Diagnose this Coral Problem?

[Nipper]

I have a 75gal reef with 20 gal sump. We added our first coral about 3 weeks ago. I have tested all water parameters, and have only found the ph to be on the low side, at 7.8, so I added a buffer to increase.

I have 2x54w T5s, and the coral is a little higher than halfway up the tank at one end of the rock formation. It's not directly in the waterflow, though there is movement - one of the powerheads is directly behind the coral.

I have attached pictures of the coral. Some look great and healthy, but other polyps look like they are turning inside out and getting white patches on them.

Any help is appreciated! Let me know if you need more information. I'm at a loss as everything seems to be within a good range, so I'm not sure why the coral is deteriorating.

 

[dudley moray]

looks normal to me

 

[catfisher]

They look pretty normal from that pic. Have you noticed any pests on the coral, i.e. nudibranchs?

 

[Shane Hoffman]

It looks fairly normal. Those polyps will very in the amount they open and close...

Also if all you have for lights is 108 watts of T5 you need more. your at less than 1.5 watts per gallon. At a minimum I would double your lighting if you plan on keeping much above zoos and mushrooms. I would move it up a bit higher and see if that helps. When ever you move a coral wait a week to move it again to truly gage how the change will effect it.

 

[redfishsc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15346392#post15346392 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shane Hoffman
It looks fairly normal. Those polyps will very in the amount they open and close...

Also if all you have for lights is 108 watts of T5 you need more. your at less than 1.5 watts per gallon. At a minimum I would double your lighting if you plan on keeping much above zoos and mushrooms. I would move it up a bit higher and see if that helps. When ever you move a coral wait a week to move it again to truly gage how the change will effect it.

I agree, to an extent. However, 2X54 (esp. if they have good reflectors) is enough light to grow most soft corals just fine, and perhaps a good number of LPS if you feed them regularly.

There is a local LFS that has even less T5 light than this over a huge half-round tank that's 30"+ inches deep and it grows soft corals very, very well.

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Now, as for the palys, they act like that at times.

However, I have the exact same ones in my tank and they sit very close to a 4-tube T5 system (ie, very bright) and they seem to like it.

Move them higher up, closer to the light, and see if that helps.

 

[400M1963]

Best way to achieve and maintain your parameters including PH and alkalinity is with water change. Run your mixer and thermometer at least 24 hours IMO then test. Better for the animals especially things like SPS that will bleach with herky-jerky changes in just about anything.