Acros very slowly bleaching?

[Rockster2599]

Hi All,
I wonder if any one has any ideas, my acros seem to be very slowly bleaching over weeks. I didnt think that would be the issue with my tank as I have Par38 LEDs and the tank was set up to house LPS and with the algae issues Im dealing with I thought my nutrients would be high. To be honest I was more worried about browning.
My Kh normally fluctuates between 9.6 and 8.6 but has had a recent spike up to 11 due to an error on my part.
I also had an issue with my lights where one failed and it took the supplier 3 weeks to replace so they were under 50% lighting for 3 weeks about a month ago.
A wierd thing is also that I never need to supplement Ca despite having several Acros and a clam?
I wasnt noticing the bleaching but I started to lose one which seems to be stripping from the tips. Now I have noticed a previously bright yellow colony has gone from bright yellow to white with yellow polyps and my blue tip tort has gone a uniform beige colour.
What should I do?
I have raised my lights to their highest and am letting the Kh come down naturally. Sorry for the ramble but Im unsure of what to do next

 

[ptreef]

sounds like all you have going on is leading to bleaching.
Rasining lights and or cutting the time can help. LED's are often casuses of bleaching especially if they are not used to them.

Also make sure you kepp ALK & CAL Stable.

Other than that leave the corals alone as constant messing with them with only furthur agitatte them.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

11 KH is not that high really.
What is your calcium level?

Is that a Leonberger puppy in your avatar?

 

[Rockster2599]

11 KH is not that high really.
What is your calcium level?

Is that a Leonberger puppy in your avatar?

It was about 460, 2 days ago.

She is an english Mastiff puppy. Ive got 2 and she's my smallest at 128 pounds, mind you she is only a year old

 

[rrasco]

How often are you doing water changes, and with what? If I did water changes every two days I wouldn't have to dose cacl.

Are you sure it's bleaching and not RTN/STN?

Could be too much/little light. My acros did that when I turned my LEDs up 10%. When I switched to kalk and my alk plummeted, I had a staghorn STN.

 

[Rockster2599]

I do weekly water changes but with RedSea Coral pro so that probably explains the lack of need to dose Ca.

I have lost 1 colony to STN after the Kh incident but the others arent losing tissue they are just pale.
I want to nip this in the bud if possible so any advice would be appreciated.
:thumbsup:

 

[64Ivy]

The last time I had a bleaching problem like that, the culprit turned out to be copper. Try putting a Poly-Pad in your sump for a few days and see what happens.

 

[WDGLEAVES]

Have you dipped them in Bayer to see if any pests fall off? I had a milli that was losing color and dipped it and found AEFW.

 

[Rockster2599]

No but only because I didnt want to unecessarily stress them after all they have been through? I wouldnt want to push them over the edge, is there anything I should look for?
Do you think thats a good idea?

 

[ptreef]

Lack of polyps and or bite marks.....

 

[Rockster2599]

Hmm,
Im still getting good polyp extension and cant see any bitemarks

 

[Sleepingtiger]

so I'm new to the hobby and some of these acronyms. what is RTN/STN, AEFW?

 

[rrasco]

RTN = Rapid tissue necrosis
STN = Slow tissue necrosis
AEFW = Acropora Eating Flat Worms

 

[Sleepingtiger]

RTN = Rapid tissue necrosis
STN = Slow tissue necrosis
AEFW = Acropora Eating Flat Worms

Thanks... STN/RTN, does this refer to only acros or any sps?

 

[Rockster2599]

Well this may be inadvisable but i have moved the corals into a higher light area. The reason is that I picked the corals up to inspect for pests and saw how pale they were lower down (vitually white). I thought they may not be getting enough light but will have to keep an eye on them for further bleaching.

 

[rrasco]

Thanks... STN/RTN, does this refer to only acros or any sps?

Typically I have seen them used for SPS. However, when my alk crashed I could swear my chalice were STN. Looked just the same, tissue slowing peeling from the skeleton and swaying in the flow.

 

[Rockster2599]

Am I making a massive mistake by giving them more light?

 

[rrasco]

Could be. Still bleaching? Got any pics?

 

[jg93]

IMO an alk swing from 8.5 to 11 in one day could be the cause of this. I've seen bleaching in Monti's from this anyway.

You have a lot going on. Any of these factors could be the cause. Unfortunately the only way to know what is the cause is to fix each problem one at a time. Any changes, even if you think they're for the better, need to be done very, very slowly. Corals can bounce back but you won't see signs of this for weeks, even months sometimes. Don't give up until they're 100% dead. Just some thoughts, good luck.

 

[Rockster2599]

Could be. Still bleaching? Got any pics?

I have, Ill see if I can upload them.