So frustrating

[sil40sx]

Have you tested you alkalinity before a water change and after? Wondering how low the alkalinity gets before water change raises it.. Is the 10am and 10pm readings the same every day?

Actually not right after. I test the following day, and numbers are similar,. I will have to do that next time.

 

[cmcoker]

Actually not right after. I test the following day, and numbers are similar,. I will have to do that next time.

Also check right before if you haven't already. I think when it hits 6.5dkh the corals stop consuming it, iirc. If you are bottoming out weekly before water change, that could be stressing it..

 

[sil40sx]

I went through your thread. alkalinity is at border line but I think people including me run system at low alkalinity (dkH 7-4-7.7). I have few suggestion based on my experience....

1. Your nutrient level is quite low and you are using LED. Although I can see its on sandbed still and I dont know at what intensity you are using your LED. I would suggest lowering it down or move it from direct light. Lower alkalinity with low nutrient and high light is not good for SPS.
2. Stop using the carbon and take GFO reactor offline to raise your nutrient a bit but not much. You can run the GFO for 12 hours and stop it for next 12. But dont run carbon as possibly it is stripping your water too much.
3. I would prefer you cut the dead part out and mount it back or it can grow algae on that part and stress it more.

1. AI prime - 100% intensity on most channels except white, green and UV. Coral was already moved to the center last week, and light was lowered down as well.

2. I forgot to mention on my initial post that I turn of my reactor during the day. And turn it back on at night. I used to run it a couple days only after a WC, but my po4 is creeping up, that's why I just on/off it daily.

3. Same as previous post. Looks like it's too late for the coral now

 

[cmcoker]

You only need a few polyps to survive to keep from losing it. If you already think it's lost, you've got nothing to lose by fragging it down to any part that still looks healthy.

 

[sil40sx]

Also check right before if you haven't already. I think when it hits 6.5dkh the corals stop consuming it, iirc. If you are bottoming out weekly before water change, that could be stressing it..

I've never seen it that low. I randomly test at least twice a week, morning and night, since I saw the RTN/STN 2 weeks ago, and my numbers are the same. - but haven't check right after, or before a WC

 

[Anirban]

1. AI prime - 100% intensity on most channels except white, green and UV. Coral was already moved to the center last week, and light was lowered down as well.

2. I forgot to mention on my initial post that I turn of my reactor during the day. And turn it back on at night. I used to run it a couple days only after a WC, but my po4 is creeping up, that's why I just on/off it daily.

3. Same as previous post. Looks like it's too late for the coral now

Running LED at full intensity with low alkalinity and low nutrient is a bad idea. You need to lower down the intensity or take it up. Then stripping the water with carbon add to that bad idea more. Run GFO but stop carbon. If even a bit of that poor thing is living just frag it out it will grow out.

 

[mcarroll]

I'm afraid you've delivered a real whammy to this coral and I doubt he'll survive. Speaking from experience.

It was on the corner side of the tank, I moved it to the center to get more intensity from the light. I even lowered my LED fixture 2 more inches down.

Light And Flow
You probably moved it to a low flow area (looks like it) and you gave it a light shock.

Corals are sedentary creatures, so their adaptive systems are adjusted accordingly.....you cannot generally move them around like decorations.

They will adapt yo your light and your flow and literally grow into them.

The best thing you can do is put him back – in the exact spot and exact orientation as before – and put your lights back the way they were.

I can't think of any examples where I've saved a P. damicornis colony that looked this bad though, so I wish you luck!

Nutrients
You have zero nitrates – phosphates are about right.

Having no free nitrates in the water is very likely to make the changes you made to water flow and light significantly more stressful.

Keep reading...

Keep It Simple
I'd consider doing less in general...it seems like a pretty new tank and you have all manner of reactors, socks and regimes at work. Your system is nutrient-poor and that's a lot to manage, so I'd ease up for everyone's sake.

If you have fish, feed them – that will feed your corals. Skip other foods and feedings.

In that effort, focus on feeding your fish higher quality food. Flakes and pellets should be thought of as potato chips – okay occasionally. Follow @Paul B's way of feeding.

Ideally something whole-frozen or even live should be your daily staples.

Whole-frozen mysis or plankton, or even whole-frozen omega-enriched brine shrimp would make great additions. Whole is better than blended-frozen, too. But blended is OK if that's all you can get....ideally it should then have added probiotics.

Feed your fish enough that you have some nitrates in the water. It only takes a little, so make feeding changes gradual so you don't overshoot your goal!

 

[Macdaddynick1]

+1 on nitrates

 

[TRPlacek]

FWIW, I have 4 different birdsnest and this is the only one I have ever had issues with. It is very temperamental. It will do great for a while and then if I change the flow even a little bit it will start to die off in spots.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I would like to add that when GFO is online your alkalinity will drop, compared to when it's off. +1 to dosing nitrates. FWIW A lot of people have success with just running a skimmer.

 

[sil40sx]

You only need a few polyps to survive to keep from losing it. If you already think it's lost, you've got nothing to lose by fragging it down to any part that still looks healthy.

I'll try. I'll look for the longest branch with lots of polyps.

 

[sil40sx]

FWIW, I have 4 different birdsnest and this is the only one I have ever had issues with. It is very temperamental. It will do great for a while and then if I change the flow even a little bit it will start to die off in spots.

How bad or big are the spots, and how quickly it recovers?

 

[sil40sx]

I would like to add that when GFO is online your alkalinity will change, compared to when it's off. +1 to dosing nitrates. FWIW A lot of people have success with just running a skimmer.

Does it mean my 0.05 swing is just from the reactor being on/off?

In need a better test kit for nitrate so I can get exact number. Would a salifert works?

 

[TRPlacek]

How bad or big are the spots, and how quickly it recovers?[/QUOTE

the colony in the pic used to be 3 times it's size. It has almost completely died off and come back after I frag it down. It takes some time to recover depending how bad it is. But I chalked mine up to flow as that is the only thing I changed before it started to show dead spots again for the 5th time.

 

[reeferfoxx]

I turn of my reactor during the day. And turn it back on at night.

7.44 @ 10am / 7.50 @10pm

According to what you've said, you test after GFO and before GFO. Doing that you would never see the drop in between.

Salifert Nitrate kits are decent.

 

[sil40sx]

According to what you've said, you test after GFO and before GFO. Doing that you would never see the drop in between.

Yeah you're right. I guess I'll keep it off today till tomorrow so I can test tonight and tomorrow morning with it being off. Nice catch.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Thinking about it more, CO2 is highest during the evening so pH will naturally drop. In conjunction with GFO dropping Alk, your parameter swings could be fatal in this situation.

 

[sil40sx]

Thinking about it more, CO2 is highest during the evening so pH will naturally drop. In conjunction with GFO dropping Alk, your parameter swings could be fatal in this situation.

Oh wow. Maybe next time keep it running during the day instead?

 

[North Borders]

+2 on nitrates. I read somewhere once that sps will die from the bottom up (which yours seems to be doing) if there's no nutrients and they're starving and will die from the tips down if it's alkalinity related. Birds nest is easy to frag. Trim a little ahead of the 'death line' and mount that on a new plug. You can even mount a few pieces on the same plug making a little bush.

 

[reeferfoxx]

Oh wow. Maybe next time keep it running during the day instead?

When I ran GFO, it ran 24hrs, I adjusted alk, and upped feedings. Which your feedings are incredible. You could maybe cut back on feeding or keep doing what you are and run GFO 24/7?
Then a cheap and easy way to dose no3 is 'Stump remover'(KNO3) from the hardware store. I have a bottle that's gonna last me 2 years. You'll need to test for no3 also.