Tissue death from base up

[BriGuy31+]

I have read some threads on here but I am still worried that I don't know the cause of my problem. Tissue death on three of my frags/colonies. These corals have been with me for a while now. The smallest frag pictures only a few months but the others at least a year and a half. The purple monster tissue death progression seems to have stopped and even seems to be healing so I thought it was some light issue(i.e-laying on it's side and blocking the light). Now my Blue Hoeki has went downhill pretty fast. I would say within a week or maybe two at the most. I just added a phosphate reactor and carbon about three weeks ago. I had some hair algae issues. I used the recommended amounts from BFS. Do you think the phosphates dropped too quickly? I don't test for everything, but here is what I do test for:
Alk-9.6
Cal.-410
Sal.-1.026
Mag 1300

I have a 50g cube. MP20 at about 80% and AquaIlluminations LED that has been in use for about 3 months. Overall most of my other SPS has shown decreased polyp extension. I am trying to give as much info as possible but I know that isn't saying too much. Here are some pictures to help. I hope that somebody can help me. I have already written off the Blue Hoeki, should I just remove it from the tank? I have kept it it help DX the issue. I have coralRX that I could dip with if you guys think that would help. I'm not sure if my problem is a parasite(none seen,yet), chemical, or environmental. Please help me out if you can. Thank you.

 

[teesquare]

You may want to look at the corals with a magnifying glass, to see if you may have any pests. There are kinds of planaria and even a tiny 'pod ( flatworms, acro eating flatworms, and "redbugs") tha may be the culprit. Do a thread search for acro eating flatworms, and look at some of the macro photos.

Hope this helps, I definitely understand your frustration.

T

 

[Kolognekoral]

In my experience, this kind of tissue necrosis is connected to a nutrient spike, most often PO4. Are you testing for this?

Also, I would check the potassium levels. This is a newer parameter to monitor, but is very important to many marine animals, including corals.

In general, your Alk is a bit high, should be around 7-8kh, not higher, and the calcium and magnesium are a bit low. What salt are you using? Keeping these parameters in line and stable is extremely important for good, healthy coral growth. If that frag is in the tank for a couple of months with literally no growth, then something is not optimal.

I don't think you have parasites.

 

[Logzor]

This is classic tissue necrosis. I think the added phosban may be to blame. I have seen this type of necrosis when phosban is ran too heavily.

IMO your parameters are for the most part spot on. Some people like to run their dkh higher, which is fine in most cases (excluding ULNS). I run mine in just about the same range.

 

[BriGuy31+]

In my experience, this kind of tissue necrosis is connected to a nutrient spike, most often PO4. Are you testing for this?

Also, I would check the potassium levels. This is a newer parameter to monitor, but is very important to many marine animals, including corals.

In general, your Alk is a bit high, should be around 7-8kh, not higher, and the calcium and magnesium are a bit low. What salt are you using? Keeping these parameters in line and stable is extremely important for good, healthy coral growth. If that frag is in the tank for a couple of months with literally no growth, then something is not optimal.

I don't think you have parasites.

I do not test for PO4, but I plan on getting a meter very soon. I started to use GFO about 3 weeks ago, so I'd imagine that the phosphates have dropped. I was getting a slight hair algae issue and I have seen improvement. Although, it's not completely gone yet. I dose a two part system daily. I manual does these and I might get some dosing pump in a few months. I was aiming for a Alk level of 9-10. I take it that is too high? I use reef crystal salt.

 

[BriGuy31+]

This is classic tissue necrosis. I think the added phosban may be to blame. I have seen this type of necrosis when phosban is ran too heavily.

IMO your parameters are for the most part spot on. Some people like to run their dkh higher, which is fine in most cases (excluding ULNS). I run mine in just about the same range.

Thank you for the response for everybody. I have turned off my phosphate reactor and plan on removing half of the granular GFO. I started with the recommended dose from bulk reef supply of 0.78 cups. If I remember I was conservative with this number because of issues I've heard with PO4 dropping too quickly. I suppose that I wasn't conservative enough.

 

[Kolognekoral]

You are asking for problems with too high of an alk and it doesn't make the corals grow faster! It's your choice, of course, but a stable 7-8dkh is optimum, IMO.

Could well be the GFO has pushed the PO4 level down, maybe too fast. This can starve the corals. All changes, even to better conditions, should be gradual.

I've not use Reef Crystals in years, so I can't comment on it having been improved. I didn't like it and changed over to H2Ocean and Tropic Marin, but the later does have a too high alk. You want a salt that mimics NSW. There are quite a few. Avoid those that do not list their parameters on the container! Also, check for yourself with a sample.

Checking phosphates is one of the most important parameters for the sps keeper. NO3 is generally less of a problem, but still should be tested for. Also, I test for potassium, which many sps require. If one uses a salt mix with NSW levels of potassium and does a 5% change per week, there should be no problems. I even used 2-3 different salt brands to assure getting as many trace elements as possible. Mind you, potassium is not a TRACE element, it is the 4th most common ion in salt water, after sodium, chlorine and calcium.

 

[BriGuy31+]

Kolognekoral- Which test kit do you use for K? I plan on buying this Hanna phosphate meter. Do you guys think this is a cost effective way to get the best results?

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/hanna-checker-phosphate-po4-colorimeter.html

 

[Kolognekoral]

For PO4 I use a kit from Macherney-Nagel, which is similar to the one from Rowa. I don't know this new one from Hanna, although it is made in Germany! The company is tops, so I would try it. If it makes things easier, that is great.

For potassium I use the one from Korallen-Zucht, but there is one from UltraMarin as well. They are both difficult to read, however. Let's hope a better test kit can be developed for the future.

 

[clowndude]

I have the same issue. I started feeding coral frenzy two days ago and it seems like my sps are starting to show signs of polyps extension again. Do you feed your sps? My sps have spots and patches just like the ones in your pictures. I'm curious to see what the fix is.

 

[BriGuy31+]

Thank you everybody for helping my DX this issue. I received my Hanna Checker today. My phosphates tested at 0.05. I know zero is the best number but what is there to say about this number? Keep in mind that I AM running a reactor. I am surprised that this number is not lower. I will test again tonight to confirm.

I have about 15 large frags and some that could be considered a colony. I guess per square inch that may be a lot with a 24x24x20" cube.

I dipped the Hoeki. All I noticed was two worm looking things. It was not an AEFW because I've seen them before. This was exactly like a sewing thread and light red in color. It was about 3mm or so. It was so small that I couldn't get a good picture.