Trumpet Coral Problems!

[Robert_Popa_918]

I’ve purchased a neon green trumpet coral approximately 3 weeks ago and I’ve been having trouble with it ever since. The coral has been doing poorly and seems like it’s dying a little more everyday. It’s the only coral inside my 13.5 gallon besides a pulsing Xenia. After testing my water multiple times with Saltifert’s tests, everything seems ok with my parameters except for Alkalinity. My alkalinity is at the very low level of 6.1 DKH. I’m almost 100% sure that the alkalinity is the cause of my LPS coral’s issues. I’ve went ahead and changed roughly 4 gallons this morning to hopefully boost the alkalinity level. After this first large water change, I’m gonna go back to 20% water changes to hopefully stabilize the reef a little bit. I don’t have enough confidence in myself to start dosing this reef, because I’m still very new to this hobby, and I don’t want to overdose. The reason I’ve created this thread is to make sure that alkalinity is the issue here and not some other issues, such as diseases! At this point, I’ll take all the advice I can.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Alk very low , nitrates up a little.
Alk- at least 8.5, salinity 1.026, temp 77-78, moderate light and water flow, and ph 7.9-8.1

 

[Nanoreefer4ever]

Alk kinda slow. Bring it to 8.5 and keep it stable

 

[Robert_Popa_918]

Alk very low , nitrates up a little.
Alk- at least 8.5, salinity 1.026, temp 77-78, moderate light and water flow, and ph 7.9-8.1

Do you think that doing weekly 20% water changes would be enough to bring up the Alkalinity level? I’m not really sure what I’m doing when it comes to dosing, but I will start if I have to.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do you think that doing weekly 20% water changes would be enough to bring up the Alkalinity level? I’m not really sure what I’m doing when it comes to dosing, but I will start if I have to.

yes, but may be insuuficient for rise in alkalinity. You can GRADUALLY add ALK diluted to your return pump area of sump or add to tank slowly every other day- Best to add Alk at night. Calcium chloride also will work

 

[Robert_Popa_918]

yes, but may be insuuficient for rise in alkalinity. You can GRADUALLY add ALK diluted to your return pump area of sump or add to tank slowly every other day- Best to add Alk at night. Calcium chloride also will work

I went ahead and purchased some Alk from Fluval Sea. It probably isn’t the best product for this purpose, but it was all that the local Petco had in stock. The directions say to add 10 mL per week. I might dose just 5 mL weekly for now to hopefully not have a too drastic swing in Alkalinity. What’s your opinion on the product? Are there any other products that you think would do the job more sufficiently?

 

[vetteguy53081]

kent make a good alk and for liquid0 EVS or Seachem Fusion 2 is excellent also

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

How long has the tank been set up? What other livestock? Placement: current, light ?

 

[Robert_Popa_918]

How long has the tank been set up? What other livestock? Placement: current, light ?

My fluval evo 13.5 has been set up for around 7 months now. The current inhabitants are a young Percula Clown, a Royal Gramma, a Six-Line Wrasse, 6 Red Legged Hermit Crabs, 2 Turbo Snails, an Orange Lipped Conch, a Pulsing Xenia coral, and a Green Trumpet Coral frag. The coral is placed under somewhat low powered lights, and moderate flow. I believe Alkalinity is the only current issue in my tanks that’s affecting the Green Trumpet Coral.

 

[Saltfishlover]

Did this work out? Just curious of the final outcome

 

[ScottR]

I know people that run low alk and keep stunning SPS. I’d maybe pull it off the sand and glue it to rock. Sand could be irritating it?

 

[WallyB]

Water changes unless very big don't really raise Alk, (and that would depend on the Alk of your salt).

You don't need to get into some kind of Automatic Doser, if you want to raise Alk.

Good Old Baking Soda (Arm and Hammer) is perfectly fine. Fresh new box, not from Fridge.

Here is a calculator how much to Add (SLOWLY!!! Little at a time)

Reef Chemistry Calculator

Just puch in your Tank Volume (Water-rocks, stuff..Go low vs too high if you are guessing), Then put in your Current Alk, Desired alk (eg 7.5 dkH), and pick your Alk addtive.

Baking Soda is 2nd on the List.

Then you have how much of Baking Soda you need to add. (SLOWLY. Diluted in Fresh water)

Mix it up in a cup of water,and add 1/4 cup or less at a time. You can also use a airline with air valve to drip the Cup slowly into your tank (over an hour or so)

 

[Robert_Popa_918]

Did this work out? Just curious of the final outcome

fortunately very good news for my reef. I have come to the decision of changing my salt brand to Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. Turns out that my low alkalinity did come from using Marin Tropic Pro. For the past several weeks my green trumpet has been thriving and looks like another head will be forming shortly. Along with this another piece of good news is that I’ve purchased some Duncans, acans, and a hammer coral to add to this tank. Looks like my dream reef is finally starting to come together. I’ll be upgrading to the 32 gal BioCube soon enough and we will see what goes on from there. I truly appreciate all the help, if it weren’t for you guys, I’d have a pretty upset reef. I’ll try and send occasional updates of the tank.
- Thanks, Rob

 

[Hermie]

(removing my comment since the solution was found)