SPS issues?..

[ashr]

Hey all

So I have noticed a few issues with some of my SPS corals. They are losing color on some spots and turning white.. but it does not look like a bleaching white.. kinda off color, if that makes sense. I noticed it on one of the corals.. it looks to be moving slow so I didnt think it was white death or anything. I dont know if its RTN though..(does not seem to be melting off or anything..)

EDIT: I am pretty sure it is not RTN. This is slow and more like off blotches
EDIT 2: I have started to dose a new bottle of "Kent Mg"
New ATI lights, couple months old
Cal 400,ALK 6-7,SALT G 1.24 and mag is around 1250.


Not sure what I should do.. Watch if it gets worse and frag? Any ideas? I could try and get pictures but they are bad angles and not sure if you would see much.. Kinda lost here..

[Bblinks]

Snap a picture for me.

[daniella3d]

Maybe acropora eating flat worms? they can produce this type of mess in patches and they can be hard to see.

[FitoPharmer]

I also heard spring is the worst time of the year for SPS. Something about them being allergic to pollen. Hope you find out whats wrong.

[ashr]

I will try and get a picture and also try and if I can see any bugs. I dip all my corals before they are added to the tank. Just in case.

[ashr]

I will try and get a picture and also try and if I can see any bugs. I dip all my corals before they are added to the tank. Just in case.

[dc4]

Do you have any tank mates that would nip the sps?

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[ashr]

I don't think so.. On one of my SPS it looks like a little strip but I did my best and couldn't see anything on it.. So I don't think it would be nipping.. I might need to take it out and do a fresh water bath or something

[daniella3d]

acropora eatin flatworms can be very hard to see because they are sort of transparent. Make sure you check with a magnifying glass.

I don't think so.. On one of my SPS it looks like a little strip but I did my best and couldn't see anything on it.. So I don't think it would be nipping.. I might need to take it out and do a fresh water bath or something

[ashr]

acropora eatin flatworms can be very hard to see because they are sort of transparent. Make sure you check with a magnifying glass.


I will d that today for sure :) Just need to find the mag glass :)

Thanks!

[ScubaSteve]

Are you using an ULNS or phosphate absorber?

[ashr]

I use a l Two little fishies reactor with ROWA Phos.


Here are the pictures, hope they can help.

http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab284/TekAshr/IMG_1964.jpg
http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab284/TekAshr/IMG_1965.jpg
http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab284/TekAshr/IMG_1959.jpg

[ScubaSteve]

Did you change your ROWAphos recently?

[ashr]

No i have not. I was going to this week tho

[ashr]

So today i think i have rtn, one of my otherr sps corals is loseing tissue. I also had flow on it and it blew more tissue off. Not sure what to do? Just frag it and see what happens??

[bkelly]

andrew the only think that comes tom mind for me is we just got the doser going perhaps something related to that, nothing fell or stung those ones did they?

[ScubaSteve]

andrew the only think that comes tom mind for me is we just got the doser going

Now there's something... Did you have a kalk swing? Are you doing 2 part or 3 part? Is the RTN patchwork or receding from bottom up? Do you have any large snails or brittle stars the are acting a bit different or "lazy"?

What other changes have you made in the past few days?

From the pictures it looks like patch-work RTN, which to me suggests a rapid drop in nutrients (hence why I asked if you changed the ROWAPhos or are running ULNS) or a toxin. Kalk fluctuations can have the same effect sometimes but normally I see that as bottom up RTN or tip down in the case of high alk in an ULNS.

[ScubaSteve]

Also, are the affected colonies close together or spread out? How many colonies seem to be affected and what species?

[ashr]

Hmm I added the doser about a month or two ago and this only stated a week or so ago.. I checked my Alk last week and it was at 6-7. Cal was at 400-425 and Mag was 1200. I have been hand dosing a new bottle of Kent Mg...

I have not changed my ROWA phos for about 4 months.

On my stag horn acro the fresh is coming off the back side of the coal where not much flow gets too.. It really came off when I brought it out of the water and flow got to it.. looks like little specs all fell off.. Its about the middle.. not coming from the top, nor from the bottom.

