Nitrates going down...browned out SPS turning green?

[M88A2]

M88A2 I like your frags; question though: does that dotty back and fire fish get along?

they get along just fine. i introduced them at the same time and they never really do anything with each other. during the day the firefish is in the water column while the dotty back is in and out of the rockwork. the only problems i have with the dotty back is that i moves sand...alot. there is almost no substrate in the corners. also he was trying to snack on my fire shrimp when i added it, but it was too big/strong and doesnt bother it anymore. i do suspect that he ate my pep shrimps tho.

 

[M88A2]

@M88A2 - Thanks for the pics! How long has it been green?

i noticed the frag turning green about a week ago. the new growth is light green to a light blue while the main body is a light brown

 

[shandy_say]

Nice! Here's to hoping all the sps color back up (aside from green that is...)!

 

[M88A2]

i suppose i should give the whole run down of what happened so everyone can get a better picture. i got that frag in i believe early april. sometime around mid april a hectors goby (btw i didnt add that fish, my bro bought it with out telling me) died in a location i could not see. nitrates shot up from hardly detectable to +25. then a turbo snail kick the bucket and i couldnt see it either (another purchase i was not informed of). I was unable to control the nitrates and they stayed to about 20-30 range. I was also feeding once a day with diy food. I went on vacation in june and my tank had a heater malfunction but i believe it laster 2-3 days (temp as high as 88). 4 corals died along with another turbo, my emerald, and possibly some hermits/nass. snails. nitrates were way above charts. on a side note the lps and radio active dragon eyes got huge. anyway i did intensive water changes first daily, then every 2 days, now im doing every 5 days. i switch to feeding once ever other day. nitrates swing between 8-12ish (testing daily). i suspect the rocks absorbed some and may take a while. that pretty much brings me to where i am today. anyway i dont mean to jack your thread but i am thinking we can use it as a basis for understanding your idea. i'd love to hear how others encountered and progressed with browned out corals as well

 

[shandy_say]

Don't worry about it. We all want to know the reasons for things that happen in our reef tanks.

Do you have a skimmer in your tank? It would help a lot in reducing the chances of nitrates shooting up when something dies. Plus i think you should ask your brother to stop adding stuff without telling you first.

 

[M88A2]

Don't worry about it. We all want to know the reasons for things that happen in our reef tanks.

Do you have a skimmer in your tank? It would help a lot in reducing the chances of nitrates shooting up when something dies. Plus i think you should ask your brother to stop adding stuff without telling you first.

i do have a skimmer and i have since put a "you cant do anything but look at it" ban on him

 

[shandy_say]

hahaha! I hope thats enough to control him! heheh!

 

[M88A2]

well if that doesnt do it, a swift kick in the right location ought to do it

 

[shandy_say]

Hahahah! Cheers to that!:beer:

 

[M88A2]

oh man i just realized ur in the pi, thats where i took my vacation.

 

[shandy_say]

Hope you liked it here! Come back soon!

 

[Paulca916]

I have had the same kind of thing happen to Prostata's /Stag's/ Spongodes / Cali Tort ect...
Some browned out then bleeched white the one's I left in the tank slowly are comming back blow's me away how they can do this.
BTW I don't throw out bleeched coral's anymore

 

[shandy_say]

@paulca916 - when they recovered did they become green first before reverting back to their original colors? Can you provide some pics and details?

 

[Paulca916]

@paulca916 - when they recovered did they become green first before reverting back to their original colors? Can you provide some pics and details?

Yes they started off turning green then slowly back to normal color's
Sorry didn't get pic's of them bleeched or browned out.
Most of them started growing from the tips down not all tip's recovered on the colonies

 

[M88A2]

i only throw out corals when its covered in coraline

 

[shandy_say]

@Paulca916 - How long did it take for them to change from green to their original colors?

 

[Kataro]

Some of my SPS I get are from system that's run on Vodka and VERY low nutrient with either LED or T5.... so imagine going into my system w/ some NO3 and 500W of MH.... I'd say ALOT if not all goes through some weird coloration before recovering.. but never the same

 

[shandy_say]

@kataro - why not go ULNS as well?

 

[Kataro]

I am in the process of doing so. But dont want too low nutrient where I actually have to supplement it back in

 

[shandy_say]

@kataro - its way easier to import nutrients than to export it.