Tripod1404
Active member
Hey guys,
Over the course of last several months, I dropped the nitrate levels in my tank to 0.5-1 ppm and phosphate levels to 0- 0.005 ppm. My alk is at 8.5 dKH, Calcium is at 460ppm, Magnesium is at 1400ppm and Potassium is at 400ppm.
One outcome of this was the gradual "paleing" of Acros, Montis, stylos, Brains and leptastrea corals. With time, first the brains Brains and after the stylos and montis recovered and they are brightly colored. Newly growing tips of montis and stylos are pale, but as they grow the gain color. I dont know if it is related, but after the drop in nutrients, my purple hammer coral also developed a green hue around the tips of its tentacles and now it almost looks like a mix of purple and green hammer.
But for both Acros and leptastreas, the color is very pale on the sides that receive high light. They still show good polyp expansion and the polyps themselves are brightly colored (the coralites around the acro polyps as well), but the tissue in between the polyps are very pale. For leptastreas, growth occurring in high light parts of the coral is very pale with the exception of polyps which seems to be normal colored. I started dosing amino acids and vitamins and that seems to slightly improve the coloring.
So my question is; should I reduce my alk and continue with aa dosing or wait to see if those corals would recover like brains and montis? There seems to be some evidence suggesting high alk and low nutrients dont mix very well, and I am wondering if what I am seeing is that.
Over the course of last several months, I dropped the nitrate levels in my tank to 0.5-1 ppm and phosphate levels to 0- 0.005 ppm. My alk is at 8.5 dKH, Calcium is at 460ppm, Magnesium is at 1400ppm and Potassium is at 400ppm.
One outcome of this was the gradual "paleing" of Acros, Montis, stylos, Brains and leptastrea corals. With time, first the brains Brains and after the stylos and montis recovered and they are brightly colored. Newly growing tips of montis and stylos are pale, but as they grow the gain color. I dont know if it is related, but after the drop in nutrients, my purple hammer coral also developed a green hue around the tips of its tentacles and now it almost looks like a mix of purple and green hammer.
But for both Acros and leptastreas, the color is very pale on the sides that receive high light. They still show good polyp expansion and the polyps themselves are brightly colored (the coralites around the acro polyps as well), but the tissue in between the polyps are very pale. For leptastreas, growth occurring in high light parts of the coral is very pale with the exception of polyps which seems to be normal colored. I started dosing amino acids and vitamins and that seems to slightly improve the coloring.
So my question is; should I reduce my alk and continue with aa dosing or wait to see if those corals would recover like brains and montis? There seems to be some evidence suggesting high alk and low nutrients dont mix very well, and I am wondering if what I am seeing is that.
It improved for some corals, but some got a lot paler.
