All Euphyllia looking bad

wiggitywade

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All of my Euphyllia is looking pretty bad. I have 2 torches, 1 hammer, and 1 frogspawn that are all slowly but consistently deteriorating and I'm not sure why. (Ricordea are also struggling). Tank is 6 months old and I just went 3-4 weeks without a water change to deal with heavy dinos that are now gone. One water change 10% since then.

Stock- 2 clowns
10 assorted snails
1 conch
GSP, Zoas, Lord's, Mushrooms, Blastos and the previously mentioned Euphyllia

Feeding daily 1-2x's a mix of Reef Roids, Oyster Feast, Roe, Arctipods, Reef frenzy and BRS reef chili

System- Reefer 170 34g DT/ 9g Sump
running protein skimmer and gfo 24/7
dosing Tropic Marin all for reef daily 11ML with doser over 8 hours
AI Hydra 32- 6 1/2 hours full light + 1hr ramp up and 1hr only blues at night. Can attach pic of light schedule if needed.
2 AI Nero 3's 970/860 GPH. 20% power during day and 50-70% at night for 8hrs

Parameters- Salinity:1.026(refractometer)
phosphate- 0.13(Hanna)
ALK- 9.6(hanna)
Red Sea tests for rest of parameters
pH-8.2
nitrate and nitrite-0
Ca-420
Mg-1400
ammonia- between 0-0.2 I realize 0 is what it should be so I'm mixing water as I post to do a 20% water change and will do another 20% tomorrow. This is the only thing I can think of that is causing the issue. Other than that, I'm at a loss. Attached is pics under white light. Please help!

PXL_20211025_010456140.jpg PXL_20211025_010440129.jpg PXL_20211025_010328104.jpg PXL_20211025_010423596.jpg Screenshot_20211024-203144.png Screenshot_20211024-203133.png Screenshot_20211024-203117.png Screenshot_20211024-203123.png Screenshot_20211024-203058.png
 
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vetteguy53081

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elevate them off the sand bed as sand can irritate them and also the lowest part of tank will have lower PAR anf low in which they need sufficient light for production of zooxanthellae. Euphyllia are Not good starter coral if this is the case.
Its more recession than dying in your pics. What is age of your tank ?
There a few things to know when it comes to any euphyllia care. Lighting and water flow very important when it comes to recession and polyp bailout.
I asked about age of tank because hammerand euphyllia require STABLE conditions. New tanks are subject to swings. One of them is calcium. If low or unstable, rarely will euphyllia survive. Location also important. If lights too bright or too dim- they will suffer. Loaction as far as flow is also important. Too much flow will destroy them over time. The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.
Hammer is Not a starter coral and is a moderately challenging species to care for. The large and delicate polyps have a need for stable water parameters, moderate water flow, regular feedings, and the need to test for and maintain calcium levels above 400ppm which puts these great corals in the category of moderate care level.
 
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wiggitywade

wiggitywade

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They all look relatively new. How long have you had them and have they looked better in your tank at some point?
the hammer is from 7/2, frogspawn 8/16 and torch 8/19. they have all looked better in the past. the torch has had the fastest decline as evidenced with the dates. i did see the torch expel zooxanthellae a couple weeks ago and lights were reduced 20% after that. its the most expensive coral so it gets special attention haha
 

Glenner’sreef

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Also you’re counting on your salt brand to make up your parameters including trace elements. This is actually good because like mentioned earlier newer tanks can have parameter swings. But a more occasional water change for the first 3-6-9 months could only help with stability. Then shift your focus to other possible causes.
 

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Dose brightwell neonitrate to get your number up to 5 to 10ppm.
Be VERY careful dosing this you don’t wanna put too much in and knock your nutrients out of whack. To much you can end up getting cyano and zeroing out phosphates which leads to dinos
 
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wiggitywade

wiggitywade

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Be VERY careful dosing this you don’t wanna put too much in and knock your nutrients out of whack. To much you can end up getting cyano and zeroing out phosphates which leads to dinos
Ill be sure to take care in dosing it low and slow. I already have a small amount of cyano in the tank so I'll take extra precaution. If it can reduce phosphates I assume it would be best to stop running GFO while dosing along with frequent testing?
 
