Pale corals, low growth rates???

Well, to some extent one must be patient. It takes most corals weeks to months (up to 9 months for some corals in the field) to recover from bleaching. Feeding, strong water flow and moderate lighting are the most important things right now. Otherwise keeping the environment as healthy as possible will go a long way. It will simply take some time. Also, I might turn the skimmer off a little each day, especially after feeding. It will help speed recovery.

Also, any updated pics? It's always easier to talk about things like this with pictures I'd say.

Chris
 
MCsaxmaster,
Thanks for your reply, sorry it's been so long. I've still got problems despite reducing the light intensity.

I have add a few corals frags, acros, milli...acclimited very slowly and only position half way up. The corals within 1 week have started to pale....it cannot be the light.

I have measured nitrate and phosphate which do measure 0 but the levels must exist at a constant rate as I do have annoying algae growing.

My question is this.....
I have quite a bit of the rigid green algae growing and some valonia.....my tank is a bit greener than what I'd like it to be...the front glass needs cleaning every day. Would this algae be the cause of my pale corals and lack of PE, competing with the symbiotic algae?I find it hard to belive the tank could be poor in nutrients with troublesome algae growing or are they responsible for zapping up the excess?

I feel I am in a catch 22.

Any comments suggestions from anyone would be verymuch appreciated.
 
Hmmm, it does sound like inorganic nutrients are quite available. Often in our tanks there is so much competition and herbivory that many nuisanse algae can have a tough time growing as prolifically as they would in nature given certain nutrient levels. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations that are the lowest detectable level on a hobbyist test kit, for instance, rarely occur in nature and usually only in areas of upwelling or severe pollution (raw sewage).

I would likely do a series of water changes, but check the TDS of your source water to ensure that you're starting with very pure water. I'd also check the nitrate and phosphate of a new batch of seawater, to make sure nothing is decomposing in the vat (sometimes just dust is enough) and influencing your input water. I'd also get your skimmer performing as well as you can--clean it daily for best results. I'd use a hefty amount of activated carbon. This carbon will remove many dissolved organic substances which can decompose into inorganic nutrients and fuel more algae. Lastly, I'd manually harvest algae from the tank as a means of nutrient export. Don't overfeed your fish during this time, but certainly don't starve them. Starving them (so often recommended) is a really terrible way to try to reduce nutrient levels, and isn't particularly effective anyway. It's better to do an extra 10% of the tank's volume water exchange than to starve ones fish IME.

Could we also see some new photos of the old corals and some photos of the new corals as well as perhaps a few tanks shots? A picture is worth 1000 words, often times.

Chris
 
I have quite a bit of the rigid green algae growing and some valonia.....

By rigid algae you mean like ummm (Oh whats the stuff that everybody puts in their sump... Not Chaeto the other stuff. The leafy stuff) Anyways I just read on here were a guy was yanking out a bunch of that stuff from his tank and in the process released a ton of toxins into his tank from the stuff. Some of those can be toxic.. I'd imagine if your manually removing this stuff on a regular basis you could be releasing these toxins and stressing your sps.

Just a guess but I have heard this several times before.


Razor CALEURPA THATS IT!!! :D
 
Thanks guys, great advice MCsaxmaster,

No it's not a refugia type Macro algae, it has a tough footing is about 1" long 1-2mm stems, not leaf like but bristley. I will up water changes, increase carbon, reduce feedings to a ration level closely monitoring my fish.

So in all of you opinions would the excess nutrients or the lack of due to the algae consuming them cause pale corals?

Lee
 
Doubtful, but it might slow recovery significantly. If you're seeing that much algal growth there are plenty of dissolved nutrients (presumably). Particulate would still be useful to the corals and not directly useful to the algae, so that is still worth trying. Certainly don't stop feeding or underfeed the tank in an attempt to control algae, but don't shoot yourself in the foot by greatly overfeeding either.

Chris
 
Ok,
I'm charging my batteries up so I can post some pics soon.