I also checked my Phosphate today and it was 0.00PPM

[ashr]

Also, are the affected colonies close together or spread out? How many colonies seem to be affected and what species?

They were not super close. No

[ScubaSteve]

Ok, I don't have a solution for you just yet but there are a few things raising eyebrows. I usually see patchwork tissue loss when the nutrients are very low, especially with very low phosphate. That 0 ppm reading suggests that might be the case but I find it strange that you are getting this when you haven't changed the media recently. It's usually the drop that sets them off; however, if you've had extremely low phosphate for a while you could have been keeping them on a knife's edge and something tipped them over the edge.

The other is the doser. The timing of putting the doser online and the recession is suspicious. What's your dosing schedule like? How much of each are you adding at each interval and how frequently are you dosing? It might be causing fluctuations, especially in your pH. What were you doing for calc/alk maintenance before the doser?

[ashr]

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/543321_10150882382744485_516729484_9540694_9083126 27_n.jpg

This is the underside before the flow took more off.. looks much worse now

[ashr]

I am dosing 3 times ago day for each. Very small amounts. I did start out 2 times each per day but up'd it a could weeks ago to keep everything at the proper levels.

Should I stop the doser when I get home and see how the tank does a week in? I also was about to change the ROWA but seen this and have not touched it yet. This latest picture is among the worst.. I was just going to frag the top and see what happens.. :(


Before the doser I was doing by hand. 10-20ml every few days of Alk and Ca, less Mg

[ashr]

I also dose Iron from Kent Marine Lugol's Solution Additive. I will do 1 or 2 drops every other week. Last week I might have put 3 drops in.. Not sure how that would effect it though..

Have also been hand dosing Mg. About 30ml every few days to bring it up to 1300+

[ScubaSteve]

I was just going to frag the top and see what happens.. :(

Try fragging but if the colony is receding like that I wouldn't hold out much hope for the frags. Pray to the Fish Gods for mercy.

Before the doser I was doing by hand. 10-20ml every few days of Alk and Ca, less Mg

I can't see what the doser would be doing then as it would be more stable than doing it by hand (smaller doses more frequently). I'd be afraid to take it off line and have the levels start fluctuating. Go through and check your chemicals just to rule the doser out.

I also dose Iron from Kent Marine Lugol's Solution Additive. I will do 1 or 2 drops every other week. Last week I might have put 3 drops in.. Not sure how that would effect it though..

Lugol's is a mixture of potassium iodide and iodine, no iron in there. 3 drops shouldn't cause havoc. What size tank?

Have also been hand dosing Mg. About 30ml every few days to bring it up to 1300+

This is why I was suggesting taking a look at your snails or brittle stars. Magnesium sulphate is a muscle relaxant for some inverts, particularly snails (they actually use it to sedate snails for dissection). It MAY have an effect on SPS, I can't say. I've never heard of mag sulphate causing SPS issues like yours but it could be a possibility. If your snails or brittle stars seem to be acting funny, then this may be the culprit. They'll seem lazy, stay in the same place for long periods of time (days) and, in more extreme cases, may be unable to hold onto the rocks or glass with their foot. I dose a mixture of mag chloride and mag sulphate to avoid this.

[bkelly]

andrew didnt you up your mg schedule lately when you got more, thats a lot of mg in volume to add to maintain, if its MgCl and not MgCl/MgSO4 then i think the clorides can elevate if im not wrong perhaps slow down on Mg dosing and do some water changes.
(I dose about 10ml/day Mg for my 180 MgCL/MgSO4 5:3) so your amount is pretty high for your volume, i know its been to raise levels but just wonder about the indirect effect of the Cl. Any one know more on this. (although I have had high Mg levels before (1500) and no ill effects ). some guys raise it to rid algae.

[ashr]

Sounds like a good idea Brent. I am going to go slow on the dosing and do a couple big water changes.. I hope I can save some of the coral.. It was getting big :(

[dc4]

My tri color acro looked exactly like that when I noticed my angelfish nipping at it. It was white I'm patches under its branches and on the base, gave it away yesterday.

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[ashr]

Came home late and the whole coral was white. Just removed it out of the tank. Hope it does not spread :(