My pearlberry looks terrible

[cfgenesis]

I have had this pearlberry in my tank for about six months. As you can see from the pic it is a dull brown and has looked like this for some time. I have a couple other SPS frags that are doing much better. Clearly it is not dead because there has been a little bit of growth and when only the actinics are on, it has a greenish glow, but I would like to know what could be wrong with it. It sit about 13"-14" below my T5 fixture, and my water parameters are all good. Any ideas?

 

[doca]

you need to check:

bulbs age???

water flow in that area???

if other sps in your tank are doing well, i bet fot these 2 factors....maybe a laminar flow or brightless bulbs...

 

[cfgenesis]

Bulbs are about 8 months old, but it has been brown like that even when the bulbs were fairly new. It is about 6 inches away from a powerhead, so it is definitely getting flow - is it possible it is getting too much?

 

[parkavenuereef]

Bulbs are about 8 months old, but it has been brown like that even when the bulbs were fairly new. It is about 6 inches away from a powerhead, so it is definitely getting flow - is it possible it is getting too much?

6 inches is pretty close depending on what kind of power head your running but close regardless IMO. We definetly need to know more about your parameters and what else you have in your tank. What lighting you have is also key but that frag doesnt look good at all. Sorry.

 

[doca]

6 inches is pretty close depending on what kind of power head your running but close regardless IMO.

+1


for the moment i would put the coral in a flowless area in the tank for a while...it seems to works for me...

then, its a good idea to check PO4, NO3, alk and pH levels in accuracy instruments diferent to the ones you commonly use, just to be sure...

for the color seems to me like a nutrient issue...for the lost of tissue at the base, flow its what matters....

 

[CleveYank]

Brown or tan corals that should be more colorful?

I'd bet my boots it's either what's in or what's missing in the water.
Water quality or water parameter is almost always the usual suspects for off-color SPS.

Things like alk swings, depressed pH, low Mg, phosphates above a trace or high nitrates are the number one things to look at. Some parasite infestations can cause some off coloring, but chemistry is the first thing to check in the process of elimination.

 

[cfgenesis]

I started my tank up last March, so it has been running for about 10 months now. I put three SPS frags in the tank in May, and they all browned up, so after some reading that advised not putting SPS corals in an immature tank I figured that was the problem. About October or November the other two corals have started to rally, have better growth and regain some color, but obviously the pearlberry has not.

My pH has been constant at 8.3, my KH was running at 8 for a long time but I have raised it to 10 in the last month, so there was a swing but not until after the coral had already gone brown. My Cal stays in the range of 420-450 and my Mg stays between 1320-1380. I run a BRS GFO/Carbon reactor and my phosphate runs at 0, although I do still get a little bit of brown algae on my sand bed.

The powerhead is a Maxi-Jet so it is probably blasting it pretty good - I will try re-directing it.

I use API testing kits - what brand is preferable?

 

[Laddy]

I'd vote Alk swings as a first guess.

 

[mjaustin22]

My pearlberry was always extremely sensitive to alk swings

 

[purge43]

Im going far out on a limb with this , but imo/ime those api test kits are junk...salifert or elos for sps's

 

[purge43]

and some of those softies, ie devils hand, toadstools/ imt(in my tank) played hell with some sps' thru chemical warfare. It wasnt till i cleared out all the softies till my acros perked up.

 

[flyyyguy]

Im going far out on a limb with this , but imo/ime those api test kits are junk...salifert or elos for sps's

I use elos primarily, but in concern to alk...Ill take API over salifert any day if given the choice between the two


JMO

 

[psteeleb]

mine gets very limited flow (almost a dead zone) growth and color have been great

it's under T5s with reflectors PAR is around 280 but the reading wasn't the best
the T5s are URI's (sits below a White Atinic & 454) and it's probably about 12" below the surface with about 4" between the water level and T5

here is a recent picture -I've had it just under 4 months and got it as a frag that had branches that were about 1/2" long

1/3/11

9/18/10

 

[cfgenesis]

Psteeleb, that looks great and what amazing growth! Something is definitely wrong in my system when I have had mine twice as long and I don't have color or growth anywhere near that. I have redirected my powerheads and ordered new bulbs based on grim reefer's advice so hopefully things will turn around.

 

[cfgenesis]

Well, it has been a month since I made the changes above - changed over to ATI bulbs, 2 Blue+, 1 Purple+ and 1 Aquablue. I also redirected the nearest powerhead so that it is not blasting right at the pearlberry, and my kH has been steady at 11 for a few weeks. Diatoms have disappeared so I think my PO3 levels must have improved.

The big news is that I finally saw PE on the pearlberry last night for the first time in forever. While the color is still nothing like psteeleb's beauty, it is less brown now and I am seeing a hint of purple at the tips. Hopefully I am on the right track and can nurse this thing back to health!

 

[DustinB]

Any time I've had a brown acro it was either high nutrient levels or not enough light.

Make sure nitrate and phosphate levels really are at or near 0. I don't know much about the sundial fixture, but it may not be enough light for it. Some acros just require insane amounts of light. FWIW my pearlberry is about 15" from my ATI sunpower and it's just starting to look good.

 

[flyyyguy]

Psteele, that is quite the fantastic growth you have had there in 4 months

 

[rtbm]

have to ask, are you certain it's a pearlberry?

 

[cfgenesis]

have to ask, are you certain it's a pearlberry?

Yeah, it definitely looked like one when I bought it at LFS.

 

[Paulairduck]

pearlbeery is one coral I have always had issues with for some reason