Frogspawn coral help

[Lindyreef]

my frog spawn has been brownish at the base and now some of the tentacles don’t extend as much as the others? Just did a 10% water change now parameters are:
Ph 7.7
Alk 10.3 was always in the 8.5-8.9 range previously
Salinity 33.8
Calcium 392
Just noticed last night my temp had crept up just high end of normal range so turned heater down a bit
I’ve included 2 photos

 

[James M]

Welcome to reef2reef!!
How long has this been going on for ?
I hope you saltinty is not 33.8

 

[reeferfoxx]

Welcome to R2R!

Your salinity is a bit of concern. What are you using to test salinity? I would slowly bump it up to 35ppt.

 

[Lindyreef]

Welcome to R2R!

Your salinity is a bit of concern. What are you using to test salinity? I would slowly bump it up to 35ppt.

My husband runs the city RO water treatment plant and he tests it for me. I was on high side after I first cycled my tank so my local store suggested I lower it in case of evaporation I will start to increase it slowly then? Should I do another water change ASAP?

 

[Lindyreef]

Welcome to reef2reef!!
How long has this been going on for ?
I hope you saltinty is not 33.8

The brownish shadow at base has been for a couple weeks but the coral seemed to be growing really well so I didn’t worry until this tentacle not extending issue started yesterday

 

[reeferfoxx]

My husband runs the city RO water treatment plant and he tests it for me. I was on high side after I first cycled my tank so my local store suggested I lower it in case of evaporation I will start to increase it slowly then? Should I do another water change ASAP?

I would. Just mix the water to 35ppt and keep it there. If topping water off becomes a pain, look into a auto top off system. That will at least resolve worrying about that.

Also, where do you keep your temp and how high did it creep up?

 

[D100]

Looks like a new tank, how long has it been set up for?
Also need to know the rest of your parameters like your nitrate and phosphate levels.

 

[Lindyreef]

I would. Just mix the water to 35ppt and keep it there. If topping water off becomes a pain, look into a auto top off system. That will at least resolve worrying about that.

Also, where do you keep your temp and how high did it creep up?

I usually keep it 77-78 it crept up to about 82

 

[reeferfoxx]

I usually keep it 77-78 it crept up to about 82

Wow! Does the ambient temp in your house get pretty high?

 

[Lindyreef]

Wow! Does the ambient temp in your house get pretty high?

No I bumped the heater up a touch when I had done quite a large water change with pretty cold water it is now back down and I just did the water change with 35 salinity water you recommended so that will also lower it down some!

 

[reeferfoxx]

No I bumped the heater up a touch when I had done quite a large water change with pretty cold water it is now back down and I just did the water change with 35 salinity water you recommended so that will also lower it down some!

Awesome! One thing when dealing with coral reefs is stability. You'll see corals respond to numerous fluctuations in parameters. This would include lighting, nutrients, flow, temps, and salinity. To reduce negative responses we need to reduce fluctuations. To do this we start with the basics.

Lighting - set it and forget it.
Feeding - set schedule with set amount of food.
Flow - not to much and not to little. Set it and forget it.
Temps - set it and forget it.
Salinity - same salinity always.

Water changes - need a pump for circulation, heater set at tank temp, and a few hours. Once you've added the salt with the pump on, then plug the heater in, allow the temp to increase for a few hours, then let the water circulate for at least another hour. Doing this will acclimate the ph to your environment. Your tanks ph is acclimated to your environment. The amount of ambient co2 is what impacts this.

If you follow this, you will have eliminated most issues and we can better narrow down any new issues. Hope this helps.

 

[Idoc]

No I bumped the heater up a touch when I had done quite a large water change with pretty cold water it is now back down and I just did the water change with 35 salinity water you recommended so that will also lower it down some!

Pick yourself up a cheap $10-$20 heater and use it to warm up your new water-change saltwater to the same temp as your DT. Then you won't have those drastic fluctuations in temp when you add it to your DT.

I lost some LPS to not having enough nitrates and phosphates in the system.

 

[Lindyreef]

Awesome! One thing when dealing with coral reefs is stability. You'll see corals respond to numerous fluctuations in parameters. This would include lighting, nutrients, flow, temps, and salinity. To reduce negative responses we need to reduce fluctuations. To do this we start with the basics.

Lighting - set it and forget it.
Feeding - set schedule with set amount of food.
Flow - not to much and not to little. Set it and forget it.
Temps - set it and forget it.
Salinity - same salinity always.

Water changes - need a pump for circulation, heater set at tank temp, and a few hours. Once you've added the salt with the pump on, then plug the heater in, allow the temp to increase for a few hours, then let the water circulate for at least another hour. Doing this will acclimate the ph to your environment. Your tanks ph is acclimated to your environment. The amount of ambient co2 is what impacts this.

If you follow this, you will have eliminated most issues and we can better narrow down any new issues. Hope this helps.

Yes very helpful! I’m learning just by reading, watching videos, and advice of staff at store and perhaps over correcting because of too much and conflicting info! My coral is already looking better believe it or not!! Thanks much!