Question about unknown Coral and Bonsai Acro

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

I have this unknown coral that is the only thing in my tank that bleached while everything else looks pretty great all my levels are posted in with these pictures I used a API testing kit which I was told is garbage and also I have a Bonsai Acro that I noticed looks a little white from underneath is this a bad sign or is it because the bottom isn't getting light picture is also in this set: https://imgur.com/gallery/MlD1S

 

[Diesel]

Hey there my friend,
Corals don't look to good IMO.
Here a few questions for you so we can get a better idea on how you run your tank.

A. Total water volume ( Please include sump, etc.)

B. What are your parameters? ( CA, ALK, PO4,Salinity, etc.)

C. Type of lighting. Please include age, watts, and bulb/ballast name.

D. Filtration method (Skimmer, GFO, DSB, etc.)

E. What types of corals do you keep other than SPS?

F. How long has the tank been running?

G. What are you dosing? Dosing schedule?

H. Which brand of salt are you using?

I. What brand of test kits are you employing?

J. What are you using for CA/ALK supplementation?

K. What are you using for flow? (Pump names, how many, placement, etc.)

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

I have a 3 month old 20 gallon tank with no sump, I do have a tunze auto top off I added just now after the unknown coral started bleaching bad.

I am using an API test kit, which I was told sucks but I tested my Calcium at 440 ppm and dkh at 11 yesterday I don't have a phosphorus test but I keep my salinity at 1.026 and it would get a little bit higher through the night and I'd add water every morning before my auto top off. I used two quick dip test strips twice once yesterday and today for my nitrite nitrate and chlorine levels (I use city water which mine is known to be pretty good and I use prime on it) no chlorine my nitrite levels are between 0 and 0.5 ppm nitrate levels looked both times to be near 20 ppm which it says are okay.

I just bought this year my Kessil A80 Tuna Blue that is set on a outlet timer to turn on around 10 am and shut off at 5:30 pm I usually slowly turn the lights on in the morning not always and I always feed my fish at 5:00 so I usually dim them off around 6:00 latest 7:00 if they are set to dark blue. I never keep my light at all white I set it in the middle during the day so the full color spectrum of the light I believe and it says they go up to 10k.

I have a smaller Coralife protein skimmer, a hang on back aqueoun filter and in the water I have another aqueous filter that acts as my flow because it said it was supposed to kind of be a pump it gets all my hammers moving across the tank to the point of they are in the wrong spot their tentacles are blowing too much.

All my other coral looks great I believe that's why I'm so confused about the Bonsai Acro and this unknown coral. I have a large Birdsnest Acro, some orange zoas. A turqoise Duncan coral. A large group of Green palys on my sand bed. 2 Hollywood stunner chalice. A big green mushroom with blue spots on it. A little orange mushroom with bumps. 2 bicoloured Hammers. A orange hammer a purple hammer and a green hammer. 2 Kenya tree groups. A lobo brain Coral. Some bright Orange zoas. And I have no idea what's in the back of my tank it has a big toadstool bottom with long orange pinkish tentacles and everything is super stretched out flowing in the water looks great except this new Bonsai Acro and the coral that bleached fully white!

The tank is 3 months old plus a couple of days there's a ton of coraline algae growing on my rocks and now I see about 3 tiny spots on my glass with diatom all over the inside. Quite a few spots of coraline algae are on my underwater filter.

No Dosing I was yelled at on Reddit for adding some Calcium when I found out my Calcium was 380 ppm so I was adding 5ppm at a time I added probably 1 tablespoon of carbonate builder once in flow to my water a long time ago when I had 2 corals in my tank. I do have reef foundation Red Sea that's what I used in my tank to add Calcium it says it also adds Strontium and Barium.

I use Reef Crystal instant ocean salt.

I use an API test kit reddit said it sucked.

I have one Aqueon filter in the middle of my tank that produces all my flow I see my Duncan's and Hammers flowing in it and my water on top moves around in a circle I bought a tunze 6015 nanostream and put it in my tank and my water almost shot out of the side and my hammer tentacles looked like they were gonna rip off and they weren't even directly in it then I was told I should have put the power head directly at the top of my tank shooting across ( I had it in the middle) so I put it back in my tank plugged it in and it wouldn't work so I lost 30 some bucks on the stupid thing.

I have blue legged hermits red legged and even some Halloween hermits I had a bunch of margarita snails but they died I was told they can't handle the temp of reef water I keep at 78 to 80 degrees I'm down to a couple margaritas a turbo and a white snail with a white shell and 3 nesarius snails. One cleaner shrimp one fire shrimp an aquaculture ocelaris a bicoloured blenny and a coral beauty. And one double sea star.

This all confuses me because I don't get how one coral could completely bleach and this Bonsai Acro looks rough next to my green Birdsnest which looks great I think.

 

[Diesel]

Oh boy!!
Lot to learn and you came to the right place.

First thing first.
You said you add water in the morning before your ATO............ I'm confused as the ATO automatic add water to your tank right?
Tell me what water you add to the tank and what kind the ATO?

Using faucet water is a NO NO no matter how much your water company is saying it's safe because it ain't.
Use RODI water with a 0.0 TDS to mix new salt water.

Cause your tank haven't has the balance yet your delicate corals will not do good, the Bonsia is one of them and chalice and monti's are next.
These corals need a absolute good balance as just slight turn in either direction can be fatal.

 

[Tahoe61]

Hi and Welcome.

