I Need Your Advice!

[elkinsda]

I'm having a problem with a few of my corals not opening up the past few days and need your help/advice. The current corals not opening up are as follows: Encrusting gorgonia, Frogspawn, Anthelia, and zoanthids.
The anthelia and zoanthids have been the most recent to not open and i'm sure more corals are bound to close up also if i cant figure out whats going on in my tank. Thanks in advance for any help.

Tank Parameters:

Temp: 79-82
pH : 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 2-5
Alk: 2.5 -4 meq/L
Salinity : 1.025
Calcium: 380
Phosphate:.05ppm

The only thing i've recently changed before this started happening was a different brand water, and have added some phosban to rid my tank of some hair algae which has worked so far. I've done a 50% water change saturday and stopped running carbon and phosban media but theres no change yet in the corals not opening up. I also added some Reef Plus.

 

[coreno16]

That seems like a very large range in terms of alkinity to me. How often is it swinging? That could very well be the problem.

- Cory

 

[elkinsda]

sorry to miss lead you on the alk but its the range it shows on my test kit until i can pick up a more accurate test kit.

 

[meschaefer]

I don't have any direct expereince with phosban, but I do know that leather corals can react negatively with certain phosphate "sponges". I had a similar problem a number of years ago, but can't remember the brand I was using. Could be related, but I have never heard anything bad about phosban.