Can someone tell me if my coral is bleaching? Pic attached.

N

Nalchadz

New member
Hello everyone, one of my sps seem to be losing it's color. I read on forums and it seems it could either be growing or bleaching. One half of the coral is getting white. If it's not healthy, please advise. Thank you!

Salinity - 1.024 Checked using refractometer
Ammonia - 0 (API)
Nitrite - 0 (API)
Nitrate - 20/40 - Cant tell which (API)
Calcium - 340/360 - Cant tell which (API)
Carbonate Hardness - 125.3 (API)
Phosphate - 0.0 (API)
Iodine - 0.01 (Salifert)

picture.php
 
ZON said:
20 of NO3 are not a sps right value..

this coral are not in bleaching but are suffering.
Click to expand...

I do about 15 percent water change every week. What can I do bring them down lower? Since day 1, I have not lost any fish in the tank and everyone seems to be very happy.

Current setup:
30 Gallon, Tunze 9002 Protien skimmer, MaxiJet 1200, 2 x Koralia nano Pumps, Phosphate reactor, Tunze Auto Top Off, RapidLED lighting with storm controller.

2 x clown fish, 2 x orange spotted sifter gobies, 1 x fire shrimp, 1 x Branded coral shrimp, 2 x rose bubble anemone.
 
alexx2208 said:
You could purchase a biopellet reactor and fill it with biopellets, or use instant ocean natural nitrate reducer... It actually works...

Nitrate reducer:
http://www.instantocean.com/Product...ment/natural-nitrate-reducer-in-aquarium.aspx

Biopellet reactor and biopellets(just add a pump, around 300gph):
http://www.marinedepot.com/Two_Litt...s-Two_Little_Fishies-TL43111-FIFRISBP-vi.html

Marine depot is just one of the online stores that sell them, but just wanted to give you an example...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. Unfortunately I don't have any more room in the chambers of my tank to add another reactor. I currently do have a phosphate reactor. Can I use my CPR Nano Reactor Tumbler and just add the mentioned media?
 
Nalchadz said:
Thanks for the response. Unfortunately I don't have any more room in the chambers of my tank to add another reactor. I currently do have a phosphate reactor. Can I use my CPR Nano Reactor Tumbler and just add the mentioned media?
Click to expand...


Yes, but it must be separate from other medias, aka by itself. Biopellets give food and a home for nitrifying bacteria to grow and naturally eat nitrate(and phosphate in turn, but very small levels). They must be tumbling pretty well to work, and if left not tumbling will create a mulm of sorts which is bad for the system... Aka just be careful.

when you purchase the pellets, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, you must add only 50% of the amount described for your system, and slowly add every month up to the recommended amount, so add 12.5% of the rest every week. If you do not do this, your nitrates will spike... I know, pretty ironic.

The nitrate remover from IO maybe a easier way to go, but the pellets will keep your nitrates under 10(perfect for ANY coral) all the time... For up to six months


I personally use pellets, and have a close friend who has used the remover...

Thanks for listening to my rant:wildone:
 
The reactor I have is on it's own in one of the three chambers. Right now the reactor is keeping phosphates in check. I noticed the media you recommended has both phosphate and nitrate. My only concern is whether the pump attached to the reactor is strong enough. Do you know if there is a minimum GPH I need to use with the media you recommended?
 
Test your water that you are doing water changes with. Might be adding nitrates strait into the system without even knowing it. If pre-water change water is clean, do 5% water changes daily until it comes down. Once nitrates are down to an appropriate level, monitor by testing daily to determine what the cause of your nitrates might be. Your sand sifting gobies might be hiding food in their caves. Check your sump to make sure stuff/poop isn't accumulating down there. If it is full of equipment, there is a good chance your sump might be causing your issues. Baste rock work with a low power pump or turkey baster to make sure fish poo isn't stuck inside of the rocks. Could be a number of things. These are things that should be checked routinely. Carbon dosing is also a good way to control nitrates but can be tricky. It also requires a lot of testing at first. I have used no3/po4x by red sea with good results. I have no experience with bio pellets but a lot of people sware by them. Good luck man! I hope you get it all figured out. :)
 
Hi invertinoob. I don't have a sump. It's a biocube tank with 3 chambers in the back. I already use a pump when I do water change every week and I usually shift the rocks around to get anything stuck under them. This is why I'm kind of cinfused. I can't think of anything else I can do. I'll give the 5% water change daily a try and see what happenes.
 
Ah, I missed the biocube part lol Once you bring down the nitrates, It should be process of elimination on what is causing the problem. Those where just some examples of things that i checked when I was having a similar issue in the past. Did you say in previous post wether or not you use rodi water?
 
Nalchadz said:
I haven't mentioned it. I buy real ocean water from LFS and use RO water from LFS for my auto top off.
Click to expand...

This isn't a good practice. You don't know for sure what is in the water you are using for your system.


Also 15 percent water changes a week aren't going to dilute the no3. By the time you get to your next water change you nitrates are back up. You need to do a larger change or more frequent changes.
 
Oh wow. And I thought buying real ocean water is best since I'm trying to simulate the ocean. So much for that idea. I guess I'll start mixing myself.
 
Nalchadz said:
The reactor I have is on it's own in one of the three chambers. Right now the reactor is keeping phosphates in check. I noticed the media you recommended has both phosphate and nitrate. My only concern is whether the pump attached to the reactor is strong enough. Do you know if there is a minimum GPH I need to use with the media you recommended?
Click to expand...


It just needs to tumble.... Which biopellets are what are pictured in your reactor on various online stores, so the pump should work... Worst case, you may need to not use as much pellets, which will just lower your nitrates slower...
 
Like every day test your nitrates to see if your feeding habits are causing nitrates to rise. if you see a sudden rise in nitrates try to feed a little less. Make sure your blowing out your rocks before every water change so all of the stuff inside of them gets taken out with the water change and doesn't settle back into the rocks. 4 fish and 2 nems in a 30 gallon also can contribute to raised nitrates from fish poop and waste. Nems can hold food in their bellies and leach out nitrates as they deflate. Nitrates are a bi-product of something happening inside of your system which is the great part. Theoretically, if you had no livestock and a tank full of water that has been cycled and tested for 0 nitrates, there would be no way for nitrates to rise unless something was added. Like a piece of shrimp that would eventually start to decay. It is hard to say what exactly it might be coming from in your tank. But once you figure out what is causing your nitrates to rise, it will be like an A-HA!! type moment and should be easy to control from there on.
 
as far as bio pellets go, a bag of Purigen is like 8 dollars and is literally a bag with bio pellets in it. You could also get your own filter media bag and buy a different brand of bio pellets too :)
 
Also, now that I know it's a biocube, are you using the same power compact lights that come with the system stock? That may also be it, because I rarely seen sps success with power compacts, I would recommend an LED retrofit kit... It'll help definitely, and it'll look better.
 
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