Newbie advice needed on mushroom coral

[GPHowell]

Hi all,

Although I've had freshwater/planted aquaria for a long time, I've recently taken the plunge with a reef set-up.

My mushroom coral is looking a bit sick (white patches with no polyps extended and some dark-brown patches with polyps extended). He's been fine for 2 months but recently began to deteriorate (see pics).

The tank (350 L) is 3 months old, was originally cycled with Denitrol and has been stable (from a chemistry perspective) for a while now. I've been changing ~50L of water every 10 days using RO water and "Salinity" salt. I haven't been adding any extra minerals for the coral since I currently only have 3 fish and 3 corals; here are some of the details:

Temp 25.5°C
pH 8.2-8.5 (varies during day/night)
NO3 <0.5ppm
PO4 <0.25ppm (my test kit isn't very good and I don't have a more precise value)
NO2 = 0
NH3= 0
Mg=1160 ppm
Ca=440 ppm.

I have about 90W of T5s and a mixture of white and blue aquaray LEDs. I'm currently running two external filters (no sump or skimmer) containing various media including PO4/NO3 remover, carbon. I also have a UV steriliser fitted and a Koralia powerhead to provide extra flow. That's about all the info I can think of!

Any advice appreciated. I understand that mushrooms are supposedly very hardy and the best advice may be to do nothing!

Thanks

G

 

[discocarp]

That is a toadstool leather not a mushroom.

It is hard to tell from the picture, but it doesn't look like your coral is dying to me although white coloration can precede rotting on a leather so that's a little concerning. Leathers are temperamental and sometimes will close up entirely for weeks at a time, frequently before shedding their skin, although yours is still showing polyp extension (a good sign although they close up when they're perfectly healthy too). Is it just closing up, or is the coral (not the polyps) rotting away at the portions that don't show polyp extension?

Also you should be testing Alkalinity too. It was missing from your param list.

 

[GPHowell]

Ha! Shows what a novice I am...

Doesn't appear to be anything rotting away but it used to be a uniform beige/pink colour with full polyp extension each photo-period; now it's patchy with visible white/black areas.

I tested alkalinity about 10 days ago. If memory serves correctly, it was 7 or 8... does that sound about right?

 

[rfalvey89]

can you elaborate on " Salinity " Salt?

 

[Andy_B]

can you elaborate on " Salinity " Salt?

I assume it is this http://************.com/2010/01/06/seachems-aquavitro-salinity-salt/

I have just bought a bucket to try (on the advice from my LFS, who I actually trust!). Only done one w/c with it but seems OK so far! Mixed well with little residue.

 

[Andy_B]

Oh... can't post the weblink. Google "SeaChem’s Aquavitro Salinity" and you will see what I mean!

 

[discocarp]

I think your best course of action right now is to do nothing to the leather. If it looks like its starting to rot, post again in this thread and we can take more drastic measures like cutting, but right now I wouldn't mess with it.

Your alkalinity sounds a little low, but you didn't give a very precise measurement. You might retest that to confirm the reading and then bring it up a bit.

 

[GPHowell]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Salinity salt by Aquavitro is correct. It came recommended by my LFS (very good one in the UK). It´s a synthetic composition rather than made from evaporated sea water.

I´ve tested my dKH again tonight and have a reading of approx 8 (2.9 mEq) so it could be a little low, I guess.

I can start adding NaHCO3 to my RO when doing water changes (50L per time); is there a way to calculate how much to add or is it empirical/guess work?