Dead or about to shed?

[Cmas0814]

 

[Miami Reef]

Looks like some type of algae (or maybe even dino) is growing on that Kenya tree.

I’d be interested in knowing what levels of phosphates are in the tank? A healthy coral with a good amount of herbivores (snails) should resist getting overgrown by algae.

 

[Cmas0814]

Phosphates were up a bit until I put phosguard. My other kenyas are doing great. Switched completely to rodi water

 

[Miami Reef]

Phosphates were up a bit until I put phosguard. My other kenyas are doing great. Switched completely to rodi water

How low are the phosphates now? And what are you using to test?

 

[Cmas0814]

0

 

[Miami Reef]

0

What are you using to test phosphates?

 

[Cmas0814]

Api marine reef master kit

 

[Miami Reef]

Oh, API isn’t really recommended because they aren’t accurate.

Regardless, I would not strip my phosphates to 0. That’s very low and you might encourage dinos to take hold. To me, that looks like dinos, but I can’t be certain without a picture under a microscope.

I’ll let the other people guide you from here.

@taricha @ScottB @Dan_P

 

[Cmas0814]

They were .25 and lfs acted like my entire tank was shot

 

[killer2001]

They were .25 and lfs acted like my entire tank was shot

I read this as, "They were 0.25 and my LFS scared me into buying products to reduce phosphate."

 

[Miami Reef]

They were .25 and lfs acted like my entire tank was shot

Really?

There are many great tanks growing acropora at 0.25ppm. While I personally believe a phosphate range of 0.02ppm-0.10ppm is most optimal, I wouldn’t ever use a ton of phosguard to strip above that range down to 0.

Higher than that range (0.02-0.10) is better than lower.

Because first, soft corals enjoy nutrients in water
And second, the risk of dinos is substantial in 0 phosphates.

Now, I personally suggest getting a more accurate phosphate test kit (Hannah ULR Phosphate)
I would also remove the phosguard from the tank. It is adding aluminum in addition to removing the phosphates which can irritate some corals. Especially if using a lot at once.

I hope this information was helpful.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

They were .25 and lfs acted like my entire tank was shot

If you check you API test, you will see it starts at zero, next increment is .25
Its normally recommended to keep phosphate above .03 and lower than .1
As you see, its impossible to measure this on your API test, in other words, it useless. You need a test kit that can measure in between 0 and .25

 

[Dan_P]

There is a large ring of dead tissue on the stalk, the animal is shriveled and there is foreign growth on the top. I would say this animal is probably in serious trouble.

 

[Cmas0814]

What do you suggest I do

 

[Dan_P]

What do you suggest I do

The question now becomes whether this coral can be saved and that I don’t know.

 

[Spare time]

They were .25 and lfs acted like my entire tank was shot

The API phosphate test is useless, the range between 0 and 0.25ppm, is massive in terms of phosphate and the test can't accurately tell you the difference between 0.01 and 0.24ppm which is an issue.