Is this birdsnest a goner?

[ssunthar]

Hi Experts, Is this birdsnest a goner.. or i might still have a chance? Thanks.

 

[Jgg12002]

What Are your levels? Mine looked like that and My nitrates and phosphates were zero (Salifert tests) my alk was @7 (Hanna test) started dosing soda ash and brightwell nitrates and phosphates and they bounced back in a couple of weeks. My experience with dosing is kept slowly adding with no results and after about 2 weeks levels came up shortly after that it was apparent that I needed to cut back significantly on all 3 items To keep the levels in check. So I recommend going slow and daily testing If you’re levels are low.
John

 

[ssunthar]

What Are your levels? Mine looked like that and My nitrates and phosphates were zero (Salifert tests) my alk was @7 (Hanna test) started dosing soda ash and brightwell nitrates and phosphates and they bounced back in a couple of weeks. My experience with dosing is kept slowly adding with no results and after about 2 weeks levels came up shortly after that it was apparent that I needed to cut back significantly on all 3 items To keep the levels in check. So I recommend going slow and daily testing If you’re levels are low.
John

Thank you very much for the suggestions John... here are my current parameters after 25% wc couple of days ago (API test kit):
KH: 12
PH: 8.0
Calcium: 28 drops (been battling high cal for a while)
Nitrate: 2
Nitrite: 0
Phosphate: 1
Ammonia: 0.1
Salinity: 1.0255
Temperature: 26°c
Tank: 200L

 

[btb72]

Do you mean .1 phosphates?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Not a goner but very unhappy. its surrounded by algae which may be an excess of available nutrients, particular the majors like phosphates and nitrates. Reduce white intensity a little and increase blue. Moderate water flow
What test kits are you using ?

Recommended:

Temp 77-79
ph 8.1-8.3
salinity 1.025
nitrate < .4
phos < .04
Ammonia < .03
mG 1300
Alk 8-9
CA 440

 

[Jgg12002]

Thank you very much for the suggestions John... here are my current parameters after 25% wc couple of days ago (API test kit):
KH: 12
PH: 8.0
Calcium: 28 drops (been battling high cal for a while)
Nitrate: 2
Nitrite: 0
Phosphate: 1
Ammonia: 0.1
Salinity: 1.0255
Temperature: 26°c
Tank: 200L

My problem was different than yours my tank was starved of nutrients.
Hope you find a way to save it mine is going crazy with new growth.

 

[ssunthar]

My problem was different than yours my tank was starved of nutrients.
Hope you find a way to save it mine is going crazy with new growth.

Good to hear that.

 

[ssunthar]

Do you mean .1 phosphates?

Ya it is 1... doing wc again today... hope to manage it.

 

[LegendaryCG]

Hi Experts, Is this birdsnest a goner.. or i might still have a chance? Thanks.

Very unhappy but you can turn it around still

 

[ssunthar]

Not a goner but very unhappy. its surrounded by algae which may be an excess of available nutrients, particular the majors like phosphates and nitrates. Reduce white intensity a little and increase blue. Moderate water flow
What test kits are you using ?

Recommended:

Temp 77-79
ph 8.1-8.3
salinity 1.025
nitrate < .4
phos < .04
Ammonia < .03
mG 1300
Alk 8-9
CA 440

Great. Thanks for the suggestions... doing wc today and hope to manage the parameters.. I'm using API test kit currently.

 

[ssunthar]

Very unhappy but you can turn it around still

Thanks for the assurance.. am motivated now.

 

[Pistondog]

With polyps there is hope.
Maybe look into lanthanum chloride to reduce phosphate

 

[vetteguy53081]

Great. Thanks for the suggestions... doing wc today and hope to manage the parameters.. I'm using API test kit currently.

