Help with Acros Dying

[Jamestown]

Hello, looking for some suggestions here. Have had successful growth on all my acros until about 3 weeks ago. Since they have been going downhill. I have plenty of LPS that are doing just fine, and a few other acros that are doing well (fingers crossed). All of a sudden a few weeks ago i noticed the colors fading from the base on these pieces, and almost like they are "peeling" apart. Tested my water, Alk was about 8.5 and ive been bringing it back down to 8 over the past few weeks. Wondering if my nutrients are too low. I dose All For Reef, and feed once per night Rod's frozen herbivore blend. Adding photos

Nitrate 5ppm
Phosphate 0
Sal 1.027
Alk 8.1
Mg 1200
Ca 435

 

[andrewey]

Any other changes to the tank recently? What did you use to test the phosphate? A true zero is not good and could explain the paleness, but in the photos, it looks like some are starting to RTN/bleach (hard to tell).

 

[Jamestown]

Any other changes to the tank recently? What did you use to test the phosphate? A true zero is not good and could explain the paleness, but in the photos, it looks like some are starting to RTN/bleach (hard to tell).

No other changes. I'm using a Salifert kit to test, on which its not registering any Phosphates, from what I can tell.

 

[andrewey]

What is your nutrient export like- skimming, carbon dosing, refugium, biopellets, water changes, etc?

 

[Jamestown]

What is your nutrient export like- skimming, carbon dosing, refugium, biopellets, water changes, etc?

Just the stock red sea max e-170 skimmer. No carbon, fuge, or pellets. Biweekly or so water changes of about 5 gals (45 gal tank)

 

[andrewey]

What was your phosphate running at last month or the month before?

 

[nvictor]

I am not an expert but what are you using to test your alkalinity
8.5 is actually ok unless it changed dramatically that can really cause problems.
The other thing to do is an icp test - ati or triton to see how the other elements are.

 

[C. Eymann]

8.0alk with 0 phos is a bad combo, when I was doing zeovit if my alk got above 7.5 acros started looking super pale and upset.

Feed the tank ground up fish food pellets if you have them, or better yet reef roids if you happen to have it on hand.
Id also reduce lighting intensity a bit until you are able to bring your phosphate up to above .06 if want to continue maintaining alk at 8.0

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I think you should feed your tank more and get your po4 up closer to 0.06-0.10. What lights are you running?

 

[Jamestown]

I think you should feed your tank more and get your po4 up closer to 0.06-0.10. What lights are you running?

Thanks for the feedback. AI hydra 26 HD cranked up. Looking to get a Radion though. 2'x2'x2' (approx) tank. I'll start feeding heavier. For some reason, have never had detectible phosphates from what I could tell. Maybe more food is the answer.

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Thanks for the feedback. AI hydra 26 HD cranked up. Looking to get a Radion though. 2'x2'x2' (approx) tank. I'll start feeding heavier. For some reason, have never had detectible phosphates from what I could tell. Maybe more food is the answer.

What’s your hydra schedule? I’m a hydra guy as well

 

[Jamestown]

What’s your hydra schedule? I’m a hydra guy as well

Schedule is on this thread, have some screenshots: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/red-sea-170-sps-cube.655282/post-7293465

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

I have 2-52 HD’s on my 50 gallon cube and 2-26 HD’s over my 29 gallon biocube. The 26’s are on a similar program as yours. I was shocked at how little par they provide. In fact that’s why I have 2. I expected 1 to be enough for 29 gallons but it wasnt any where near what I wanted near the bottom 1/3 where my frag rack is. Love my 52s but I’m not a big fan of the 26’s or primes

 

[EricMio]

Since this has been taking place over the course of a few weeks, it sounds like this is a case of slow tissue necrosis. IME the most common issues that lead to STN are fluctuations in alkalinity, salinity, and temperature. Changes in those levels are more important to note than the exact level at testing in this case. Maybe your salt mixes to a higher Alk level than your tank is currently kept at? I would try testing a fresh batch of saltwater that you mix before you put it into the tank so you can be confident that's not the issue. Same theory applies to salinity, but I'm assuming you're already testing the salinity before you add the water. Do you use an auto top off or pour in some freshwater yourself to counteract salinity changes due to evaporation? I would also monitor your temperature throughout the day to make sure it isn't fluctuating too much. Now that the weather is getting warmer, maybe your tank is getting warmer throughout the day and then falling in temperature at night with the lights off. Good luck!

 

[Jamestown]

Since this has been taking place over the course of a few weeks, it sounds like this is a case of slow tissue necrosis. IME the most common issues that lead to STN are fluctuations in alkalinity, salinity, and temperature. Changes in those levels are more important to note than the exact level at testing in this case. Maybe your salt mixes to a higher Alk level than your tank is currently kept at? I would try testing a fresh batch of saltwater that you mix before you put it into the tank so you can be confident that's not the issue. Same theory applies to salinity, but I'm assuming you're already testing the salinity before you add the water. Do you use an auto top off or pour in some freshwater yourself to counteract salinity changes due to evaporation? I would also monitor your temperature throughout the day to make sure it isn't fluctuating too much. Now that the weather is getting warmer, maybe your tank is getting warmer throughout the day and then falling in temperature at night with the lights off. Good luck!

Thanks for the insight. I do currently use an ATO and i will plan to test my new water before my next water change. Temperature is a good point, its easy to overlook. I'm going to keep an eye on it over the next few days.

 

[Dongta408]

Behalf Mg at 1200.... kinda low?

 

[Jamestown]

What’s your hydra schedule? I’m a hydra guy as well

Would

I think you should feed your tank more and get your po4 up closer to 0.06-0.10. What lights are you running?

Hey follow up question, would turning off my skimmer for a bit help raise po4 to desirable levels?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

Would

Hey follow up question, would turning off my skimmer for a bit help raise po4 to desirable levels?

Absolutely
My skimmer is OFF while my lights are ON.

 

[Greg P]

You definitely need to get your phosphate levels up. If you cannot, lower your Alk to between 7.0 and 7.5 until you can balance your N and P

sounds to me like a classic case of skeletal growth outpacing tissue growth

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

I would raise the Phosphates up slowly. Looks like there starving IMO