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wiggitywade

wiggitywade

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elevate them off the sand bed as sand can irritate them and also the lowest part of tank will have lower PAR anf low in which they need sufficient light for production of zooxanthellae. Euphyllia are Not good starter coral if this is the case.
Its more recession than dying in your pics. What is age of your tank ?
There a few things to know when it comes to any euphyllia care. Lighting and water flow very important when it comes to recession and polyp bailout.
I asked about age of tank because hammerand euphyllia require STABLE conditions. New tanks are subject to swings. One of them is calcium. If low or unstable, rarely will euphyllia survive. Location also important. If lights too bright or too dim- they will suffer. Loaction as far as flow is also important. Too much flow will destroy them over time. The polyps should sway in the current, but not sustain so much pressure they are constantly bent over their skeleton. Too much flow will tear the polyps (worst case) and cause the polyps do not extend in the first place (best case). So, don’t give them too much flow.
Hammer is Not a starter coral and is a moderately challenging species to care for. The large and delicate polyps have a need for stable water parameters, moderate water flow, regular feedings, and the need to test for and maintain calcium levels above 400ppm which puts these great corals in the category of moderate care level.
I put them on the sand bed due to bleaching when placed higher and the zooxanthellae I saw it spitting out. I don't have a PAR meter so unfortunately I have been monitoring the corals for bleaching/burning/browning. I'm aware of the water/flow/light requirements of keeping these corals. I test and keep a log so I know my parameters are stable. I have done all of the basics and am looking for any specific thoughts on what could be causing the recession. The consensus so far is nitrates being zero. It has been a long slow recession for the poor little guys and I don't want to let them die
 

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Ill be sure to take care in dosing it low and slow. I already have a small amount of cyano in the tank so I'll take extra precaution. If it can reduce phosphates I assume it would be best to stop running GFO while dosing along with frequent testing?
It only does that if you dose to much you can also get more fish. And maybe feed some pellets so we can raise nitrates I seen you had reef roids in your current food in my experience reef roids raid P04. Before dosing I would recommend feeding more.
 

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I put them on the sand bed due to bleaching when placed higher and the zooxanthellae I saw it spitting out. I don't have a PAR meter so unfortunately I have been monitoring the corals for bleaching/burning/browning. I'm aware of the water/flow/light requirements of keeping these corals. I test and keep a log so I know my parameters are stable. I have done all of the basics and am looking for any specific thoughts on what could be causing the recession. The consensus so far is nitrates being zero. It has been a long slow recession for the poor little guys and I don't want to let them die
What size is your tank and what light do you have ?
 

vetteguy53081

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I put them on the sand bed due to bleaching when placed higher and the zooxanthellae I saw it spitting out. I don't have a PAR meter so unfortunately I have been monitoring the corals for bleaching/burning/browning. I'm aware of the water/flow/light requirements of keeping these corals. I test and keep a log so I know my parameters are stable. I have done all of the basics and am looking for any specific thoughts on what could be causing the recession. The consensus so far is nitrates being zero. It has been a long slow recession for the poor little guys and I don't want to let them die
Lower than light intensity in lieu of placement in sand
What test kits are you using?
 
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wiggitywade

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Lower than light intensity in lieu of placement in sand
What test kits are you using?
I lowered the lighting as well about 20%. Ill find a new home for them but after losing the zooxanthellae and more skeleton exposed I was worried they would be even more sensitive to too much light.

Parameters- Salinity:1.026(refractometer)
phosphate- 0.13(Hanna)
ALK- 9.6(hanna)
Red Sea tests for rest of parameters
pH-8.2
nitrate and nitrite-0
Ca-420
Mg-1400
ammonia- between 0-0.2
 
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wiggitywade

wiggitywade

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What size is your tank and what light do you have ?
After losing the zooxanthellae I lowered the lighting about 20% and placed them on the sandbed. It has seemed to have no effect since then roughly 2 weeks ago. No visible change of color, bleaching or browning.

System- Reefer 170 34g DT/ 9g Sump
running protein skimmer and gfo 24/7
dosing Tropic Marin all for reef daily 11ML with doser over 8 hours
AI Hydra 32- 6 1/2 hours full light + 1hr ramp up and 1hr only blues at night. Can attach pic of light schedule if needed.
2 AI Nero 3's 970/860 GPH. 20% power during day and 50-70% at night for 8hrs
 

vetteguy53081

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After losing the zooxanthellae I lowered the lighting about 20% and placed them on the sandbed. It has seemed to have no effect since then roughly 2 weeks ago. No visible change of color, bleaching or browning.

System- Reefer 170 34g DT/ 9g Sump
running protein skimmer and gfo 24/7
dosing Tropic Marin all for reef daily 11ML with doser over 8 hours
AI Hydra 32- 6 1/2 hours full light + 1hr ramp up and 1hr only blues at night. Can attach pic of light schedule if needed.
2 AI Nero 3's 970/860 GPH. 20% power during day and 50-70% at night for 8hrs
You want at least 10 hours of light
Mag slightly high but not critical
 
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wiggitywade

wiggitywade

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You want at least 10 hours of light
Mag slightly high but not critical
I had to double check my schedule. 930-11 sunrise. 11-5 full(slight variation through the day). 5-7 sunset except UV/Violet/Blue go down from 5-830. For the Mag I was considering bringing down the dosing just a touch to get ALK closer to 9 as well
 
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