need help with this coral

[Mikenroe]

I have just started into SPS coral. The few I get start loosing their tissue. My NO3 about 7.5 and calcium 450, Alk was 9 duh, Magnesium at 1350, iodide was 0.01 so I added 2.5ml of the bright wells. However the only thing I can think of is i do have a flame angel, but would he be doing this or is it something else. I did do a lugols dip with all the coral i put into the tank and even have done it twice to some. Please help? Here is a picture to give you and Idea. It looks like on a few branches there is a runway patch that is white or has lost some color.

 

[o2manyfish]

How old is the tank?

 

[Mikenroe]

My tank is about a year or the rock is, i recently took out all the coral and fish and replaced all the sand due to having to re-aquascape it. My ammonia is 0, have 0 to 0.01 NO2, NO3 is between 5 and 10, however i just bought today the red sea testing kits for trace elements, my Iodine is 0.01 which is low, K was really low, and haven't tested iron yet. I do weekly water changes of 35 gal and I'm surprised that these levels are low, especially since i use red sea coral pro salt. any suggestion about where i need to go from here. I run an aqua sock and chem pure elite. I just bought red seas NO3/Po4x today to help get the NO3 and PO4 down a bit. What else should I be doing? Thanks again for your advice and would love to here from any others that are experienced with SPS corals.

 

[markalot]

My tank is about a year or the rock is, i recently took out all the coral and fish and replaced all the sand due to having to re-aquascape it. My ammonia is 0, have 0 to 0.01 NO2, NO3 is between 5 and 10, however i just bought today the red sea testing kits for trace elements, my Iodine is 0.01 which is low, K was really low, and haven't tested iron yet. I do weekly water changes of 35 gal and I'm surprised that these levels are low, especially since i use red sea coral pro salt. any suggestion about where i need to go from here. I run an aqua sock and chem pure elite. I just bought red seas NO3/Po4x today to help get the NO3 and PO4 down a bit. What else should I be doing? Thanks again for your advice and would love to here from any others that are experienced with SPS corals.

Red Sea Coral Pro salt has extremely high Alk and while by itself that's not a horrible thing it can result in wild Alk swings when doing a water change. In my opinion Acros can't tolerate Alk swings if the tank is not otherwise stable.

You're also mentioning a lot of things that don't really matter that much, or aren't critical to keeping acros alive. Your goal with acros should be stability with everything easily measured first. Stable Alk should be first on the list, and a good two part solution can be used to keep it steady (I use TLF C-Balance, there are plenty of others). Personally I figure out how much Alk I need to dose daily and then dose equal parts of a two part. So if I need 50ml of Alk dailly I will dose 50ml of part A and 50ml of part B. This will keep Alk stable and calcium at an acceptable level. I test Alk almost daily and calcium once every 2 weeks or so.

And more of just my opinion; I'm not a fan of the Red Sea testing kits. I use the bottle holder and the little jars but I switched to Salifert and am very happy with their line of tests.

Good luck!

 

[Mikenroe]

Markalot, thnx for the advice. I agree with you about stability and with the red sea testing kits. I used to use them for the 3 main reef tests and for the nitrogen cycle tests, however, last week i also bought the Salifert and it is much easier and easier to read. However, I was surprised to find out after i tested that my iodine, potassium, and iron were extremely low, especially when i do weekly water changes using a quality salt mix, red sea coral pro. I just looked up the alk for RSCP and i'm surprised it is that high, 12dkh. I want mine between 8 and 9. What salt do you use? I had read that low potassium can make SPS coral loose tissue or cause receding tissue. Looking at your specs on your tank, looks like you have a nice set up.

 

[markalot]

Markalot, thnx for the advice. I agree with you about stability and with the red sea testing kits. I used to use them for the 3 main reef tests and for the nitrogen cycle tests, however, last week i also bought the Salifert and it is much easier and easier to read. However, I was surprised to find out after i tested that my iodine, potassium, and iron were extremely low, especially when i do weekly water changes using a quality salt mix, red sea coral pro. I just looked up the alk for RSCP and i'm surprised it is that high, 12dkh. I want mine between 8 and 9. What salt do you use? I had read that low potassium can make SPS coral loose tissue or cause receding tissue. Looking at your specs on your tank, looks like you have a nice set up.

I like to use Red Sea Blue Bucket but my back can't handle the large buckets so I by the smaller ones ($$$) and mix with Reef Crystals (buy in a box of smaller bags) to get a KH around 9, then make sure my water changes aren't large enough to move Alk that much. I've heard people talking about RSCP mixing to 14KH so you might want to test it. I think it's fine for more numerous small changes, you can even think of it as dosing to maintains levels, but I prefer a salt that more closely matches what I keep my tank at.