Frag Bleaching.

A

arson420

New member
I purchases a small acro colony from "O" street about 3 weeks ago. It's really starting to bleach at the tips. I have done lots of research and am not fully convinced that it's RTN. I actually think that I didn't acclimate it right to my lights. I have 4 110 vho's and 2 250watt MH's in a 100 gallon tank that's about 23 inches deep. Once I figured out that it must be the lights I kinda made a little cave for it in the rocks so all it gets is indirect lighting. I have done extensive research on the "SPS Keepers" section of RC. I am not happy with the "Just frag it" answer.

Ready for some tank perams?
Everything in tank is fine except for this coral. My fish are fine and my softies are thriving.
SG 1.025
everything else is withing good, stable levels like PH, ammonia, alk, nitrite, nitrate. I use Oceanic Salt so MAG and calcium is not an issue.

I guess whatever advice you guys could give would be great or if you have any questions for me that would be great. Also, how is everybody acclimating new corals?

TIA!
 
Re: Frag Bleaching.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7093323#post7093323 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by arson420

Ready for some tank perams?
Everything in tank is fine except for this coral. My fish are fine and my softies are thriving.
SG 1.025
everything else is withing good, stable levels like PH, ammonia, alk, nitrite, nitrate. I use Oceanic Salt so MAG and calcium is not an issue.
Click to expand...

:D

-Justin
 
Re: Re: Frag Bleaching.

Re: Re: Frag Bleaching.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7093353#post7093353 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justin74
:D

-Justin
Click to expand...

Uhhh ok, Does that mean you want numbers?

Alk: 9
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
PH: at or around 8.0
Nitrate: Lower then the lowest reading on my test kit.
Temp: at or around 79

I can't think of anything else. Thanks for your inquisitive reply though Justin. That helps alot... :rolleyes:
 
Had to pull your leg with that one cuz I was still waiting to for you to list your tank perameters but all I got was your salinity level ;)

If this was a poker game Id raise you and call your bluff:lol:
But assuming every chemical we can test for are in perfect check, id do as your doing but make sure that its recieving a strong current. If it is in photo shock it will be more dependant on autorophic feeding than photosynthesis.Layman terms,it will need a good current to continually feed particles of food and nutrients within the water column.Good flow will not only help forcefeed but keep any nuicent algae away from any exposed or damaged skeleton. Good luck!:)

-Justin
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7093382#post7093382 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Justin74
Had to pull your leg with that one cuz I was still waiting to for you to list your tank perameters but all I got was your salinity level ;)

If this was a poker game Id raise you and call your bluff:lol:
But assuming every chemical we can test for are in perfect check, id do as your doing but make sure that its recieving a strong current. If it is in photo shock it will be more dependant on autorophic feeding than photosynthesis.Layman terms,it will need a good current to continually feed particles of food and nutrients within the water column.Good flow will not only help forcefeed but keep any nuicent algae away from any exposed or damaged skeleton. Good luck!:)

-Justin
Click to expand...

Awesome! And I'm not BS'ing you when I type this, but out of all my searching in the SPS Keepers section that was the most informative dead on balls advice I have seen.

It's not in direct current right now but it's definitely not in a dead spot in the tank. Also, I am not getting ANY polyp extension anymore either at night or during the day. Should I just leave it be in it's little cove?

Funny you mention the algae. Since I moved it in it's "Cove" the algae on the bleached tips have significantly decreased. That must be just from the lack of light.

Sorry about the rolleyes, I guess I just assume too much in people. I just think that if anybody is going to start keeping SPS's then their tank perams would be within proper levels.
 
If theres a major flow area short of coming from a near by powerhead Id opt to put em there. The stronger the laminar flow the more likely to stimulate the polyps and over all health. Id also peak him slightly out of the cove to at least within a few days to jump start the zooxanthella for photosynthesis.

As for acclimating my sps frags, Ill always keep em on a very low rock if not the sand for the first week, then move em up to the middle and depending on the light tolerance Ill move him to his final resting place all within about a 2 week period.

-Justin
 
Btw, your pH is on the low side and this will also add to any existing stress its currently under.Its a more mild stresser but is amplified when there are others present,stressers that is ;) Strive for a low pH of 8.2 with your goal being at the end of the photoperiod of your tank testing at 8.4.Hope this helps.

-Justin
 
After I lost two in my first atempt at SPS I researched a lot and have had alot better success since then, some noticeable growth and encrustation.....here is what I have learned:

1. Water quality....as you mentioned, it should be right before getting into sps

2. Flow: random and turbulent. Currently I have 3 powerheads and the return in my little SPS area of the tank.

3. Direct light, and acclimate according to the tank they came from, per Justin said.

I heard that bleaching from the top is light/water acclimation and can recover. STN/RTN usually starts at the bottom.

As far as initial acclimation, I have been sitting them out for 10 minutes in the air, letting them slime and put em in. Seems to work great.

I think if you move it into better flow and out of the "cove" it will perk up. Good Luck, Doug
 
Thanks guys for all the replies. PH and Alk are two things that I have been battling ever since I got my tank. I have used Seachems Reef Builder and that will bring up the Alk but the PH will not increase much. Right now I am trying Kent Marine Superbuffer DKH. That seems to keep my Alk up and also bring up my PH to around 8.
 
I had the same problem with keeping PH up until I added Kato to my sump and keep a light on it all the time. (I removed the biobale.) Easy fix--works like a charm.
 
how does it work.....great.

I stumbled onto it on the SPS forum and the guys on there had been talking about not needing to drip acclimate them. Many had done it and had great success. I figured I give it a try and has worked great.

Way cool if you have an unmounted piece, gives you time to mount it

The idea is that many live out of the water durring tidal cycles and have no ill effects. Check it out on that forum.....
 
after losing a ton of frags by just temp and drip acclimating them, i started using the 'sit out' method of acclimation for my sps and haven't had a loss yet. i only let them sit out for...mmm...5 minutes or so, though. 10 minutes seems like a long time to me. :D
 
I know Eric Borneman wrote an article in RK mag explaining why it works with shipping. The reason is like in nature it will coat itself with a slime coat when disturbed or exposed to air. This coat protects against aggressors as well as from "drying out" durring low tides. This process in argument to old methods is more emulating nature when shipped than shipping it in a containor of water, let alone the added shipping fees due to excess weight.

-Justin
 
since we are on the subject, my sps' do just fine during my "low tide" water changes, they may be unsubmerged between 20-30 minutes at a time depending on how much multitasking I may be doing... click onthe pictures to enlarge....


 
On the extended WTs the slime coating is very obvious and even more so once the tide comes in...kinda looks more like a snot tank than a reef tank :) once the sniffles dry up (1 hour) the tank looks great. I'm starting to htink that it just makes them stronger but thats just me ...
 
I took another look at the cali tort and realized how beautiful it still looked out of the water....look:



I promise not to turn this in to a picture thread although tempting....
 
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