Heliofungia Help!

[Cantfindaname]

I have had a Long Tenticle Plate Coral for a week. The first 4 days it was fully inflated and looked very nice but the last 2 days it has not inflated as much. Today it has barely inflated at all and has a brown spot on the bottom of the base. It's in a 55 gal tank under 260 watts of PC lighting. It is in the sand bed. I supplement calcium, iodine, strontium, molybdenum, phytoplankton and Reef plus vitamins and amino acids. I have had a hair algae and cyanobacteria outbreak.

The water tested at:
Temp.:81
SG:1.023
pH:7.8
Ammonia:0
Nitrites:0
Nitrates:0
Calcium:400 (Usually stays at 440)
dKH:11
Phosphates:0

Is this normal or do I have a problem?

 

[reefman8471]

Heliofungia

Heliofungia

Have you tried to feed the coral since you placed it in the aquarium? This is definitely a coral that likes to be fed and will generally accept food if it is healthy. I'm not sure what the black spot. The only thing about your water parameters that I see could being a problem is your pH. It should be generally from 8.2 to 8.4. How is everything else doing? If you have had an algae and cyanobacteria outbreak then your nitrates and phosphates are probably being consumed by them too fast to register on your test kit. Also be sure that the coral is not getting water flow that is direct or too fast. It likes moderate indirect flow. Otherwise everything else seems fine especially your lights and having the coral in the sand where it belongs.

James

 

[Cantfindaname]

Everything else is doing great. I have Rics, GSPs, a Kenya Tree and a Hammer coral. What food does Heliofungia take? I can't get the pH to stay above 7.8. I have used Reef buffer but it falls after I stop dosing. Any suggestions?