Help, Algae on SPS

[plyle02]

Subject says it all, I have an acro colony that started out purple/ purplish and has recently become pale lime green w/o PE... I have moved around, but now has a sort of algae growing on it, and looks like it is dying. I also have another acro colony which was purple and pink that looks like it is doing the same thing. Here is the part that stumps me: All other SPS, including torts, acros, montis, stags, and millis growing like mad w/ phenomenal PE. I can almost see daily growth. All params are in check, turning over tank nearly 40 times per hour, have a fuge w/ DSB, great skimmer... and also have t5 lighting. Only can see a problem with these two specific corals out of many including other LPS, Zoos, Mushrooms, other softies and a big fat Crocea Clam. Should I pull them from the tank? Advice would be great......
Perry

 

[cstires]

Try posting this in the SPS forum, you will probably have better luck there.

 

[robthorn]

pull them when they are completely dead. all that can be said is welcome to the sps world. did you do a water change a day or 2 before you noticed the start of death?

 

[Warnberg]

When is the last time you changed out the bulbs on the T5's? and are you overdriving them? When I had T5's (overdriven with icecap 660's) I noticed algae growth after about 6 months. When you overdrive a T5 it shortens the life the the bulb dramatically.

 

[cmjreef]

Remove the corals now. For one thing, they're no fun to look at (not very encouraging), second, they're not doing well. And third, if they do have something, it's possible your other corals could become infected. Not enough is for sure to take a chance; remove them. JMO

 

[plyle02]

Robthorn,
I did a 20% water change 2 days ago, and have tested religiously for the basics, including phosphtates, calcium, alk, and also test my ro/di on the TDS meter. Running 8.2 solid ph.... Only 2 SPS corals out of about 20. Just seems odd, never saw much PE from either, even when I purchased. The tennius, I think, white/ pink/ purple has even more color loss and also has algae forming on the branches. I figured I should pull them, just hate to watch more than $120 go down the drain...owell, like stated before, welcome to the wonderful world of SPS....lol... As far as the t5s go, I purchased an off brand fixture w/ 6 bulbs on ind. reflectors which works pretty well, but not sure if overdriven. The current bulbs are Geissman, which are only 2 mos old. All other life forms are thriving....Thanks alot for the replies, I think I will go drown my sorrows in a couple of bud lights.........
Perry

 

[robthorn]

are you using instant ocean by chance?

a rule of thumb with sps is never thrown them away until they are completely gone. frag, lugol's dip whatever you want but don't throw them out. I have had 1/4 inch chips grow into full colonies after this same type of delema. break off the algea covered pieces and keep the good stuff. don't worry if those corals were in your system and say they have something of whatever kind you can be sure it's already in your system and throwing them away will not prevent another coral from getting whatever it is.
I have this same thing happen everytime I go cheap and buy instant ocean. go back to tropic marin and it clears up. hmmm? lots of people use instant ocean with great success. my tank doesn't like it for some reason. I mix it for 4-5 hours and I have mixed it for a week with the same results.

 

[plyle02]

Close Robthorn,
Using RC... BTW, I have a 20 gallon refugium under 130 watts PC's, should I frag and then put in the fuge, or just place frags in the main tank? I don't have any other algae issues, and just cannot understand why it decided to grow on these corals. The only thing different I have done is to add a filter sock to help catch micro-bubbles and detritus. Before, I had no other means of filtration except my euro-reef skimmer, LR and refugium. I like the addition of the filter sock simply because I don't have to see all the detritus in the water column of the main tank, but maybe it is causing other issues to occur. PS, I mix the salt for at least 3-5 hours with a powerhead, add a heater to match the tanks temp before adding. Don't know if that info helps or not, just thought I would mention.
Perry

 

[Joshjohnson]

Perry, can't help you with your problem i am new to sps but hope all goes well for you.

josh

 

