Pink Stylophora bleaching out

[southernstang00]

I tested my water and got the following: 0ppm on amm, N02, N03, ph 8.3, .025 saltinty, temp 79, ca 500ppm, but no test kit for DKH. Lighting is 300w Mh (two 150w pendants on each side) over a 55g, could the Dkh be too low and if so can I use baking soda to raise it and what measurements of mixing it with R/o water?

 

[gflat65]

How long have you had it and how close to the lights is it? Have you moved it lately? If you got it recently, what lighting did it come out of (type and depth)? Ca is a little high. You'll want to check your Alk/dKH, too, as that is one of the leading culprits on SPS.

 

[southernstang00]

I have had it for two months I beleave and it came from vivid so im not sure on what type of lights and depth of tank it it came out of. I started at the bottom and work it up to the top and its been there for a month but now its started to bleach on one side and working its way to the other. I think it is my Dkh and i know you can use baking soda but im not sure how to mix it up, can anyone give me the measurements of mixing the baking soda and how much of the soultion should I add to the tank each day?

 

[gflat65]

For the two part, I use 2.5 cups per gallon of RO. It doesn't dissolve well unless you heat the water a little (and even then it isn't a quick dissolver). I've been dosing by the tablespoon (dry, unmixed baking soda)-putting 4-5 heaping tablespoons in RO aned mixing (seems to mix pretty good) to dose the 125 (heavily SPS) and the 120 (mostly LPS and softies). I dump most of it into the 125 and a little into the 120 (from the same 4-5 tablespoons). Find an Alk Salifert test kit (my favorite for most things), because every tank is going to be different and you don't want to raise the Alk too fast (or too high). Dosing without testing can be a recipe for disaster... Getting the Ca/Alk balance right is tricky initially (at least for me with the heavy SPS load I run in thr 125), so I was testing every other day for weeks until I got it right. Magnesium is another part of the balance you want to test for (still haven't gotten a test kit for that yet...).

 

[southernstang00]

I might add that b4 it started bleaching I was doin a weekly water change of 5g but until I got me no3's down then I went back to doin them biweekly...could that be the problem? Doin them weekly was replishing whatever the coral needed?

 

[gflat65]

That is possible. I know commercial PO4 test kits aren't completely reliable and accurate, but maybe you were reducing PO4, too. If you don;t have a super heavy load, the regular water changes could have been helping keep the alk up. I have to dose on my sps tank, but not as much on the lower consumption tank (LPS and softies, primarily).

 

[southernstang00]

well I posted a thread on marinedepot.com for eric boreman and this is what he said.... http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic63934-9-1.aspx

read the 8th posting