High nutrients - pale Tenuis

[ryshark]

It seems that even with high nutrients only my Tenuis species of acros are getting pale. It's not all of the Tenuis, but a lot of them. All of my acros have good PE. My alk is stable 8.6-8.9.
My nutrients rose all the way up to PO4 = .34 and NO3 = 22 and only the Tenuis get pale still. I've been pretty bad for several months now feeding the fish exclusively pellets (TDO and Spectrum AlgaeMax). I'm going to try feeding the fish more meaty food and see if that helps the Tenuis somehow. I keep thinking about lowering my photoperiod, but it's really not that long as it is.
ATI 8-bulb T5 fixture. 2-bulbs on for 8-hours. All 8-bulbs on for 6-hours. Plus a ReefBrite XHO strip on 100% for 10-hours. The fixture is about 8.5" off the surface of the water.

My second guess is that even with 0-TDS, I need to change out my RODI filters and maybe something like chloramines is getting through and that Tenuis is more sensitive. I changed out the Sediment, Carbon Block, Chloramine Carbon Block yesterday and just ordered new DI. My membrane is still rejecting TDS from 485 down to 4, so I think it is fine.

Thoughts? Do you think feeding the fish exclusively pellets could be the issue even with plenty of PO4 and NO3 in the water?

 

[386reeftrader]

It seems that even with high nutrients only my Tenuis species of acros are getting pale. It's not all of the Tenuis, but a lot of them. All of my acros have good PE. My alk is stable 8.6-8.9.
My nutrients rose all the way up to PO4 = .34 and NO3 = 22 and only the Tenuis get pale still. I've been pretty bad for several months now feeding the fish exclusively pellets (TDO and Spectrum AlgaeMax). I'm going to try feeding the fish more meaty food and see if that helps the Tenuis somehow. I keep thinking about lowering my photoperiod, but it's really not that long as it is.
ATI 8-bulb T5 fixture. 2-bulbs on for 8-hours. All 8-bulbs on for 6-hours. Plus a ReefBrite XHO strip on 100% for 10-hours. The fixture is about 8.5" off the surface of the water.

My second guess is that even with 0-TDS, I need to change out my RODI filters and maybe something like chloramines is getting through and that Tenuis is more sensitive. I changed out the Sediment, Carbon Block, Chloramine Carbon Block yesterday and just ordered new DI. My membrane is still rejecting TDS from 485 down to 4, so I think it is fine.

Thoughts? Do you think feeding the fish exclusively pellets could be the issue even with plenty of PO4 and NO3 in the water?

Do you have photos? We run very similar lighting set ups, but I run nutrients on the low side and Tenuis are colored well.

 

[ryshark]

Do you have photos? We run very similar lighting set ups, but I run nutrients on the low side and Tenuis are colored well.

No, I'll try to take some later. It's lighter colors than they used to be, but still look healthy and grow. And only the tenuis, maybe like 70% of them. I just started to lower my nutrients a couple day ago with bacteria, because I don't like them quite that high.
How high off the water surface do you have your T5 fixture?

 

[ryshark]

Do you have photos? We run very similar lighting set ups, but I run nutrients on the low side and Tenuis are colored well.

I just took a lights off picture right now. You can see that the high nutrients has killed off all the coraline on my rocks. The pic is a Tenuis surrounded by a bunch of non-Tenuis. The other pic is a Rainbow Splice millepora.

 

[ryshark]

I just took a lights off picture right now. You can see that the high nutrients has killed off all the coraline on my rocks. The pic is a Tenuis surrounded by a bunch of non-Tenuis. The other pic is a Rainbow Splice millepora.

A few of those dime sized asterina stars aren't helping with my coralline either. But I don't think they are the reason all the coralline on the rocks died off.

 

[ryshark]

The acro below the splice mille is the top of a Speciosa. Even those are darker than my tenuis and they are super finicky.

 

[ryshark]

Here is another example. There are 4 Tenuis in this picture. The two on the right are dark and the two in the middle are light. The far left acro is a non-Tenuis. It’s a Bubblebath Unicorn

 

[X-37B]

My coral have faded if po4 climbs to your level >.3.
Po4 and no3 numbers are what your export system is not removing.
I have always had success with po4 <.1 and no3 <5.
T5's can be run 10-12hrs with no issues. I would increase not decrease time. I ran mine 4" off the surface.

Pellet only food will increase po4 considerably. Feed some frozen mysis with pellets spairingly.

High po4 levels have never caused my coralline to disapear.

