Some corals unhappy and cannot figure it out

[Floyd-]

I have an IM 25g lagoon and all the corals seem happy except for my duncans and cloves. I started running carbon and GFO to see if there were toxins and also lower the phosphate. Only have two fish and feed half a cube a day.

Parameters:
salinity-35ppt
ph-8.0
nitrate-15
phosphate-.15
calcium-425
mag-1300

Thoughts as to why only these corals would be closed up? They open for a little in the morning and after 2-3 hours close up like shown.

 

[Lavey29]

Well your numbers seem ok so next check would be lights or flow?

 

[Floyd-]

Well your numbers seem ok so next check would be lights or flow?

Lights not sure. I have a 24" reefbreeders light with blues at 50% and white at 25% green and red at 5%. Ive used a PAR meter before but unsure where I should be for a mixed tank. maybe 150?

Flow I have two spin streams on the return jets and two Nero 3's. One on each side 180* out and random flow from 10% to 30%.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Phosphates up a little and flow may be much. Can you post a video showing the flow in the tank?
If you have mixed corals in tank, you may have low level toxins being omitted which can be reduced with high grade carbon

 

[Lavey29]

Lights not sure. I have a 24" reefbreeders light with blues at 50% and white at 25% green and red at 5%. Ive used a PAR meter before but unsure where I should be for a mixed tank. maybe 150?

Flow I have two spin streams on the return jets and two Nero 3's. One on each side 180* out and random flow from 10% to 30%.

Those corals would be fine in 150 par but let's see here, they open in the morning as your lights and flow are ramping up then close in a few hours when your lights and flow are at the peak? To me that indicates the area to focus on. Have you done a recent ICP test?

 

[Floyd-]

Phosphates up a little and flow may be much. Can you post a video showing the flow in the tank?
If you have mixed corals in tank, you may have low level toxins being omitted which can be reduced with high grade carbon

Put in ROX .8 carbon from BRS yesterday in a tiny reactor to see if that helps. Ill see if I can snap a video tonight. I dont think the flow is too much but who knows

 

[Floyd-]

Those corals would be fine in 150 par but let's see here, they open in the morning as your lights and flow are ramping up then close in a few hours when your lights and flow are at the peak? To me that indicates the area to focus on. Have you done a recent ICP test?

lights are 9am to 9pm with an hour ramp to max. Flow doesnt change all day. I did run steady low flow at nights but saw no difference so I just left it on random flow with a 30% max.

 

[Troylee]

If none of that works try a 5gal water change and they will most likely perk right up for ya..

 

[Floyd-]

If none of that works try a 5gal water change and they will most likely perk right up for ya..

Ive done a 5 gallon change every week for the past few weeks and saw no difference in the corals being closed up.

 

[Dburr1014]

How long have they been like this?

 

[Floyd-]

How long have they been like this?

little over a month. Nothing has changed but I figured "nothing happens in a reef tank fast" so I would let it ride out and see what happened. After a month I get worried that there is something underlining that I cannot see.

Im borrowing the PAR meter again from a friend tonight. I still think im about 250-350 at the corals. Need to bump them down to a max of 150 where the corals are. With it just being a 12" deep tank I dont have much PAR change from the top of the rock to the sand (maybe 20-30 PAR at best).

 

[Lavey29]

little over a month. Nothing has changed but I figured "nothing happens in a reef tank fast" so I would let it ride out and see what happened. After a month I get worried that there is something underlining that I cannot see.

Im borrowing the PAR meter again from a friend tonight. I still think im about 250-350 at the corals. Need to bump them down to a max of 150 where the corals are. With it just being a 12" deep tank I dont have much PAR change from the top of the rock to the sand (maybe 20-30 PAR at best).

That's to high for those corals. 150 max and this coincides with your ramp up time in the morning and the corals closing when par is to high.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

12hrs with a 10hr max @250-350 is alot of light for a new tank and young corals, and corals of that type of light demand.

along with lowering the overall par I'd add some length to those ramp times if you really want 12hrs of light or shorten the overall photo period along with extending the morning ramp until the tank and corals get more established, when you have larger colonies they can take 12/10hrs a little better.

IMO

 

[Wasabiroot]

What was your phosphate level before this? Imo clove polyps as well as duncans like some detectable nutrient in the water. I would also think GFO in a newer 25g might be unnecessary. Perhaps when you started running carbon and GFO you took too much from the water column. As far as lighting, I can say Duncanopspammia, while a low light coral in the wild, can do well under higher lighting as well. I have a polyp flourishing not far from a Quanta daylight bar.

If you're keeping LPS, .15 is ok but it's important to think about the change over time.

I have anecdotally read clove polyps can respond negatively to certain dosed things; have you incorporated anything into dosing lately

It could be lighting also, they might have been ok with it when there was more food in the water column. 300 to 400 ų-mol (whatever the unit is, can never remember) if accurate, is moderately high lighting period. Duncans also do well with occasional feedings.

Just my 2c. It could be lighting or a bit of everything

 

[Dburr1014]

To support thatmanmikeson, I to have Reefbreeders light.
My ramp up/down is 3 hours on each side and only 6 hours @ 100% intensity.
It's a standard 75 so my par definatly does very top to bottom.
My Duncan is about 150ish par and does very well.

 

[Floyd-]

Ok update after borrowing the PAR meter last night. Lighting was at about 200 PAR at the top rocks and about 150 on the sand. I lowered the lights 5% and got roughly 150 PAR around most of the tank so the lights were not as bright as I thought.
I have not dosed anything other than nitrate (potassium nitrate) I stopped all for reef to rule that out also for 3 weeks.
When I came home last night all the corals were opened up and plump. The only thing that changed was having the reactor running for 24 hours with carbon and GFO. Phosphate went from .15 to .03 and everything seems happy as of now.

Ill change the ramp up time a little on the lights and then leave it all alone and see how things go over the weekend.

 

[Dom]

Phosphates seem a bit elevated as previously mentioned. But I don't see any alkalinity test result. Do you know you alkalinity?

It has been my experience that low alkalinity is a contributing factor with issues like this.

Water changes need to be faithful, weekly and 20% of the total tank volume using RODI water.

What kind of water are you using?

 

[Floyd-]

Phosphates seem a bit elevated as previously mentioned. But I don't see any alkalinity test result. Do you know you alkalinity?

It has been my experience that low alkalinity is a contributing factor with issues like this.

Water changes need to be faithful, weekly and 20% of the total tank volume using RODI water.

What kind of water are you using?

Sorry I thought I put alk! its at 8dkh and very steady

Using BRS 200GPD water saver RODI machine with booster pump. 0 TDS coming out when I check the meter.
Im fairly faithful on the water changes. Normally the same day of the week but maybe different times of the day depending on whats going on.