Acropora tissue bubbling. Disease?

[SneekaPeek]

The past week I've been extra diligent with my params - testing every day and keeping it between 130 and 133 ppm CO3 on the hanna alkalinity checker. I've also done three 50 gallon water changes in the last 7 days. Starting to have a bit of an issue with cyano, but all my corals seem to be leaping to life with new growth tips forming all over the place, and visible elongation in just the past week. I'm hard pressed to find any bubbles on the big bonsai, there's still a few there, but the majority seem to have deflated. that other green acro I posted a pic of earlier has seen no improvement however.

This certainly seems environmental, but what issue all those water changes is correcting does not appear to be something I have a test for.

Can I ask how everyone who's experiencing this is maintaining their big three? I'm having to dose MASSIVE amounts of alk and calcium supplements to keep up with the amount of coral I have in here. They're not dosed in exactly equal proportions. I'm wondering if maybe an imbalance between the sodium and chloride ions is developing?

Im glad to hear that things are working out for the better. I keep a very religious schedule of water changes, and I always heard the saying "when in doubt change it out". I do believe water changes are key. keep up the good work and post your experience. maybe post a couple before and after pics.

 

[sabo]

I recently have had a smooth skin acro start to do this. Problem is that I have changed quite a few things in the tank recently, so pinning it to any one thing is impossible. Of note though, one thing I did do was raise mag levels quite a bit.

 

[larcat]

BRS 2 part. I have to dose more alk than cal.

Can I ask how everyone who's experiencing this is maintaining their big three? I'm having to dose MASSIVE amounts of alk and calcium supplements to keep up with the amount of coral I have in here. They're not dosed in exactly equal proportions. I'm wondering if maybe an imbalance between the sodium and chloride ions is developing?

 

[larcat]

Good luck. This thread should provide all the (little) info there is out there.

I recently have had a smooth skin acro start to do this. Problem is that I have changed quite a few things in the tank recently, so pinning it to any one thing is impossible. Of note though, one thing I did do was raise mag levels quite a bit.

 

[larcat]

I have a slightly bonkers lighting set up...

32"*17"*17" tank.

2*Gen 3 radion pro, 1*Gen 2. All with wide angle lenses. I run Battle Coral's old radion graph, with 6 hours if full blast and a 3 hour ramp up and ramp down.

Just thought of something else. What kind of lights and what photoperiod are you using?When my affected corals were frags my tank was pretty new and I was new to T5 lighting. I'm running an ATI Sunpower 8 bulb fixture and at the time I was running all the lights for 9 or 10 hours , I forget exactly,which I eventually realized was too long and lowered it to 8 hours for all bulbs.

Did this for quite some time until I realized 8 hours was still too much ( SPS were pale) finally realized that 6 hours with all lights was the sweet spot and is still the photoperiod I use today.

Keep in mind that this is only a 18" high tank, this could definitely fit in with the UV theory. No doubt I was blasting the corals with light. HTH and good luck to you.

 

[71xlch]

BRS 2 part. I have to dose more alk than cal.

Why!? That's the point of 2 part. Dose in equal amounts. If you alk is failing faster than cal you need to dose more of both. Always both in equal amounts.

 

[asylumdown]

Is that right? There's more things in a tank that can consume alkalinity (organic acids, for example), I always just try and keep the parameters balanced. In my tank that means dosing more all than Ca. If I were to dose them equally wouldn't my calcium go through the roof?

 

[71xlch]

Is that right? There's more things in a tank that can consume alkalinity (organic acids, for example), I always just try and keep the parameters balanced. In my tank that means dosing more all than Ca. If I were to dose them equally wouldn't my calcium go through the roof?

Gahhh no. Read randys stuff on 2 part. If you dose a ton of alk your cal drops. Dose a ton of cal your alk plummets. That's the point of 2 part being balanced. If you need more alk, when you add the extra cal it will balance itself out. There are calculators that tell you what cal should be at for a given alk reading. The only time you would add more cal for instance is to boost it to the balanced level before you start a maintenance 2 part dose. I will try to get some links but read read read before your start dicking around with chemistry (not being a dick). Don't want to crash a tank and lose your coral.

