Chalice Troubles

[FaviaFreak]

Zeovit makes an LPS specific Amino Acid that I am testing, to see if it helps with coloration and overall health

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=86_154_156&products_id=1066

 

[Emc]

So what changes have you made in the last 3 to 6 months? You mention good growth, then a bleaching problem. Lighting changes? Carbon additions? How are the other chalices doing? You also mentioned problems maintaining magnesium above 900 before you added a calcium reactor. This also causes stress and tissue recession with LPS and chalice corals.

Dana highlights some very limited studies that are interesting, however I would not make any judgement calls based on the information in it.

If you are using the information in the article you are comparing the amount of red light intensity from a 150wt. 10K bulb with a peaks around 425, and 550 to a t5 bulb with a peak at 660 (ATI procolor)? Does this give off more or less red light? Does anyone even know if the ATI gives off more red light than the KZ Fiji Purple? One might assume it does given how it looks, but the blue light the KZ throws out could mask it.

Your phosphate level at .10 is in my opinion a far greater problem. The inhibition of calcification by phosphate has been the subject of scientific studies and many reports by fellow reef aquarists. Check out these articles:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

Good luck that is a nice looking chalice!

Thank you.

I changed out the T5 bulbs about 3 months ago. I phased in the new bulbs using a layer of screens.

I changed salts over the past six weeks from IO to Get Tanked. I run carbon in a reactor. The carbon gets changed weekly. I run a skimmer.

Most of the other chalices look good. The Bazooka Joe looks better than it ever has. Two chalices (not including the one photographed) do not look well and have bleached completly. One I believe is a frag from a wild colony and the other is a three inch mini colony that I grew out from a small frag. This is the second time this coral has bleached. I have twenty four chalices in all so whatever is going on does not appear wide spread as of yet.

It could very well be the PO4. I'm going to order the colorimeter to get a better grip on the levels. On the other hand, the corals do not appear to be growth inhibited. They are still growing. I'm also not experiencing algae blooms. There is algae but not an inordinate amount.

I added a Ca reactor a few months ago. Prior to that I was dosing DT's three part to keep the levels up. Prior to that I was relying on weekkly water changes until my magnesium dropped . I realized I had a problem because the Bazooka Joe and the three inch chalice started to bleach. That was about 8-9 months ago.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Ultimateaquariums]

It's possible your Phosphate is much higher than that. There are a lot of test kits out there that won't test low levels accurately. I've never seen a .1 reading affect much. I have seen people with much higher levels that have healthy looking corals though. You can tell they don't grow as fast, but other than that they look good.

I personally have had issues with Chalice corals and low levels of Mag. I would bet your problem is from a combination of changes that have taken place. Salt changes are almost always stressful on a tank, especially if your Mag started at 900. That would knock a coral off on its own IME.

It is possible more than one thing is causing this too.

 

[Emc]

It's possible your Phosphate is much higher than that. There are a lot of test kits out there that won't test low levels accurately. I've never seen a .1 reading affect much. I have seen people with much higher levels that have healthy looking corals though. You can tell they don't grow as fast, but other than that they look good.

I personally have had issues with Chalice corals and low levels of Mag. I would bet your problem is from a combination of changes that have taken place. Salt changes are almost always stressful on a tank, especially if your Mag started at 900. That would knock a coral off on its own IME.

It is possible more than one thing is causing this too.

The Mg was not at 900 when I changed salt. It was at 1350. The Mag was at 900 about 8-9 months ago before I started supplemental dosing. I think your right though. I think it is a combination of issues. Hopefully all these suggestions will help to get it straightened out.

The selcon bath was an interesting one. When I took the chalice out of the bath container it had all it's mouths open. I could be crazy but I'd swear it looked better this morning.

 

[Mr.Firemouth]

Hopefully the Selcon gave it a shot in the arm. I have done many tricks like that to help a coral out, I figure I can't hurt a coral that is dying if I do nothing.

The salt change is one that bugs me most because it is not with a proven salt.(not that there is anything wrong with the salt your are using, just speculation on my part) However if you could pin down when things were affected and what you did you would be closer to an answer.

The bulb is the other. Although there is studies on spectrum's of red and what they do and do not do, there is also the ability for a fluorescent lamp to emit UV that is harmful but in very low doses. VHO lighting experiences I have had have had 1 bulb in a set of 6 lamps burn corals just the way yours is bleached. UV was suspected and I switched just that lamp and did nothing else and it stopped happening.

I have also had glass shields get splashed and bust and then the HQI lamp stay lit(not break) and burn the corals the same way again. It is like a sunburn.(sort of)

Hopefully some TLC will nurse all your corals back to health. I would not give up hope on your other bleached corals yet either. I have had Blastomussa Wellsi return from the dead more than once.

Good luck. :)

 

[Emc]

I think I've discovered at least part of the problem. I came home for lunch today and found my tank temp at 74.5. I run two 100 watt stealth heaters in the sump. One of them failed. We turn the heat down in the house during the day and while we sleep until about 5:00 am. I think the tank temperature has been changing with the ambient temperature of the rrom. I didn't see the drop because I'm not normally home during the day.

 

[Emc]

The Hanna Phosphate Colorimeter came in today. The PO4 reading is .04.

I also changed the bulb out for the fiji purple which is really making things pop. Thanks Jr. :)

On another good note, the chalice does not look any worse.

 

[Mr.Firemouth]

Good to hear he is hanging in there.

 

[Emc]

Good to hear he is hanging in there.

Thanks. I'll try to post some pics in a few weeks to show progress if there is any. The PO4 does not seem off the charts. At this point I think it was probably the temp swings.

Another possibility I read about recently was bleaching caused by over-use of carbon - stripping the water of nutrients. I'm not sure why that didn't ocur to me initially. I never use carbon in my planted tanks for just that reason.