[robthorn]

did you wash the sock with bleach first before using it? did you rinse the sock twice when you washed it? did you add a chlorine/ammonia remover to the 2nd rinse cycle then dry it completely in the drier? this is just the way I do it. not that it's right but just the way I do it. if you add chlorine or ammonia to the tank it will cause trouble for sure. also these socks aren't meant for fish tanks and have some sort of manufacturing funk in them. normally doesn't kill but makes your skimmer go crazy for a little while.
about the rc and io salt I do not know if it could be the cause of it or not but it is possible I guess. if you leave the salt mix in the barell for a couple days you most likely will get some dark froth on the top of the water. I figure it an't be good. others have told me they have had the same problem with io lately.
I would frag it and leave it in the main display. it's stressed enough and the light and flow change may do more harm than good. then again it's a coral so who knows. use your better judgement and hope for the best. if it doesn't make it at least you tried instead of just throwing it away.

 

[plyle02]

Brand new socks, rinsed in tap, then in ro/di.... BTW, skimmer goes nuts everytime I put a new sock on, and certainly extra air bubbles... I find the flow to be changed when sock is on like day number 4-5, just replaced sock and water level is much higher than before, which must throw off my salinity, as I have been adding more top off than usual. I think I will dump the sock theory, and stick w/ skimmer, refugium, and LR.....I will keep you posted. Thanks again for all replies...

 

[plyle02]

I took Robthorn's advice and broke up suspected ill acros today. I got about 4 frags from each colony and said goodbye to the rest.... Maybe some will make it, if they do, looks like a future frag for sale post....lol... I won't hold my breath...lol Thanks again to all replies, I will keep posted about the health of my frags.
Perry

 

[robthorn]

it's worth a shot at least. do you suspect there may be a parasite or something like that? if so maybe an iodine dip would help. if not then just wait and see what happens.

 

[ichthyman]

Sounds like Ostreobium or some other similar bioerosive green algae. This algae can live beneath the tissue of the corals and if environmental conditions are less than optimum it will spread. As the algae grows it bores through calcium carbonate and tissue leaving behind the pale green tint.

 

[plyle02]

Thanks John,
I think you nailed it here.... The color change happened rather quickly, the acro was sort of purplish, then all of a sudden seemed to fade to a green. The second coral was another acro, that was white ish with purple and pink tink. I could literally see the algae spreading from branch to branch. Every last SPS coral I own show definite growth changes, with nice PE. Is this condition in the water column or is it the coral itself? Oddly enough, I thought something was wrong as both the acros started showing less, and less PE. I will look at my conditions again and test, test, test.... Have been very attentive to maintenance. I recently started dripping kalk mixed with ro/di, and drip for about 3 hours a day, could that have been my culprit?

 

[cmjreef]

Sorry, the fragging idea is a good one. A few healthy tips far from the suspected problem (RTN, bleaching, etc.), but be careful. Again, no reason to allow one risk to cost you many healthy colonies, god forbid.

 

[ichthyman]

This stuff is present in just about anything the contains calcium carbonate in the ocean, from sediment to coral skeletons. These types of algae seem to be able to be held back by a healthy coral’s immune system. However, in strongly illuminated nutrient rich environments these algae can easily take down a coral because of their rapid grow. I would watch the other corals for any signs or symptoms and check your test results against a reliable source. Unless your kalkwasser additions are causing a sizable pH shift I don’t believe this to be a contributing factor. Hopefully, you’ll be “lucky” and these two where the only ones infected with bioerosive algae and it was a freak occurrence. If more corals start displaying this problem then a more thorough evaluation of your setup and procedures would be in order.

 

[plyle02]

Thanks again John,
I think that it was an isolated incident with these two corals, but I will keep a close eye on things. Again, I cannot appreciate your help and advice enough. I didn't think the kalk would have caused this, but that is the only change I have made recently. Thanks again.....
Perry

 

[robthorn]

salt

 

[plyle02]

So dump the RC, and go w/ Tropic Marin? Is Tropic Marin Pro pretty much the same stuff, if not, which do you suggest for predominately SPS tank? Owell, I ended up pulling the frags out, no significant change, algae still growing on them..........
Thanks again!