Bleached out Frog Spawn?

[Thizzelle686]

How do you know when one of your corals becomes beached out? All six heads of my frogspawn have become very retracted and have lost some of their color. I have tested and all my params are fine. I do weekely waterchanges as well.

 

[ILoveReefer]

It's hard to tell if your frogpawn is bleached out. Unless you've had it for some time and noticed the color change. How long have you had it?

 

[Mofo84]

Here is a post I made and I think you can see my froggy was bleached when I first got him
post

 

[Thizzelle686]

i have had him for about 2 months now and it hasnt been untill that past week that he has been acting up. I just cant get him to fully open up

 

[ILoveReefer]

If all your other corals are doing fine. Maybe a relocation will help. A little change in lighting or current. Also I noticed you have mostly Softies. So my next question is, do you add calcium? If you don't already add calcium, start using it.

 

[Thizzelle686]

i do not add calcium but i just tested for it and it turned out to be 330 ppm is that level to low???

 

[Thizzelle686]

Ok so my next question is what type of calcium should i use? I see that there are like 15 kinds and i can even do kalkwasser. What would you reccomend?

 

[fierceseaman]

a smaller tank would probably do well with a two part solution like kent or ESV b-ionic. with a smaller tank you would probably do well with this because of the smaller startup cost.

 

[ILoveReefer]

330ppm is a little low. Ideally you'll want to keep your calcium levels around 380ppm. Kalkwasser is great but like fierceseaman said, Kent or b-ionic is more economical. I have a 90g and I still use B-ionic's Calcium buffer system. I've never used kent's Calcium so I cannot comment on it.

 

[fierceseaman]

i used kent's 2 part and it worked well but i have b-ionic on the way just to try it out and compare. 330ppm should not cause a bleaching situation from what i understand though. i was under the impression that a bleaching event is usually caused by heat or too much light/too intense light. anybody else can back this up?

 

[Thizzelle686]

So maybe i will move it lower inn the tank and start dosing with calcium.

 

[fierceseaman]

how about your alk? you never said anything about that.

 

[ILoveReefer]

Bleaching is usually caused by too much light. Bleaching to me isn't really the main concern. It's all 6 heads retracting that bothers me. It still maybe caused by the light situation. Also they like moderate current. So if a powerhead is pointed directly at him, or theirs very low current, this maybe an issue. Calcium is a little low but probably not the cause. Changing his placement in the tank may be worth a shot.

 

[Thizzelle686]

I would say he is about half retracted. I will test the alkalinity and try moving him down a little lower. I dont have direct current on him, but he is still getting enough flow....i think. But i will try moving him and go down tommorrow and get some calcium.

 

[ILoveReefer]

Good Luck

 

[Thizzelle686]

My frogspawn looks a lot better today i moved it down in the tank and it is almost fully expanded. I feed him with DT's Live Marine Phytoplankton and he seemed to really perk up.

 

[Justin74]

My opinion differs a little from the above posts. For a mid to small range tank, 50 and less, I think kalkwasser is by far more economical. Not only does it supplement calcium primarily but also helps keep the alk steady and great for those that have a pretty good pH dip durring lights out to help keep that steady as well. Having a smaller tank usually does not come with a heavy demand for calcium unless it's been up for a few years with a heavy stock of stonies. I need to buff my 30g maybe once a month, sometimes not even that. And when I do its usually because I slacked off with kalk for too long and then need to address both issues more significantly.

Even on my established predominantly sps 50g I didnt even need the two part until I got a clam.

Otherwise your stuck buying buffer, and calcium. Which, put those two costs vs. kalk, then see which is truly more economical.
Hope that helps.

-Justin

 

[fierceseaman]

the only reason that i would suggest 2 part over kalk is the start up costs possibly associated with kalk. if you don't have the system in place it could be costly where both parts of the b-ionic 32 oz is $15 total.

 

[ILoveReefer]

Thats exactly what i was thinking fierceseaman. Over the long term ya kalk is more economical. I have a 90g mixed but mostly LPS with a few clams and a few Acros. My 16oz bottles (2 bottles) last me for about 8 months. I only need to add calcium about once a week in pretty small quantity. Maybe if my calcium demand was higher i'd do kalk. But for now B-ionic is doing a good job at a low cost.

 

[Justin74]

High start up expense? Over the longterm? Wha-what?

You guys arent seeing the big picture, that really is blown up from a small one

First off, I spent 20 bucks shipped for a 4gallon bucket of kalk. Not to mention how many thirsty two ouncers can be made from that stock(Im not that good at math, but good enough to know I cant count that high ). Secondly, start up system cost=$0.00= A simple old gallon milk jug can be easily mod'd with a drip whether it be a real good one bought from a medical supply store, or make your own with airline tubing and a nozzle of some sort.

So I'll be supplementing my system at least into year two(and I have 2 reef tanks!) before I'll need to re-up again, all for 20 bucks! cant get cheaper than that! Truly is magic powder. Dont buy into the stigma that you need a reactor, sure there much more efficient and a good tool for a heavy stocked reef, but by no means necessary.

-Justin