Help me confirm these are dead before I pull them

[WisconsinReefing]

I love my 2 kryptonite candy canes, but I’m fairly sure they are dead / dying. For the first 2 months they’d get really big and full during the day, now they don’t change at all from what they looked like at night. They have some brown film looking stuff on them.

Water chemistry is fine. I test weekly using Hannah testers; and 2x per week 10% water changes. All other corals and fish seem to be thriving.

It’s really hard to get a good picture but I turned on whites and used reef art lenses, this is the best I could get.

 

[WisconsinReefing]

Oops. Ignore picture 3

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Not dead yet but not happy. What are you testing and what are the tests saying?

 

[WisconsinReefing]

I’m at work now and my journal is at home. Every week I test calcium, nitrates, phosphate, alkalinity, magnesium, and of course salinity.

I can update after work but calcium and phosphates has a small uptick as I think I was over feeding reef roids and have now corrected

 

[nereefpat]

Still flesh there, not dead. Do not pull.

 

[jim9]

Still alive

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Focus on stable alk. Make sure phosphate doesn’t get too high. And if it does lower it with water changes or gfo, but not too quickly. They will recover.

 

[WisconsinReefing]

Alk has been my most stable. Where phosphate is my most unstable. I do 2x week 10% water changes. I’ve backed way down on reef roid spot feeding.

GFO is something I may need to look at

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not dead. very salinity, temperature and Mag levels

 

[Saltyreef]

Alk has been my most stable. Where phosphate is my most unstable. I do 2x week 10% water changes. I’ve backed way down on reef roid spot feeding.

GFO is something I may need to look at

You need to be careful with GFO to not strip your phosphates. Especially with elevated nitrates.
That can lead to another instability issue.
Actual parameter values are really needed to lend any kind of assistance here. I would not employ any kind of phosphate removal yet.

 

[vetteguy53081]

They done. . . I will come and haul them away for you at no charge.

LOL - they have great chance to be at 100%

 

[WisconsinReefing]

You need to be careful with GFO to not strip your phosphates. Especially with elevated nitrates.
That can lead to another instability issue.
Actual parameter values are really needed to lend any kind of assistance here. I would not employ any kind of phosphate removal yet.

Ok I’m sorry. I should have waited until I got home to post this. I will post my specific test results when I get home after work.

 

[Saltyreef]

Dont be sorry lol. Help us help you
You always want to be sure of your values before making any changes.

 

[WisconsinReefing]

Dont be sorry lol. Help us help you
You always want to be sure of your values before making any changes.

2weeks ago
Alk - 7.4 dkh
Phosphate .5
Calcium 385
Mag 1400
Nitrate .1
Salinity 1.025

1 weeks ago
Alk - 7.5 dkh
Phosphate - .16
Calcium - 399
Mag - 1400
Nitrate - .2
Salinity 1.023

Just now
Alk - 8.3
Phosphate - .23
Calcium - 470
Mag - 1240
Nitrate - .2
Salinity 1.024

 

[Saltyreef]

Wouldnt hurt to bump your mag up a bit. Are you dosing or was the increase in macros from a water change?

Also your salinity should not be fluctuating at all.
Are you using an auto top off?

 

[Biokabe]

Your parameters honestly don't look like there are any problems, at least for the things you're testing for. Do you have any way to test for copper?

Given that everything else is looking fine, I'd be surprised if water parameters were actually the problem. Likely something to do with either placement or care. So, accordingly:

1) Where are these positioned in the tank?
2) How much light do they get?
3) How much flow do they get?
4) What, if anything, are you feeding them? Broadcast or spot-feeding? How often?

 

[WisconsinReefing]

Wouldnt hurt to bump your mag up a bit. Are you dosing or was the increase in macros from a water change?

Also your salinity should not be fluctuating at all.
Are you using an auto top off?

I don’t diss anything, I do use an ATO. My salinity never changed. Then my ATO ran too much for some reason so it went down to 1.023. I’ve been doing 2x week water changes to try to get it up. ATO is turned off

And yes these readings were right after a WC

 

[WisconsinReefing]

Your parameters honestly don't look like there are any problems, at least for the things you're testing for. Do you have any way to test for copper?

Given that everything else is looking fine, I'd be surprised if water parameters were actually the problem. Likely something to do with either placement or care. So, accordingly:

1) Where are these positioned in the tank?
2) How much light do they get?
3) How much flow do they get?
4) What, if anything, are you feeding them? Broadcast or spot-feeding? How often?

1) I attached a photo showing where they are in the tank.
2) They are about mid. I have a AI hydra 26 that at its highest is at 33% power
3). I would call it moderate flow, it’s a MP 40 but it’s too much for tank so it’s only about 1/3 power
4) I mix reef roids, wirh reef chili and spot feed 2x per week.

 

[lilgrounchuck]

brown jelly? It looks like it’s only on the soft tissue. I only bring it up as I asked about a weird thing on the stony part of my candy cane a few weeks ago. Someone suggested brown jelly syndrome (luckily it wasn’t) but it got me to start digging in to what it was. Give it the ol google-fu and take a first hand look at the coral in question.

 

[zalick]

I've talked to people who've had "dead" plate corals for a year or more and all of a sudden it's back.

I've had a hammer head come back like that.

I leave skeletons in the tank.