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That's it, I've officially had it.
- Thread starter spectrum
- Start date
NateHanson
Non-member
Ahhh! That's horrible! Sorry to hear it guys. Strange that it would happen on the same night.
Any new coral colonies added recently?
Any new coral colonies added recently?
Alkalinty and calcium readings (magnesium and sg would be nice also) please. I'm inclined to be skeptical of temp drop. One of my frag tanks dropped to 70F, no problems.
jango
Non-member
Alk-7.0 dKH ( lower than normal )
Ca-430
PH-8.3
nitrite- undetectable
nitrate-undetectable
ammonia-undetectable
salinity-1.027 (at the time now 1.026)
temp-78 constant
(all done with Salifert kits)
I do not have a Mg test kit. My experience was a bleaching and was only the corals directly under the lamp. Corals that were an inch lower in the tank lightened up but no tissue loss. I did a water change the night before all parameters matched.
Ca-430
PH-8.3
nitrite- undetectable
nitrate-undetectable
ammonia-undetectable
salinity-1.027 (at the time now 1.026)
temp-78 constant
(all done with Salifert kits)
I do not have a Mg test kit. My experience was a bleaching and was only the corals directly under the lamp. Corals that were an inch lower in the tank lightened up but no tissue loss. I did a water change the night before all parameters matched.
Alk does look a little low to me. Is there a chance it dipped even lower?
I'll ask some more of the questions that I always ask in this case. Are you guys sick of hearing me ask the same questions yet?
Bleaching....did you change lamps? If so, did you raise the fixture to compensate for the increase in intensity? How old was the old lamp?
Did you add any new corals in the last 2-3 weeks. Are we talking only about bleaching, or RTN? Only Acropora? Have you added any wild collected Acropora without a prophylatic iodine bath? Have you added any thick branced wild collected Acropora?
I would also be interested in a magnesium number. I think anyone with SPS should have and run the test. Are you sure your other kits are giving you good numbers?
I'll ask some more of the questions that I always ask in this case. Are you guys sick of hearing me ask the same questions yet?
Bleaching....did you change lamps? If so, did you raise the fixture to compensate for the increase in intensity? How old was the old lamp?
Did you add any new corals in the last 2-3 weeks. Are we talking only about bleaching, or RTN? Only Acropora? Have you added any wild collected Acropora without a prophylatic iodine bath? Have you added any thick branced wild collected Acropora?
I would also be interested in a magnesium number. I think anyone with SPS should have and run the test. Are you sure your other kits are giving you good numbers?
jango
Non-member
1) it could have
2) bulb is about a month old, I did not raise it. Going from one lamp to the other I could not see much of a change in intensity. My Ushio actually looked a little brighter.
3) no new corals
4) I believe it is bleaching.
5) only some Acropora, but yes only Acropora
6) test kits are all new I have only assumed they are correct. I need to get Mg and phosphate kit's
2) bulb is about a month old, I did not raise it. Going from one lamp to the other I could not see much of a change in intensity. My Ushio actually looked a little brighter.
3) no new corals
4) I believe it is bleaching.
5) only some Acropora, but yes only Acropora
6) test kits are all new I have only assumed they are correct. I need to get Mg and phosphate kit's
NateHanson
Non-member
James - bummer. Glad it was only one. Was that before you started putting the new Ca Reactor online?
If anyone doesn't want to buy a mag test you can use mine. I can't imagine my using up this test on my own in this lifetime. Greg, do you think Mg needs tested often, or is every few months ok. It doesn't really change in my system, but maybe that's different in more heavily stocked tanks.
If anyone doesn't want to buy a mag test you can use mine. I can't imagine my using up this test on my own in this lifetime. Greg, do you think Mg needs tested often, or is every few months ok. It doesn't really change in my system, but maybe that's different in more heavily stocked tanks.
OP
OP
spectrum
Non-member
I'm inclined to believe it was bleaching, it my haste I said RTN but I was wring.
On most it has started at the bottom and worked up.
So far it has affected a stylo, milli, and acro both thin and thick branch.
Temp has been stable and have not recently changed lights. I'll check water parameters later, (although I know my PH is a bit depressed due to my reactor, ther have been no wild swings) .
Got to go get some work done
On most it has started at the bottom and worked up.
So far it has affected a stylo, milli, and acro both thin and thick branch.
Temp has been stable and have not recently changed lights. I'll check water parameters later, (although I know my PH is a bit depressed due to my reactor, ther have been no wild swings) .
Got to go get some work done
Nate,
>Greg, do you think Mg needs tested often, or is every few months ok<
As you have mentioned, IMO it depends a lot upon the tank and the critters in it. If you know your tank rarely has a problem with Mg, then I'd back off testing. The test I'm using is essentially free so I tend to test more often. Once a month is probably plenty unless something funky happens to your tank (high pH spike with calcium/magnesium snowstorm) or you suspect your corals are unhappy, but cannot pin down the cause.
Bleaching means the corals turn very pale, almost white, but the polyps are still there, and the animal is still alive. Bleaching can be caused by many things, switching bulbs (either new or different spectrum bulbs), bad water quality, high temps, etc. Sometimes corals can reaquire their zoxanthelle, and recover from bleaching.
RTN looks like the coral tissue is just becoming perforated, and then 'web like', and then just blows away leaving a clean white, dead skeleton (VERY SCARY). In this case you cannot see any remaining polyps and the skeleton usually becomes covered in green/brown algae in a few days (no live coral tissue). RTN can start from any particular part of the coral, and the whole coral can be gone in hours to days. Usually (IMO/IME) corals that are undergoing RTN do not necessarily look pale, but they could due to other factors.
STN (slow tissue necrosis) usually occurs from the bottom up. Often times IMO this is a natural process that occurs in our tanks and also in nature as the base of a coral become more shaded, or has less water motion. Usually it occurs slowly, and eventaully stops at a particular spot up the coral branch. I've seen this many times on my SPS corals that have grown really large.
>Greg, do you think Mg needs tested often, or is every few months ok<
As you have mentioned, IMO it depends a lot upon the tank and the critters in it. If you know your tank rarely has a problem with Mg, then I'd back off testing. The test I'm using is essentially free so I tend to test more often. Once a month is probably plenty unless something funky happens to your tank (high pH spike with calcium/magnesium snowstorm) or you suspect your corals are unhappy, but cannot pin down the cause.
Bleaching means the corals turn very pale, almost white, but the polyps are still there, and the animal is still alive. Bleaching can be caused by many things, switching bulbs (either new or different spectrum bulbs), bad water quality, high temps, etc. Sometimes corals can reaquire their zoxanthelle, and recover from bleaching.
RTN looks like the coral tissue is just becoming perforated, and then 'web like', and then just blows away leaving a clean white, dead skeleton (VERY SCARY). In this case you cannot see any remaining polyps and the skeleton usually becomes covered in green/brown algae in a few days (no live coral tissue). RTN can start from any particular part of the coral, and the whole coral can be gone in hours to days. Usually (IMO/IME) corals that are undergoing RTN do not necessarily look pale, but they could due to other factors.
STN (slow tissue necrosis) usually occurs from the bottom up. Often times IMO this is a natural process that occurs in our tanks and also in nature as the base of a coral become more shaded, or has less water motion. Usually it occurs slowly, and eventaully stops at a particular spot up the coral branch. I've seen this many times on my SPS corals that have grown really large.
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