The unknown coral looks like a Favia or Goniastrea, these coral types can be pretty sensitive to the intense lighting. They should probably be placed in a lower light area and acclimated prior to being placed in the rock work.

You're tank is fairly new at 3 months, dialing in Ca, and Alk with Mag can be a challenge initially, stony corals have little tolerance to swings in water chemistry. See link below and try to achieve values more closely matching NSW. In a 20 gallon I am suspect of alk swings.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

Seriously invest in good testing equipment rather then more corals as this point, it will save you money down the line. Hanna for alk, Salifert or Red Sea for Ca and Magnesium.

You do not need to add any strontium or barium at this point. And I advise against it. Just keep up with your routine water changes.

All hobbyist lose corals, more than they like to admit. For a 3 month old tank I would say you're already doing fairly well.

 

[NicoScott]

Pocilliopora is a much more resislent spa than most Acropora. The unknown coral looks like an acan, but it for sure an lps and from my experience the 11dkh is your issue

 

[NicoScott]

Pocilliopora is a much more resislent spa than most Acropora. The unknown coral looks like an acan, but it for sure an lps and from my experience the 11dkh is your issue

SPS**

I have this unknown coral that is the only thing in my tank that bleached while everything else looks pretty great all my levels are posted in with these pictures I used a API testing kit which I was told is garbage and also I have a Bonsai Acro that I noticed looks a little white from underneath is this a bad sign or is it because the bottom isn't getting light picture is also in this set: https://imgur.com/gallery/MlD1S

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

I use prime to dechlorinate my faucet water and I was doing water changes manually adding every morning so my salinity was swinging but now I bought an auto top off and still dechlorinate the water with prime.

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

Thank you for the help yeah I'm definitely looking into more stuff for my tank at this point so solid testing kits will be the next buy I'd add a sump if I had the room but I'm in an apartment the auto top off was my Best Buy yet I think. How much is an RODI system for a 20 gallon?

Hi and Welcome.

The unknown coral looks like a Favia or Goniastrea, these coral types can be pretty sensitive to the intense lighting. They should probably be placed in a lower light area and acclimated prior to being placed in the rock work.

You're tank is fairly new at 3 months, dialing in Ca, and Alk with Mag can be a challenge initially, stony corals have little tolerance to swings in water chemistry. See link below and try to achieve values more closely matching NSW. In a 20 gallon I am suspect of alk swings.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

Seriously invest in good testing equipment rather then more corals as this point, it will save you money down the line. Hanna for alk, Salifert or Red Sea for Ca and Magnesium.

You do not need to add any strontium or barium at this point. And I advise against it. Just keep up with your routine water changes.

All hobbyist lose corals, more than they like to admit. For a 3 month old tank I would say you're already doing fairly well.

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

And thank you for the help!

Oh boy!!
Lot to learn and you came to the right place.

First thing first.
You said you add water in the morning before your ATO............ I'm confused as the ATO automatic add water to your tank right?
Tell me what water you add to the tank and what kind the ATO?

Using faucet water is a NO NO no matter how much your water company is saying it's safe because it ain't.
Use RODI water with a 0.0 TDS to mix new salt water.

Cause your tank haven't has the balance yet your delicate corals will not do good, the Bonsia is one of them and chalice and monti's are next.
These corals need a absolute good balance as just slight turn in either direction can be fatal.

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

So I am looking at these as the test kits I can buy do these look fine and is there anything else I should get one for other than alkalinity Calcium magnesium and phosphorus?

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/alkal...e-water.html?gclid=CPqsut_nztECFQouaQod5VcPZQ

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/r...tm_source=bc&gclid=CI3c1ZHoztECFQOqaQodcbcKZQ

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/h...range-checker-hc-saltwater-hanna-instruments/

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

Also if my problem were to be that my alkalinity is swinging how do I stop that? How do I keep that at a steady spot?

 

[Diesel]

I

So I am looking at these as the test kits I can buy do these look fine and is there anything else I should get one for other than alkalinity Calcium magnesium and phosphorus?

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/alkal...e-water.html?gclid=CPqsut_nztECFQouaQod5VcPZQ

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/r...tm_source=bc&gclid=CI3c1ZHoztECFQOqaQodcbcKZQ

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/h...range-checker-hc-saltwater-hanna-instruments/

Yep all perfect test kits, why not getting them all at the same supplier?

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

I guess I'll try to buy all digital tests from bulk Reef supply I hear they are very good!

I


Yep all perfect test kits, why not getting them all at the same supplier?

 

[Diesel]

Also if my problem were to be that my alkalinity is swinging how do I stop that? How do I keep that at a steady spot?

With a better test kit it might not swing as much as you test will be more accurate.
If it still swing much in difference let us know.

Also morning ALK is lower than Late afternoon ALK.
Always try to test on the same time of the day as that can show you the differences.

 

[Diesel]

I guess I'll try to buy all digital tests from bulk Reef supply I hear they are very good!

ALK and PO4 are good for the Digital.
CAL not so much, most hobbyist have a color test on that as Redsea or Salifert.

Oh ehh, don't forget a No3 test kit either redsea or salifert

 

[Drizzyjoeybaby]

No3 is that nitrite or nitrate?

ALK and PO4 are good for the Digital.
CAL not so much, most hobbyist have a color test on that as Redsea or Salifert.

Oh ehh, don't forget a No3 test kit either redsea or salifert