yellow porites dying?

[dingodan87]

i have now twice bought yellow porites colonies from my LFS and they do great for a couple weeks and then seem to glaze over, almost like theres a coating of slime. not dead but zero polyp extension, algae starts to grow on the tips a bit and stn on the base of some of them. At one point they all seemed to come back to life but that only lasted a few days. i wish i knew what was different about my tank those few days but i have no idea. all my other montipora, lps and softies are thriving. its just the porites i struggle with. i thought 0 nitrate was the problem so i brought it up to 1ppm...didnt help...now im considering my alk is too high (11 dkh) compared to their tank in the LFS (8 dkh). ive stopped dosing 3 part to let it come down to 9.5 and see if that helps, but im worried that if thats not the issue itll just stress them out even more. anyone have experience with these corals?? even the other porites rock ive had for 2 years is suddenly looking worse. i feed lots but have an ats, skimmer on 6hrs a night, and diy bacteria reactor that keeps my po4 and nitrate at 0ppm (i dosed nitrate to bring it up to 1ppm)

 

[dingodan87]

also i have them in a few different spots all with what i consider high light and flow. 90g tank with 1 gyre 150, 1 gyre 130, and 1 mp40, lit with a kessil ap700 @ 30% and 4 retofit t5s

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Any fish that could be irritating them? I have two angelfish and although acropora and montipora are safe, for whatever reason porites will get nipped/eaten.


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[pisanoal]

Any other sps? Seems to me, high alk and low nutrients is the first place I'd look, so I think you are already on the right track.

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[dingodan87]

not to my knowledge but i have noticed my lawnmower blenny eat the algae that starts to grow on the tips

 

[dingodan87]

Any other sps? Seems to me, high alk and low nutrients is the first place I'd look, so I think you are already on the right track.

yes i have a few montipora that are all doing well. that was my thought as well but since increasing nitrate to 1 ppm the porites only seem to be getting worse. i am in the process of lowering alkalinity. its currently at 10 dkh

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I had yellow porites in the past and found them indestructible. They need a LOT of flow and very bright illumination to retain their yellow colour. I kept them in fairly high nutrient conditions and stable alkalinity at around 8.4 dKH.