What's wrong with my bird nest?
- Thread starter Chris C
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Start 1st with chemistry, trouble shoot calcium and alkalinity.
If the coral is in direct flow from a power head move it to an area with less flow.
Check at night, hours after the lights have been off for invertebrates that might be munching on the coral at night.
HTH
If the coral is in direct flow from a power head move it to an area with less flow.
Check at night, hours after the lights have been off for invertebrates that might be munching on the coral at night.
HTH
LaurensNL
Community Member
I think your water is poor of amino acids and strontium or your nitrates are to high?. Maybe check if you skimmer still works good. Or maybe dirt is building up in tour stone structure or in your sump and levels your nitrates.
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We need to know water parameters especially calcium and alkalinity to help. 
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Chris C
Active Member
Thanks guys for the replies! The water parameters are NO3 10, Alk. 9, Cal. 420
I checked at night and it didn't seem like there's anything munching on it. I dose Seachem Reef Plus once every 2 weeks. In fact, I've lost a clam and a wrasse when I went on holiday last week, so the NO3 went up to 20 at one point. @LaurensNL is strontium that important? Cos I just rely on WC and don't dose it.
I checked at night and it didn't seem like there's anything munching on it. I dose Seachem Reef Plus once every 2 weeks. In fact, I've lost a clam and a wrasse when I went on holiday last week, so the NO3 went up to 20 at one point. @LaurensNL is strontium that important? Cos I just rely on WC and don't dose it.
LaurensNL
Community Member
Then maybe it could have been the no3 peek. Well if you do wc's with water what is poor in strontium then it could be. But I don't think thats the problem. What is you water temprature? And how did you get that coral and for how long?
hybridazn
Acro killer.....
I think you answered your own question with your test results. Your no3 is a little elevated. Any other sps pieces in your tank? If so how are they doing?
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Chris C
Active Member
@LaurensNL I got that piece from LA about a month ago. The temp is always around 24C +/- 1C (77F +/- 2F).
@hybridazn yea that probably it when I think about it now. I also have a red cap and monti spongodes. They seem fine actually. That's why I wondered why it just happened to the bird's nest.
@hybridazn yea that probably it when I think about it now. I also have a red cap and monti spongodes. They seem fine actually. That's why I wondered why it just happened to the bird's nest.
kendavjac
Active Member
Do you dose alk? I use kalk in my top off water to keep my alk stable and it also adds calcium. My alk sits steady at between 8.2-8.3. Had trouble with birds nest until I did this. FYI: I have heard people call birds nest the "canary " because they tend let you know first when your parameter are not stable.
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Chris C
Active Member
I rely mostly on WC (about 20% fortnightly). I however dose baking soda or Epsom salt, and haven't come across when I have to dose Ca yet. I do have Calcium Chloride for that. I use some cheap supplements 
Yea I know that they're "canary" but poor bird's nest
Weirdly my Mg has dropped down to 1100. So dosed Epsom salt for 2 days trying to bring it back up to 1200-1300. It only went up to 1170. Ca and alk on the other hand were fine. Does turning on the heater have anything to do with the Mg drop? Cos it seems to be the only thing different that happened in the past few days
Yea I know that they're "canary" but poor bird's nest
Weirdly my Mg has dropped down to 1100. So dosed Epsom salt for 2 days trying to bring it back up to 1200-1300. It only went up to 1170. Ca and alk on the other hand were fine. Does turning on the heater have anything to do with the Mg drop? Cos it seems to be the only thing different that happened in the past few days
