Corals are lame

[rininger85]

bleaching = too much light, not too little. You'd see corals browning up from adding more zooxanthellae if there was not enough light. Bleaching is the coral expelling zooxanthellae.

What are you using for testing your s.g.? I had terrible issues trying to keep any corals alive while using a swing arm hydrometer, after buying and calibrating a refractometer I found my s.g. was much higher than what the swing arm said it was. Once I fixed that everything started looking a lot better and started growing.

 

[Simon Garratt]

Bleaching isn't just a reaction to too much light. Zooxanthallae are no different to any other organism containing chlorophyll, if they don't get enough energy to reproduce and repair the photo mechanism on an ongoing basis the population dies back and the coral turns white along a standard reduction in pigmentation.

Agreed that under light levels that are just below the ideal threshold for the coral and with suitable nutrient availability the coral will 'allow" the zooxanthallai population to expand as a means of compensation But this process can only happen if the zooxanthallae are reaching the compensation point in terms of incoming energy vs expenditure... Drop below that point and your population dies back becouse it isn't recieving enough energy to allow even reproduction...

Kind regards

 

[rhdoug]

Are you using RO/DI water?

 

[KorD]

I am in the same boat as you with a few different types of corals.. I can house only softies without die off.
I was talking to a few friends that are near me and also have tanks.. they said my water is "too clean".
I let the water dirty up a little and noticed things are starting to come back better and also grow. I turned my skimmer down some, added pods, and over fed once or twice.

 

[Syrandy 36]

I'm using a dionizer filter for my water changes. I'll let things ride for a while and see how it goes. I'll throw away my swing arm hydrometer and grab a refractometer. See how off I am. What does everyone suggest for s.g?

 

[ReeferRookie]

Corals are sensitive RESEARCH yoy might be doing everything right but just. Missing something. Do you dose at all ? If not thats fine i dont. But 5 hrs of light only ? Thats a little less then needed. Most corals needs upwards to 8 + hours

 

[Kennyb1]

First of all.. Unless he's using a single .5 watt led then he probably has enough light to grow corals. The fact of the matter here isn't the lack of lighting its a combination of parameters. Corals are feeders first and photosynthetic second. Its totally possible that his tank doesn't have stable enough parameters because of the large water changes to keep the corals happy. Not only that corals love food, phosphate even its required for photosynthesis they just don't like to bathe in it because theyve never had to build up the ability to process it in large amounts in the wild. They'll get most of what they need from they're food. They don't need a nitrate bathe they just need to be fed. If that's the problem. The calcium magnesium and alk are all a little high but if the parameters are stable everything should be fine. Was the tank or gravel used? Has any copper ever been used in the system? What's the TDs on the r.o. meter reading? Also what's in the salt mix that's currently being used?

 

[barereef]

Photosynthesis is definitely the primary energy source for corals. Supplemental feeding and dissolved organic matter are secondary, respectively. What fish are you keeping? any hermits? That softie looks like something may be taking a bite.

+1 on longer photo period

 

[Kennyb1]

I agree on the longer photoperiod but photosynthesis is not the primary energy source of corals. They're heterotrophs not autotrophs. Symbiotic algae is the autotrophic part of the coral. Hence browning out in less than optimal lighting conditions.

 

[Kennyb1]

4 bulb t5 even with old bulbs should be more than enough light to grow on the way up to sps

 

[barereef]

polytrophic. They derive the majority of their energy from photosynthesis. Yes, indirectly from zooxanthellae. But none the less from photosynthesis. Unless you are speaking of azooxanthellate corals.

 

[DrTerro]

Lot's of great information here. Personally with such a lightly stocked tank, remove the carbon. You don't need to run all the time for your given set up and occupants. Next your water changes. That's something you have to toy with. But if you are dosing then this will change also how you do water changes. 25 gallon is a lot for this size tank. I personally don't think the light is effecting this tank so much. But I am all for the ATI bulbs, scrap the white. I am not familiar with the filters you are using. Do they have UV in them? This could also be a little problem being the tank is not fully stocked and busting out. Good luck

 

[Reef Rover]

I agree with the lighting comments. If you really are Nitrate 0 and Phosphate 0 then your tank is basically sterile. Fish will love it but corals will starve. Also if your Salinity is 1.024 on a swing arm you are probably higher or lower then that depending on your hydrometer. I run my tank at as close to NSW as I can get so I run around the 1.025 range. I personnaly cant stand API test kits for reef aquariums due to me not being able to tell the difference between the levels. 5 looks like 20 to me. How often do you feed your fish, If you feed once or twice a day then dont do a water change until your Nitrates get to sayyyyyy around 5 on an API and your Phosphates get to .03 or .04 (This is a rough guess, your corals will tell you what they like). and then only do smaller water changes. I cant remember how the API kit is graduated.

I was running a bio-pellet reactor once and it zeroed everything out and my corals started looking really bad. I let the Nitrate and Phosphate climb a bit and everything started looking much better. Now I just dose Lanthanum for Phosphate control.

 

[Kennyb1]

Haha your right I know when I've said something stupid

polytrophic. They derive the majority of their energy from photosynthesis. Yes, indirectly from zooxanthellae. But none the less from photosynthesis. Unless you are speaking of azooxanthellate corals.

 

[Syrandy 36]

Wow. The information I've gotten is amazing. Thanks so much everyone. My game plan is to get a refractometer and toss the swing arm hydrometer. Let my tank sit for a while and see how that works. I'll keep everyone posted.