Recovery is one thing but why would some of the new coral frags pale and have no polyp extension? I really am at a loss here.

Just to update on my current chemistry readings.

Nitrate unreadable
Phosphate unreadable
Calcium 440ppm
Alk 9.6Dkh
Magnesium 1450
silicate 0
salinity 1.026
temperature 26c less than 1c swing now
water changes currently 25 gallons every 2 weeks
skimmer deltec ap851..now with 50mg ozone
2 cups of kent marine carbon
The ro di unit is at around 4ppm tds

Never had these problem with my old tank , it was great just got too small...It didn't shrink when it got wet I mean the corals out grew it....fat chance of that happening at the moment in the current tank.
 
Are you using the really low region phosphate testkit from Deltec? If so then your phosphates are most likely too low. All living things need phosphorus to live so this could be the problem.

Ive heard of this happening to someone before. Also, do you use phosphate binders?
 
I find it very hard to beleive I could have micro and macro algal growth in an aquarium and yet still could not support acropora species through lack of phosphate from low phosphate regions..much less than 0.01ppm? I don't know?

The test kit is the high sensitivity kit yes.
 
Ok, covinced now that there is a lack of something..perhaps iron, amino acids... Not sure on the correct format to post pics but here you go, they actually look a bit more pale than they actually are but still you can see the issues. From reading various other posts and other materials...zeovit site...it seems that the tips and trunks of these corals are the first to suffer when there is a lack of available nutrients..e.g. iron. My skimmer 'deltec ap850' is a superb skimmer yet it finds it hard to find much to skim in this tank.

coral1.jpg


coral2.jpg


coral3.jpg


coral4.jpg


coral5.jpg
 
How long has this been going on for you? It is a slow gradual process for you? I assume you haven't had any temp swings or other bleaching events.

This is the exact same problem I have in my tank! My LPS even look bleached like yours.

PE is good, but most new frags gradually lose color. I don't "feed" the corals much, but I stir the shallow sandbed every few days.

It looks like pictures from a nutrient-starved BB tank. My numbers test at 0, but like you I have bit of cyano/algae growth. I am at my wits end!

:confused:

hope I'm not hijacking
 
Last edited:
shelburn61,

Perhaps we try and sort this one together then;)

I am also posting in the reef Chemistry forum.

Here's the thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=6887408#post6887408

"hope I'm not hijacking" - course not, two brains trying to find the answer is going to be better than one. pm me on your set-up with all details. We could have a different problem but it may as well be one and the same for the time being.

"It looks like pictures from a nutrient-starved BB tank" - my thoughts exactly.

I have o cyano, just a bit of micro and macro.

No temperature swings, no bleaching events-that I know of remembering that even newly aquired corals are going pale.

With the brains and experience of fellow rc members I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this.
 
I have a similar problem but on a smaller scale.

Are you both running BB? I think it is the low nutrient thing. I cant handle overfeeding my tank.
 
I'm not running bare bottom no, and shelburn61 mentions stirring a shallow sand bed. I think lack of nutrients may be a problem..my water is always christal clear and blue. Wahat about yours shelburn61?

The process of paling takes about 2 weeks, 4 weeks really quite pale.

When I use polyfilters or lots of carbon or a bit of ozone the corals get even paler. Literally within a few days it worsens.
Do you find this shelburn61?
 
How is your magnesium level?

Have you tried running without the Rowaphos, or on a reduced quantity in your reactor?

I've seen loss of SPS coloration associated with both of these issues.
 
icheesman, your problem sounds more extreme than mine.

Highlander, my mag levels are about 1350 and I dont run rowaphos.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6891716#post6891716 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drock59
icheesman, your problem sounds more extreme than mine.

Highlander, my mag levels are about 1350 and I dont run rowaphos.

drock59,
My questions were really for lcheesman, as related to the original parametric / system information he posted.

How much are you skimming, I've also seen the issue with over skimming?
 
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