 

[X-37B]

Sorry double post, lol.
I would start by getting your no3 and po4 levels reduced.

 

[ryshark]

My coral have faded if po4 climbs to your level >.3.
Po4 and no3 numbers are what your export system is not removing.
I have always had success with po4 <.1 and no3 <5.
T5's can be run 10-12hrs with no issues. I would increase not decrease time.

Pellet only food will increase po4 considerably. Feed some frozen mysis with pellets spairingly.

High po4 levels have never caused my coralline to disapear.

Good to hear that you've had experience with high PO4 actually fading colors not only darkening them. I've already started to lower my PO4.

I know my high PO4 is from feeding exclusively pellets twice a day and all the years past, I've used frozen with pellets as a secondary. I'll go back to this starting today.

I'm not sure what my coralline issue is then... I've read that high PO4 can kill off coralline. Maybe it is from the asterinas and I should also be looking for a harlequin shrimp.

 

[X-37B]

Good to hear that you've had experience with high PO4 actually fading colors not only darkening them. I've already started to lower my PO4.
I know my high PO4 is from feeding exclusively pellets twice a day and all the years past, I've used frozen with pellets as a secondary. I'll go back to this starting today.
I'm not sure what my coralline issue is then... I've read that high PO4 can kill off coralline. Maybe it is from the asterinas and I should also be looking for a harlequin shrimp.

Yea asterinas will eat coralline but all off the rocks is interestimg at best. You would need hundreds. I know I have been their.
Do you have an urchin as they are coralline comsumers and will eat as much as they can get.

 

[ryshark]

Yea asterinas will eat coralline but all off the rocks is interestimg at best. You would need hundreds. I know I have been their.
Do you have an urchin as they are coralline comsumers and will eat as much as they can get.

I don't have hundreds of asterina, not even close. If I look really hard I'll find a few big ones...that's why I suspected high PO4 caused the coralline to die off. No urchins.

 

[Troylee]

Your corraline problems could be low mag.. not sure where yours sit at but elevated mag around 1400 normally causes an explosion of corraline in my experience.

 

[ryshark]

Sorry double post, lol.
I would start by getting your no3 and po4 levels reduced.

I did a 1/2 dose of Waste Away on Monday and it brought PO4 from .34 to .24 within 24-hours. I plan on doing another 1/2 dose of that today to bring it down some more.

 

[ryshark]

Your corraline problems could be low mag.. not sure where yours sit at but elevated mag around 1400 normally causes an explosion of corraline in my experience.

Maybe so. I tested Mg on July 4th and it was 1275. I dosed it and retested on July 5th and got 1335. I have an ICP kit in the mail already, but usually my Salifert Mg test kit is very close to the Triton ICP reading.

 

[ryshark]

Your corraline problems could be low mag.. not sure where yours sit at but elevated mag around 1400 normally causes an explosion of corraline in my experience.

Still weird that my back wall is covered in coralline, but it died off on the rocks. That sounds like a lighting issue, but as @90's reefer said, if anything my lighting could withstand to be on even longer.

 

[Troylee]

Still weird that my back wall is covered in coralline, but it died off on the rocks. That sounds like a lighting issue, but as @90's reefer said, if anything my lighting could withstand to be on even longer.

I run my radions and reefbrutes for 12 hours and my halides for 7 but currently backed down to 4 because i started zeo and my water clarity is insane.

 

[X-37B]

I run my radions and reefbrutes for 12 hours and my halides for 7 but currently backed down to 4 because i started zeo and my water clarity is insane.

I run my Radions for 12 also and I run a quanta pro bar for 6hrs peak. The quanta gives me an average of 100 more par.

 

[386reeftrader]

No, I'll try to take some later. It's lighter colors than they used to be, but still look healthy and grow. And only the tenuis, maybe like 70% of them. I just started to lower my nutrients a couple day ago with bacteria, because I don't like them quite that high.
How high off the water surface do you have your T5 fixture?

My fixture is about 7-8” off the surface and runs 8hrs on/off with one ReefBrite blue xho and one Oprhek OR3 blue also ran the same 8hr photoperiod.

My tanks nutrients never get high so can’t speak for what high nutrients will do, but here’s some examples of my Tenuis in low nutrients with similar lighting. I did have a similar thing going on a year or so back with my Tenuis. The issue turned out to be rusting MP40. So maybe worth checking pumps

 

[ryshark]

I run my radions and reefbrutes for 12 hours and my halides for 7 but currently backed down to 4 because i started zeo and my water clarity is insane.

Are your ReefBrites XHO? How far off the water surface