Another acropora advice thread

[Bpb]

Those are 24 hr circadian ph swings based on the photoperiod. Here's a detail shot. You can see it causes little bumps in ph when the doses happen. Not much though. I've never been one to ever put much stock in ph as long as it's hitting its peak in the ideal range. That has been the general consensus as I knew it the past few years

 

[bobssecrtsn]

from what i see.. if it were to be your lighting. your sps would bleach, or stn from the tips rather then rtn. there has to be a fluctuation somewhere, or something your sps arent liking in order for them to rtn that fast. and from the picture it looks like your pH is going from 7.8-8.2 every 24hours.

do you have a log with one daily?

 

[Bpb]

Just updated the previous post to show what it does on an hourly basis, this is the downward slide through the middle of the night.

 

[Bpb]

I dunno. I'm seeking advice. Something is obviously going on. I'm really not sure ph is the culprit though. What I'm experiencing there seems pretty standard from everyone else I know who are doing just fine. Last thing I would do is go dosing ph raising additives

 

[markalot]

Below 7.7 is getting into a dangerous area. I had to run my skimmer intake to the outside in order to keep PH at or above 7.8 at night. Might not matter, might be probe calibration, but something to think about if all else fails.

 

[Bpb]

Running an airline outdoors won't be too feasible on account of the fact that my tank is fairly centrally located nowhere near any exterior walls. I don't collect skimmate currently. Just run it overflowing with no collection cup

 

[bobssecrtsn]

so when you upgraded tanks, your new tank is placed where your old tank was ? or was it placed somewhere else? ^^ as well so the only oxygen exchange your getting is the skimmer? any windows open or is it central ac? can you show us a picture of where your tank is placed at


EDIT:

your friends reef tank, what do they set their pH at?

 

[CHSUB]

All other sps' do fine and a clam is also doing well? If you are describing the situation accurately this is an acorpora specific problem...lighting or parameters are not the problem. Imo, it's a pests or a germ that is causing the problem. Maybe give up on acro's for a year, allow the pest to die, and try again? I see no other solution!!!

 

[Bpb]

Central air correct. And my powerheads are near the surface of the water lots of agitation. Fan in the back of the canopy. You guys all really think ph is the issue? I'm just surprised. Every major sps guru, blog, post, and video I've watched for a few years now basically say ignore ph unless it is consistently very low and don't chase it. Let me hunt for a pic

 

[bobssecrtsn]

you should read this. I'm just giving you options or theories, or opinions, I CAN be wrong. I'm just trying to help you find your problem.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

with that being said, try to raise your pH, and see?

heres a theory i pulled from that site

"The aquarium has more CO2 in it than the surrounding air due to inadequate aeration. Don't be fooled into thinking that an aquarium must have adequate aeration because its water is very turbulent. Equilibrating carbon dioxide is MUCH harder than simply providing adequate oxygen. There would be NO change in the pH between day and night if equilibration of carbon dioxide were perfect. Since most aquaria have lower pH during the night, they also are demonstrating less than complete aeration.

The aquarium has excess CO2 in it because the air in the home that it is being equilibrated with contains excess CO2."

 

[Bpb]

Hmmm. Interesting. I've always read it's natural and acceptable for ph to drop at night. I've considered running soda lime co2 scrubber in the airline of the skimmer before. I'll check on pricing and see if it's worth it. That's about my only option. With 90-100 degree temperature approaching, and the cost of central air, leaving windows open isn't going to fly im afraid. I must have a cool house.

 

[Bpb]

All other sps' do fine and a clam is also doing well? If you are describing the situation accurately this is an acorpora specific problem...lighting or parameters are not the problem. Imo, it's a pests or a germ that is causing the problem. Maybe give up on acro's for a year, allow the pest to die, and try again? I see no other solution!!!

Missed this one. Definitely considered this as a problem. All montipora and clam doing fantastic. Montipora almost growing too fast.

My Hawkins echinata, blue green Hyacinthus, purple meridiana, and tricolor valida are all fine and show no signs of stress oddly enough. They all 4 lived through their close neighbors dying. I was going to go acro fallow if they all died...but only most died. Some still remain and look fine.

 

[acesq]

Central air correct. And my powerheads are near the surface of the water lots of agitation. Fan in the back of the canopy. You guys all really think ph is the issue? I'm just surprised. Every major sps guru, blog, post, and video I've watched for a few years now basically say ignore ph unless it is consistently very low and don't chase it. Let me hunt for a pic

I don't think it's ph. Not low enough.

 

[justy]

This is a pure coincidence but I have just started a thread on this forum entitled "acropora help"
Have a read through and see what you think?
Seems we are suffering from the same affliction?
Taging along here to see what happens.

Thanks justin

 

[CHSUB]

I don't think it's ph. Not low enough.

I'm a strong believer in high, stable ph. however, i agree and would expect the clam to be stressed more if it was a ph issue. ph would effect growth in all sps' and the montis are growing well.

 

[Bpb]

Yes I'll reiterate, the montipora look fantastic and the clam as well (though it seems to like laying on its side rather than vertical. It is attatched to a rock, just won't orient itself vertical. The mantle is open nice and wide, but no excessive gaping of the siphons. Color is lovely. Reacts quickly to shadows and such. I'll try to get around to posting some pics of things that are going good in the tank. I didn't take any death pictures

 

[CHSUB]

Yes I'll reiterate, the montipora look fantastic and the clam as well (though it seems to like laying on its side rather than vertical. It is attatched to a rock, just won't orient itself vertical. The mantle is open nice and wide, but no excessive gaping of the siphons. Color is lovely. Reacts quickly to shadows and such. I'll try to get around to posting some pics of things that are going good in the tank. I didn't take any death pictures

even the "best of the best" lose acros from time to time...you have 4 doing ok, i would keep doing what your doing. i do, however, maintain ph from 8.2 to 8.4, but there is much discussion on how important that is. i would expect slow growth from low ph, not death!

GL

 

[Bpb]

I suspect that high co2 content in the house would contribute to my very slightly depressed ph values. But I've never read one case of 7.9 ph causing system wide acropora stn and rtn but everything else looking perfect. We are a family of 4 in a small house with three cats as well, in Texas, it's hot, and we don't open windows a lot lol. Perhaps I should switch back to kalkwasser in my ato instead of dosing two part. That's another difference between my previous tank and this one, the last one was maintained with kalkwasser not 2 part, and to answer another previous question the new tank is in the same spot the old one was

 

[CHSUB]

I suspect that high co2 content in the house would contribute to my very slightly depressed ph values. But I've never read one case of 7.9 ph causing system wide acropora stn and rtn but everything else looking perfect. We are a family of 4 in a small house with three cats as well, in Texas, it's hot, and we don't open windows a lot lol. Perhaps I should switch back to kalkwasser in my ato instead of dosing two part. That's another difference between my previous tank and this one, the last one was maintained with kalkwasser not 2 part, and to answer another previous question the new tank is in the same spot the old one was

co2 is the cause, and a common one. i would suggest raising KH to 8.0+ to off set lower ph. i wouldn't expect this to "fix" the issue, only improve the overall system.

 

[Bpb]

Here are a few images I found from several months ago when it seemed to start. These are all pieces that were doing fine initially, some for as much as a month or so, enough to really start getting a good encrusting base, then stn from the base up would claim the whole thing. Of course I did the whole, frag off healthy portions and superglue the dying area tricks to no avail, the stn just continues on the fragged parts. These are just a few examples of the bad