toxins from mushrooms

[morphlingman]

My 120 gallon with 150 lbs of live rock & 2" sand bed tank has been up and running for 4 years now. Recently I have noticed one of my staghorn Acros has been bleaching in spots but has growth and good polyp extension. Another Acro (unknown kind) has been losing some colour (more overall) and has very poor polyp extension. Also many of my zooanthids have been dying off. Everything else seems fine (Fish, Clams, Other soft & hard corals). I have many mushrooms reproducing over the past 4 years (mostly in rear of tank, hard to see from picture). I know they sting when touching other corals. But do they also release toxins or hormones that have detrimental effects on other corals. By having so many mushrooms in my tank, could this be the cause of my problems?

I have excellent water conditions, with regular maintenance.
All parameters are very good. Alk is little high at 14-15 gdh

My only downfall could be an inadequete protein skimmer, but I try to make up for this with large water changes (25-30%) every two weeks.

Lighting Halides : 2 x 250 watt (14000 K aquaconnects) & 1 150 watt (20,000 K Geisman).
Current is a little over 6000 gallons per hour in turnover.

I can never seem to get my pictures on my post, you have to go to my gallery.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, Thank You.

 

[aquarius77]

To me, honestly, it looks like its getting so much light that its either growing and the white is new growth OR its bleaching from too much light.

Its growing out of the water, it has got to be taking massive light. How many hours a day do you run them?

 

[morphlingman]

The center 150 watt 20,000 K Geismen is on for 14 hrs and the the 2 outer 250 watt 14,000 K Aquaconnects are on for 11 hrs. Giving 1 1/2 hrs sunrise and sunset.

Too much light would not explain why the lower Acro is not doing well and why the zooanthids are dying off.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

But do they also release toxins or hormones that have detrimental effects on other corals. By having so many mushrooms in my tank, could this be the cause of my problems?

Not enough to be detrimental. Especially with your water chages and any carbon you might run. They produce very little chemicals, and are often released on being disturbed. The biggest worry is definitely the sting.

Now, as far as the Acro goes, I would lay money down that it is a water quality or equipment problem. What are your other water parameters? "Excellent" means nothing to me. Sorry. Also, how old are the bulbs?

 

[aquarius77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11088215#post11088215 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by morphlingman
The center 150 watt 20,000 K Geismen is on for 14 hrs and the the 2 outer 250 watt 14,000 K Aquaconnects are on for 11 hrs. Giving 1 1/2 hrs sunrise and sunset.

Too much light would not explain why the lower Acro is not doing well and why the zooanthids are dying off.

14 hours is an insane ammount of light, a super long photoperiod.


"Too much light would not explain why the lower Acro is not doing well and why the zooanthids are dying off"

Really? Have you never heard of photoinhabition? After a certain point corals can not process anymore light and it is actually detrimental to the health of the coral.

If you arent going to take suggestions and look into them then why ask for help?

 

[morphlingman]

I absolutely listen to all info and advice I am given, and I also appreciate it.

My bulbs are 7 months old and I replace them every 12 months.

MY WATER PARAMETERS
Calcium : 410 ppm
Magnesium : 1100 ppm (a little low)
KH : 14-15 gdh (a little high)
Ammonia : undetetable
Phosphate : 0.02 (tested with a refractometer)
Specific Gravity : 1.025
Temp : 79-80 degrees

Yes 14 hrs is along light period, but in Nature summer sunrise can start as early as 6:00-6:30'ish and sunset is a as late as 9:00-9:30'ish which is a 15 hr light period or even more. Since most aquarists try to simulate Nature as much as possible, I thought a long light period would be OK. I will take your information and apply it. What light period would you reccommend.

 

[aquarius77]

Somewhere in between 6 and 10 hours, you should see how your tank reacts and not all tanks will do best with the same photoperiod. I run mine for 9 hours. Im not saying light is the exact cause of what your seeing but it might be worth a try, 14 hours is huge in a tank under artifical light.

How long have you been running your alk that high? Alk swings can hurt the sps similar to what your stag is showing.

 

[morphlingman]

I just tested my Alk & Cal. They are as follows:
Alk = 10 gdh
Cal = 360 ppm

It has been difficult for me to get my reactor adjusted properly. I was told to reduce the CO2 bubbles and increase the affluent (mixture out) to increase the Cal. Is this correct?

The following are my test results for the year.

Oct 31, 07 Alk = 10 gdh Cal = 360 ppm
Oct 8, 07 Alk = 14 gdh Cal = 410 ppm
Sep 25, 07 Alk = 16 gdh Cal = 380 ppm
Sep 9, 07 Alk = ? Cal = 390 ppm
Aug 30, 07 Alk = 14 gdh Cal = 385 ppm
July 16, 07 Alk = ? Cal = 375 ppm
Jun 16, 07 Alk = ? Cal = 360 ppm
Feb 17, 07 Alk = 9 gdh Cal = 380 ppm
Jan 27, 07 Alk = ? Cal = 400 ppm
Jan 2, 07 Alk = ? Cal = 390 ppm (date I added my reactor), used B-Ionic before.

 

[aquarius77]

I have never used a reactor. try this link for help.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/reactor.html


I would bet your problems are related with trying to dial in your reactor, they can send ph and alk swinging wildly when not tuned properly.