Acro's not PE???

refer

New member
Starting to loose color on corals and the polyps arnt extending. in the dark they are but the ones that were are not anymore. Any suggestions???I have a nutrafin test and it's showing phos @ .25
cal 380
mag 1100
ph 8.2
alk 9.4
I know mag is low I'm dosing along w/ cal.
Should I just do some water changes???
 
Maybe red bugs? Have you looked closely at the base to see if there's little white or red bugs crawling on them. You should see them moving if they're there. You'll need intercepter if you do have them.

I have a magic pill for PE that might work, if you don't have the bugs.
 
What are your nitrates?How often do you do water changes?Are you using ro/di water?What temp is the tank running at and how much fluxuation in temp is there?Alk is a little low to.What do you use for buffering and calcium additions?
I am a rookie in reef keeping but I know these are questions that others will ask,as they asked them to me when I had problems.
Chris
 
I was not going to say that when I posted on your post in the SPS forum, but Xia could be right. Many times that is how reefers are introduced to pests; from their own tanks. Also, some corals just dont have great PE.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11960464#post11960464 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by refer
any other suggestions??

Patience ;) Like I'm one to talk :D I'd get your system dialed in before you keep adding pieces. my $.02
 
I agree with Mark, with the same message but for a different angle. Aside from adding new pieces, and before you try the 'magic pill' whatever that may be :rolleyes: Id adjust your water chemestry first and foremost, and give things a week to adjust to proper water conditions.

A high salinity, along with low calcium and Mg. They werent terribly low, but do need to be corrected. Im just wondering what it went to after you corrected the salinity? Nitrates could be an issue and needs to be tested for, and phosphates should be undetectable. Phosphates are a major deterrant for calcification, or in other words a good way to make the sticks unhappy :(

Good water chemistry and good water flow should stimulate the polyps to extend.

xia brings up an excellent point though regarding bugs. If you in the market buying acros, BE VER WARY regardless of the source. There has definately been an epidemic of red bugs that has hit Sacramento the past year pretty hard. Same goes for montipora's and monti eating nudibranchs.

-Justin
 
Flow and light intensity play a role as well.

Not having the polyps falling out of every piece in not necessariliy a "bad" thing. Often pieces that have transparent or white polyps only come out at night, my 30K and Eddies Purple monster are like that.

Flow plays a big deal with milli and prostrata, too little and they don't come out to play.....I moved my Rasberry Blueberry whatever its called the other day 2" up and two inches over, just by that little move I notice it has less PE, positioning is part of PE extentsion just as it is for coloration.

Light intesity, too much I notice they will retract during daylight hours, this is what I think is my problem. My oregon tort does not have any PE on the lit sides, but blooming in the shade. When my MHs go off and my Actinics are still on, I see increased PE just from that.

The biggest thing is the water quality as mentioned, some SPS are just more sensitive than others and if your params are shifting or off then that effects it greatly.

If your coloration is fine, and your pieces are growing, and they are extended at night, I wouldn't worry too much and overtime as the acclimate to the conditions of your tank, they may change thier mind.

Feeding plays a role as well, in nature most SPS are nightime feeders and PE extenstion during the day for some specie takes a bit of "training" by feeding regularly at the same time during the day. If there is a reason for them to be out, they are more likely to to do. On Tyrees site he mentiones the polyps on the Becker Tort were first white in captivity, but changed to blue over time......this could be an example of that happening.

Some fish nip and pester the SPS......Angles and crabs can make the retract during the day.

You not what SPS stand for right? (S)tability (P)romotes (S)uccess

I think you are starting to see why the call SPS an obsession, you constantly obsess on how to get to that next level or fix whats wrong.........in the end, driving yourself crazy. Keep that in mind, as for me.....well.....:wildone::wildone::wildone:
 
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Thanks everyone!! No I don't have any angels. mandarin, PBT, clown. My phos is at .25 I don't know how it got that way either and there is algae bloom on my acrylic. I just bought a phos reactor lastnight and it's running. As for the acro's they are all turning brown. SUCKS. They were all blues pinks and greens. I did see lastnight some bugs running around on the base of one acro but I cant tell if they are red or not??? I have 12 acro frags and they are not well. Aggrivated as heck. Salinity is back in check. And I just put in another mj 1200 w/mod and getting another one as well. From what people are informing is that phos is the problem and the bugs could be too. Should I treat for red bugs anyway???
Thanks
 
Refer

Except for phosphates, your numbers look good. Yes, your Mg is a little low but that's probably not the cause. The salinity probably isn't the cause either.

Your phosphates are 10X above the recommended target of 0.03 ppm. That browned out all my SPS. As soon as I got it under 0.05 the color came back.

FYI - the club has a Deltec phosphate test kit that can really help you get a handle on your phosphates. Also, Steve (funman) is selling phosphate sponge.
 
Thanks everyone, I'm gonna hold off on the interceptor for now until I get my phos in check Then take it from there. I do need a better test kit for phos for sure!!! I just check all params lastnight
cal 380
mag 1200
Am 0
trite 0
trate 0
alk 8.6
ph 8.4
 
YR was out of phos tests. But just looking at the tank I can see that the algae is already declining. Phos reactors, What a nice inexpensive remedy!!!
 
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