flow, nutrients, and pest are the main cause... Have you dipped any to check for aefw?? Also your po4 is kind of high it will brown them out and stunt there growth... Oh yeah you said all of them brown within 2 weeks?? Sometimes that is normal as they acclimate but should rebound within a couple weeks..

+1 on AEFW. The Acro brownout is the first sign. Dip a frag and find out ...

westreef · Jan 22, 2012

Troylee said:
Flow, nutrients, and pest are the main cause... Have you dipped any to check for aefw?? Also your po4 is kind of high it will brown them out and stunt there growth... Oh yeah you said all of them brown within 2 weeks?? Sometimes that is normal as they acclimate but should rebound within a couple weeks..

PO4 of 0.03 is high? What should it be?

Bernie

Troylee · Jan 22, 2012

Pref .01 or 0 but 0 zero is impossible and not healthy IMO... .03 isn't bad but I would try and get it to .01 if at all possible.. Microbacter7 might do the trick for ya since you have pellets online already..

Kbra · Jan 23, 2012

They losing tissues too?

slapshot · Jan 23, 2012

AEFW or high salinity. Both will brown them out. I noted you did not test your salinity. Might be your problem.

Dowtish · Jan 23, 2012

I dip and inspect for pests very thoroughly, and know what to look for as far as pests go. It very well could be due to salinity then. I have had a few swings recently. New top off with new sump...got it stable now. I have seen other folks tanks with much higher phosphates than me, and have great color. I think 0.03 is really low, and getting any lower isn't going to make the difference IMO.

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Troylee · Jan 23, 2012

What Hanna checker are you using??? If it's the little egg one it's most likely worse than its reading.. I found those checkers to be garbage... There is a big thread about them floating around here...

Salty Dog · Jan 23, 2012

i agree with Troy, You want to be at.01 on phos. Your lighting also plays a big role in acro's. What kind of lighting do you have and when were the bulbs changed. Hanna testers are garbage. Salifert test kits have been the only test kit I can Trust. Even Elos gave me false readings

swannyson7 · Jan 23, 2012

Do you have any nuisance algae growing in the tank? If you do, it will consume the phosphates and give you a false reading on phosphates in the system.

Zombie · Jan 23, 2012

+1 on lighting.
My PO4 was at .03 the last time I checked.

Are your bulbs old?

My acros were brown all the time for many years. I thought that was their color. I was running two 400w halides and switched to leds. At first I thought they were bleaching, two months later they looked like this.

The brown is lighting up and the new growth is different and colorful at the tips.

In this photo it shows the same coral now.

ghostman · Jan 23, 2012

I know it is a cliche answer, but I think your lighting is bit weak. A 4 bulb T5 fixture might not cut it for optimal color in acros, especially since 2 of your bulbs are actinics. I would much prefer a 6 bulb ATI or any 8 bulb unit over a tank of that size and depth. HTH

Salty Dog · Jan 23, 2012

Halides are the best for me, I change bulbs every 6-8 months and ballasts every 3yrs regardless to if there working or not. I also have VHO'S and T-5's for the blue spectrum

dnov99 · Jan 23, 2012

I would not worry about your PO4 at .03 that is fine (as long as it is an accurate reading) and not a cause for them browning out. My PO4 is usually between .05 and .07 and my SPS growth and coloration is amazing. I would lean more towards insufficient lighting. If the T5's are old you will experience browning out with certain acros.

westreef · Jan 23, 2012

I also totally agree that your PO4 is fine. Lighting is definitely weak. You might need to extend your photoperiod and if possible add more bulbs to the fixture.
By the way, approximately a year ago, for my 75g tank I had 5 54W T5 overdriven by ICECAP ballast and the SPS were not very happy. So I did an upgrade to a 3 T5 54W and 2 strips of 12 LED DIY each. Now they are happy with good growth and color.

Dowtish · Jan 23, 2012

Thanks everybody for the replies so far. I agree on the phosphate level not being the culprit. I have zero nuisance algae, and never have had any in this tank. I had a couple spots of cyano, but that was a bio-pellet issue.

I am leaning towards the light as well. I really need to find a decent 6 bulb fixture. Right after I save up for the ATO I want....uuughh, it never ends.