Help with some stressed/dying lps

hk855

New member
For the last fee weeks I've been helping a friend with his 300g tank, mostly lps and softies. He's been having issues with lps dying/ melting away over a 3-8 week period para maters were okish when I first took readings and have improved some since.

3 weeks ago
Alk 8.6
Ca 500
Mg 1550
No3 50
Po4 o.00
Sg 1.028/9!

Began with removing about 20g of water to drop salinity over two weeks and quit dosing ca and mag

Now

8.3
480
1475
40-50
0.00
1.026

Some of the lps that have looked bad for months are looking bette/ tissues are fuller. Some new acquisitions ,6-8 weeks ago not so much. I think it's mostly due to the salinity spike. He has tried sps, montis and pocilipora, several times in last few months and all perish in a few weeks, probably the salinity.

Right now I'm planning on holding steady and doing water changes to get things back into parameters. And adding some amino acids to help the lps. Right now feeding around 16 cubes of lifeline mysis and cyclopeeze combined a day, and a lot of gfo and biopelets. I'm thinking nutrient starved as no algae grows on the glass and po4 is 0.00. So I took the gfo reactor offline to bost po4 to 0.03 and help the biopellets pull down nitrates as po4 is probably limiting. Well see what it looks like in a few days. I'll post some pics to follow.
 
am bum.php.



Recession on edges is getting worse and mouths are gaping a bit, not all just a few. This one has been in the tank a while, year or so but never looked fully inflated to me.

album.php


Recession started at the bottom of the pic and has moved upward over last 4-6 weeks. 6 weeks in tank probably a wild colony that looked good upon aquisition.

album.php


Just the head at the bottom looks withered, another colony higher in the tank looks fine.

Any ideas other than starved of po4/high no3. He also had a plate disolve months ago and a scolly that receded around the edges but stopped months ago. No3 has been high fairly consistently in the past. As a side note, rose bubble anemone and non photosynthetic gorgonians are doing fine, also has a Kenya tree the size of a beach ball. Lighting is 6 radions peaking at 55% over 7' tank, had some favias bleaching under higher lighting, 65%. Temp is 77/78

Thanks for any input
 
Probably 20 a few good size tangs and rabbitfish, 5 3-5" wrasses, 3-4 anthias, some clowns, 2 fire fish, 3 jaw fish, and probably others I don't remember. Only cyclopeeze lasts more than 2 minutes at feeding time. I figure that's why nitrates are where they are, and gfo used somewhat excessively to prevent algae.
 
Back
Top