 

[71xlch]

Is that right? There's more things in a tank that can consume alkalinity (organic acids, for example), I always just try and keep the parameters balanced. In my tank that means dosing more all than Ca. If I were to dose them equally wouldn't my calcium go through the roof?

Here is a quote from the following link:
So the first "deviation" from the rule of calcium and alkalinity balance really isn't a deviation at all. If an aquarist is supplying a balanced additive to his aquarium, and calcium seems stable but alkalinity is declining, it may very well be that what is needed is more of the balanced additive, not just alkalinity. This scenario should be assumed as the most likely explanation for most aquarists who should look for more esoteric explanations for alkalinity decline only if calcium RISES substantially while alkalinity falls. Likewise, if alkalinity is rising and calcium seems stable when using a balanced calcium and alkalinity additive system, the most likely explanation is that too much of the additive system is being used.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/

 

[71xlch]

Is that right? There's more things in a tank that can consume alkalinity (organic acids, for example), I always just try and keep the parameters balanced. In my tank that means dosing more all than Ca. If I were to dose them equally wouldn't my calcium go through the roof?

And this for a real world example

https://joejaworski.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/the-right-way-to-use-2-part-additives/

 

[Reef Bass]

While I agree in general that dosing equal amounts of alk and ca supplements is appropriate, I am not in agreement with always dosing exactly equal amounts. I let testing tell me what I need more of. At one point I had a large amount of stony corals, including one monti cap 24" across. Hit the front and back walls of the 2' wide tank. That thing was a calcium sponge and I had to dose more calcium than alk to keep up with my calcium demand. Adding more alk only raised my alk, which was undesirable. I (or rather my automated equipment) also dose magnesium daily.

 

[71xlch]

While I agree in general that dosing equal amounts of alk and ca supplements is appropriate, I am not in agreement with always dosing exactly equal amounts. I let testing tell me what I need more of. At one point I had a large amount of stony corals, including one monti cap 24" across. Hit the front and back walls of the 2' wide tank. That thing was a calcium sponge and I had to dose more calcium than alk to keep up with my calcium demand. Adding more alk only raised my alk, which was undesirable. I (or rather my automated equipment) also dose magnesium daily.

Did you not read the posts?........the number one misconception is one is being used more than the other indicates more 2 part is needed. Only rare corner cases or years of dosing results in a imbalance. Even Randy mentions hobbiest test kits cant track Calcium in the water to the point people think they can.

i guess I'm just :deadhorse1:. If people cant read and actually understand the content they are reading.


Edit: I will add if you have an awesome tank and its working for you keep doing it. If others are chasing numbers and cant figure it out. Maybe try something else.

 

[AugustWest]

Speaking of reading comprehension , pretty sure the OP doesn't want this very seldom discussed SPS issue turned into a 2 part dosing debate.

 

[71xlch]

Speaking of reading comprehension , pretty sure the OP doesn't want this very seldom discussed SPS issue turned into a 2 part dosing debate.

Wouldn't it be awesome to have it turn out to be because 2 part not being dosed right?

I have the same issue as the OP. I also had my 2 part dosed wrong because the person I choose to look after my tank for a week couldn't read and follow directions. So maybe it's related. I left and it was fine. Came home to bubbled skin. That was the only change. I'm slowly returning to normal values. But hey if you read the thread you would know I had the same problem .

Also in the thread someone mentions their ALK dropped. Then they returned to normal values it went away. He also changed other things so it's hard to say. Still worth looking at.

 

[jgalen0025]

I have a few acros that are doing this now. The only thing that has happened is that I had an alk spike due to doser malfunction. Lost a couple things but everything is fine now just some bubbling on the tips.

Just an fyi, IME if your dosing unequal amounts of two part, chances are you are having a precipitation problem.

 

[asylumdown]

well I've been at this for a long time, but i'm the first to admit when my understanding of a topic is either incomplete or has slid due to years of familiarity.

I'll be honest, the last time I read in depth about alkalinity and calcium was nearly 5 years ago. Back then I wasn't dosing a proper '2 part' recipe.

