Coral dying?

[Yolofly]

Morning,
My brother in law bought a soft coral if I’m not mistaking and after a two months it looks like this( attach photo). Check the parameters and:
ammonia is in 1.0
Nitrite is in .50
Nitrate is in 5.0
Salinity in 1.023
Temperature in 70F
he didn’t check anything else.
What you think can be the problem?
Thanks

 

[Aqua Man]

I see a Nem and a hard coral of some kind.

The hard coral looks covered in brown jelly. Not good.

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

Looks like a Goniopora...they can be hard to keep in newer tanks. The brown jelly covering it is not a good sign. There’s a few polyps still alive but looks like it won’t last much longer.
What’s the water parameters and lighting etc...

 

[Yolofly]

I see a Nem and a hard coral of some kind.

The hard coral looks covered in brown jelly. Not good.

Yes, the nem has 6 months in the tank and have been good since the first day. The Goniopora is the one that he is worrying about.

 

[AcroNem]

It is a Goniopora, and unfortunately it's toast. It's badly infected. They're more difficult to keep and do better with frequent feedings. They can try iodine dips yo disinfect it but it's likely too far gone at this point.

 

[Yolofly]

Looks like a Goniopora...they can be hard to keep in newer tanks. The brown jelly covering it is not a good sign. There’s a few polyps still alive but looks like it won’t last much longer.
What’s the water parameters and lighting etc...

Thanks for the name, I don't have a lot of experience with corals currently. Parameter are

ammonia is in 1.0
Nitrite is in .50
Nitrate is in 5.0
Salinity in 1.023
Temperature in 70F

light he got the standard that came with the tank(petsmart). I told him to buy a T5 or better light.

 

[AcroNem]

Thanks for the name, I don't have a lot of experience with corals currently. Parameter are

ammonia is in 1.0
Nitrite is in .50
Nitrate is in 5.0
Salinity in 1.023
Temperature in 70F

light he got the standard that came with the tank(petsmart). I told him to buy a T5 or better light.

That light can't be sufficient for corals, how long has the Goniopora been in there? Ammonia is 1ppm? Is that correct? What about water flow, filtration etc?

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

Ammonia of 1 is a problem, that should be 0. Is this tank even cycled?

70 deg is way too low for a reef tank. I would advise raising it to 78-79.

 

[Yolofly]

That light can't be sufficient for corals, how long has the Goniopora been in there? Ammonia is 1ppm? Is that correct? What about water flow, filtration etc?

That was my first thought, light. I told him to buy something more stronger. I have a T5 and coral and have being good for over 8 months. We have the API kit and that is what it shows. Told him to get another test kit. For water flow we have a power head valve mid open( water movement is good) and filtration he have two penguin hang filters for 100 gallon tanks.

 

[Yolofly]

Ammonia of 1 is a problem, that should be 0. Is this tank even cycled?

70 deg is way too low for a reef tank. I would advise raising it to 78-79.

Yes it did the cycle and the tanks has been running for 7 months.He add some Ammonia lock yesterday. Temperature is slowly going up. Ask him right now and is in 71.8 F.

But is weird, he got a chromis in the tank and the ammonia was on zero 2 weeks ago if I not mistaking. Chromis has been good so far and have 2 months already in the tank. He don't have a lot of live rock or skimmer thou.

 

[Salty Lemon]

I'd raise the temp to at least 78 and make certain that coral isn't anywhere near any others. My corals start going downhill if I'm not changing the water enough -- especially the first year my tank was set up. I can't tell from the photo, but if it is a new tank and you have a diatom issue (brown stuff), it can suffocate corals.

 

[AcroNem]

I'd raise the temp to at least 78 and make certain that coral isn't anywhere near any others. My corals start going downhill if I'm not changing the water enough -- especially the first year my tank was set up. I can't tell from the photo, but if it is a new tank and you have a diatom issue (brown stuff), it can suffocate corals.

It's an infection, I wish it was Diatoms.

I agree to raise temp a little bit, do some large water changes, have him put a decent light over it , run some good carbon in the filters and wait a while before adding other life to the system. Ammonia should be 0 all the time. When they are ready for other corals they should start with some mushrooms, leathers, zoanthids, things like that to make sure it's stable enough to handle them.

 

[Salty Lemon]

It's an infection, I wish it was Diatoms.

I agree to raise temp a little bit, do some large water changes, have him put a decent light over it , run some good carbon in the filters and wait a while before adding other life to the system. Ammonia should be 0 all the time. When they are ready for other corals they should start with some mushrooms, leathers, zoanthids, things like that to make sure it's stable enough to handle them.

.
I'm glad you could tell what it was @AcroNem .

 

[Yolofly]

It's an infection, I wish it was Diatoms.

I agree to raise temp a little bit, do some large water changes, have him put a decent light over it , run some good carbon in the filters and wait a while before adding other life to the system. Ammonia should be 0 all the time. When they are ready for other corals they should start with some mushrooms, leathers, zoanthids, things like that to make sure it's stable enough to handle them.

Will do, thanks guys for the advises.