Not getting this one

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

So I have a blue stag I believe it is.....was sold to ma as a westside rainbow acro, any way I have a lot of sps and this is the only one having issues. I have acclimated it to my LEDs, so I thought, but still is is bleaching.

LEDs are 3watt reefstars and are full spectrum, w/ UV bulbs.

PH is 8.1 in the morning reaching 8.3 by end of day
Nitrate 2.5
Ammonia 0
Phosphates 0
ALK 7.1
Cal 600 yes I know it's high
SG 1.025

Didn't test Mag (I hate that test) but I will if anyone wants that #
And I feed live 2-3 times weekly, so starving is not the issue, I don't think

Thx for the input in advance, I am a little more than perplexed by this.

Dashiki · Oct 13, 2013

Any pe?

How long has it been in the tank

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

Dashiki said:
Any pe?

How long has it been in the tank

es, but not as much as I would like to see.

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

Hope the pic helps

Dashiki · Oct 13, 2013

Is it bleaching or stn from the base?

I'd put it back on the sand for a couple weeks

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

It is bleaching from the base, I have had it in lower light for a month now, and am olny now moving it to higher light. I am thinking of cutting all the dead off and trying the frags in different spots

mike007 · Oct 13, 2013

How are you dosing your alk?

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

20ml daily keeps it between 7 and 8

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

Oh and it is BRS 2part that I normally use to dose

Damon · Oct 13, 2013

As strange as it sounds, even though it's been alive, if everything else is fine, growing and colored well, it "could" just be that frag.

Otherwise, check everything else and as I'm sure you already know(definitely not meaning to insult your knowledge or skill), just keep everything constant.

If it's any consolation, my blue stag frag that I've only had a little bit is sort of sitting here also with little pe...

Note2 on Tap Pro

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

No I hear you, it is just this one colony. I have many sps mini colnies and others that would be considerd hard to keep....all doing great. PE is extensive, colors are amazing, this is the most solid system I have had. I feed live food and bad #s stay where I want them, either 0 or 1-2. Just this one piece. I thank I am going to cut it up and try the frags in a few different spots.

mike007 · Oct 13, 2013

There can be many causes for bleaching. Alot of reefers say that when sps bleach from base its due to lack of flow and when its on top its lighting. It is hard to say for sure it could be a number of things.

Kimberlee · Oct 13, 2013

The flow is awesome, it is 1500 GPH in a 20gal section. I am sure it is not the flow. I am thinking it is the lighting, not enough due to placement. This system was set up for sps, focusing on flow requirments was a main point in the set up. LEDs are run at 85% blue and 75% for the whites. I am trying to decide if it is too much light (my understanding is the darker the color the deeper on the reef it would be, so being that this acro should be a dark blue I would assume its light requirements are less then that of the bright blue tort that is also in that system. Brighter colors = a shallow reef placement, while darker colors suggest a deeper less lighted reef placement. Please keep in mind my biggest rule in life is there is an exception to every rule, so I don't count on that train of thinking, but use it as a starting point in most cases. Please correct me if my assumptions are incorrect.

mike007 · Oct 13, 2013

Bleaching is the loss of healthy tissue from the lack of pigments and/or zooxanthellae. When the symbiotic relationship between photosynthetic corals and their zooxanthellae are exposed to environmental changes that disrupt their normal activities, pigments may be lost, or zooxanthellae expelled. There are a few conditions that come to mind. The first is the misuse of activated carbon. Fresh carbon beds should not be placed in an area where water will flow through them overly fast. By doing so, bulk water element removal is dramatically hastened and can impact the health of the zooxanthellae. I've seen it happen in one of my reef aquariums where a large percentage of a few corals 'bleached' within an hour after installing a sack of carbon! Of course, lamps that generate too much UV are also a cause of bleaching, as is temperatures that approach something in the range that a particular coral has never been exposed to. Radical changes to salinity and/or rapid increases in pollution can also induce this form of stress. In fact, the increases of phosphate levels along with elevated temperatures in the Caribbean have caused bleaching in several areas. In fact, too many islands in this area simply dump human waste directly into the surrounding ocean contributing to the growing environmental problem. Bleaching could possibly lead to RTN if the causes are not rectified. Bob Goemans Saltwater Corner