I'm using a Jaebo doser that forces you to select a volume per dose, so being even more honest, I wasn't even sure how out of balance my rate of addition was until just now when I went through the schedule and checked. I'm presently dosing 431 mL of Tropic Marin part A "“ the alkalinity part "“ per day, and 285 mL of Part A "“ the calcium part "“ per day. So to say that I'm adding them in unequal quantities would be an under-statement.

I just did a test, and my calcium is way down in the gutter at 349 (yikes, I need to do that test more often), but my alk is steady at 7.5.

I'm open to trying anything - what's the suggestion? up my calcium dosing rate to match my alk dosing rate exactly as it is now?

 

[asylumdown]

ok well I just read through all those articles, I'm sure I read them years ago, I'm not sure how I let myself slip on something so basic.

I just bumped my calcium up to 380ppm, will try to get it up to 410 tomorrow. I also adjusted my dosing rate so it's dosing equal volumes of each. We'll see what happens to my numbers over the next few days, and if I need to make adjustments, I'll make them to both.

I'm not sure that will explain the tissue bubbling, but it will hopefully correct future issues generally. This weekend my pink lemonade started to bubble, which is a coral this has never affected in the past, so it would be just the tops if this was something super basic that I just fixed.

 

[SneekaPeek]

well I've been at this for a long time, but i'm the first to admit when my understanding of a topic is either incomplete or has slid due to years of familiarity.

I'll be honest, the last time I read in depth about alkalinity and calcium was nearly 5 years ago. Back then I wasn't dosing a proper '2 part' recipe.

I'm using a Jaebo doser that forces you to select a volume per dose, so being even more honest, I wasn't even sure how out of balance my rate of addition was until just now when I went through the schedule and checked. I'm presently dosing 431 mL of Tropic Marin part A "“ the alkalinity part "“ per day, and 285 mL of Part A "“ the calcium part "“ per day. So to say that I'm adding them in unequal quantities would be an under-statement.

I just did a test, and my calcium is way down in the gutter at 349 (yikes, I need to do that test more often), but my alk is steady at 7.5.

I'm open to trying anything - what's the suggestion? up my calcium dosing rate to match my alk dosing rate exactly as it is now?

definitely bring your cal up to 410, (1/3 of your mag) and just up the dose gradually, every couple of days test so that your not increasing cal from your dosing. You want to just keep it steady same way your alk is now. and over time water changes will bring it up. patience and gradual improvements win the race.

 

[asylumdown]

So... I'm not sure if this has anything to do with anything, but I took 71xlch's advice, went back to basics, and am now dosing equal amounts of a balanced alk a calcium supplement. I thought I'd see a massive spike in my calcium levels, but I didn't. In fact, things started growing so fast I've had to up my dosing rate of both by 20 mL/day a week for the last three weeks.

no new plasias have formed on my corals since I did this, and in fact... my worst hit colony (the one pictured on the first page) has branched off several brand new, completely healthy looking growth tips from one of the worst branches. My pink lemonade, which had one tip out of 20 swell up like a balloon a couple of days before I changed my dosing regimen, has returned to normal.

This is by no means a smoking bullet, and my 'Big three' levels were never really that much out of balance. However, I'm adding huge volumes of alk and calcium supplement to my tank relative to its size, and I was adding twice as much alk supplement per day as calcium supplement for the better part of a year. This means I was also adding twice as much sodium to the tank as chloride. Go figure things would only start improving when I'd do 3 or 4 large water changes in a row. It's not something we have a test for (sodium/chloride balance), but has anyone else experiencing this examined their dosing regimen? Do we know what the chemical consequences of adding twice as much sodium as chloride might be? Or what that might do to a coral?

 

[Piper27]

I had a few tips bubble up on an acro. I also let my calcium get down to 350 when I started dosing 2 part instead of using a calcium reactor. I have been dosing about 3/4 of a cup per day for a few weeks and it has only gotten it up to 390. I have had the calcium reactor back on since then. I will post if the tips go away, that is if I can get the calcium up... This is always a part of my routine every few years. I let calcium slip, the other is my rodi prefilters, but I have been better on that the past few. Things happen in life and I seem to let the basics slip some.