Just to forewarn you- reason I asked on test kits is that I had a suspicion with the zero readings it was API Which is notorious for false readings and has disappointed many reefers who find the numbers are much higher
I would suggest taking a good water sample to a trusted LFS and have them test the water for you and see what results they come up with

 

[Duffer]

If your phosphates are 1 like you stated than that is quite high...a water change will help bring them down but keep in mind it will help only with phosphates in the water column, most likely the phosphates are bound to your rock also and you will have to get rid of that by other means

 

[ssunthar]

With polyps there is hope.
Maybe look into lanthanum chloride to reduce phosphate

Thanks for the tips.

 

[ssunthar]

Just to forewarn you- reason I asked on test kits is that I had a suspicion with the zero readings it was API Which is notorious for false readings and has disappointed many reefers who find the numbers are much higher
I would suggest taking a good water sample to a trusted LFS and have them test the water for you and see what results they come up with

Thank you very much for the suggestion... any suggestions on good testing kits?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you very much for the suggestion... any suggestions on good testing kits?

hanna and salifert

 

[ssunthar]

If your phosphates are 1 like you stated than that is quite high...a water change will help bring them down but keep in mind it will help only with phosphates in the water column, most likely the phosphates are bound to your rock also and you will have to get rid of that by other means

Wow... didn't the impact of phosphate could go that deep... noted and thank you very much for sharing.

 

[blasterman]

Not a goner but very unhappy. its surrounded by algae which may be an excess of available nutrients, particular the majors like phosphates and nitrates. Reduce white intensity a little and increase blue. Moderate water flow
What test kits are you using ?

Do you by chance hang out with Grandis ?

Cool white LEDs in reef lights are mostly composed of *blue* light. So you are adding in what you are subtracting. White is not a spectrum. It's a composite of spectrums. This is not lighting issue.

Birdsnests are incredibly fickle about nutrient levels and the abundance of algae here tells me nutrients are likely pretty unstable. They like a little bit of phosphate but not zero or they will stop growing. I have a sour apple that refused to grow a millimeter until I got my phosphate over .03 for over 6 months, then as soon as I started dosing phosphate to get it a bit higher is grows like a weed. Nitrate levels also need to be stable, and with all that algae they aren't.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you by chance hang out with Grandis ?

Cool white LEDs in reef lights are mostly composed of *blue* light. So you are adding in what you are subtracting. White is not a spectrum. It's a composite of spectrums. This is not lighting issue.

Birdsnests are incredibly fickle about nutrient levels and the abundance of algae here tells me nutrients are likely pretty unstable. They like a little bit of phosphate but not zero or they will stop growing. I have a sour apple that refused to grow a millimeter until I got my phosphate over .03 for over 6 months, then as soon as I started dosing phosphate to get it a bit higher is grows like a weed. Nitrate levels also need to be stable, and with all that algae they aren't.

Not sure who grandis is but having two 14" colonies of birdnest , while lighting Does consist of various UV and spectrums, blue contains whites but at low levels whereas white is capable of burning various coral, blue rarely will.
In general, when people think of keeping SPS corals, they assume they need high lighting requirements. And it’s true. The most important thing that these corals depend on is lighting.
However, when it comes to the Birds Nest Coral, the lighting mostly depends on the type of these corals. Different varieties come from different regions of the reef. And they all have different lighting requirements, even though they are the same species.
In general, the Birds Nest coral is disease resistant. However, it won’t tolerate poor water conditions, like any other SPS coral. If you’ve noticed any changes different than usual, check your water parameters first.
If everything is on point as it should be, start looking into other things such as lighting and water flow. Sometimes too much light can result in coral bleaching. Other kinds of stress such as the change in temperature, low salinity or not enough nutrients can also cause bleaching.
Beginners tend to rush things out, oftentimes introducing SPS corals in a sterile tank that’s only a couple of months old. Even though the Bird’s Nest is the hardiest among them, it will be under stress in that environment. That’s why is so important to have a mature and well-established reef tank before you even consider buying these types of corals.
Another mistake that can lead to bleaching and dying of these beautiful corals is poor acclimation. Always acclimate properly to avoid such problems at the start of your reefing journey. As I said, the lights will be probably the most common problem that results in bleaching.