Euphyllia help ASAP!!

[MERKEY]

Figured 8.49 alk and 499 mag would be ok...mag I've been struggling with a little but waterchanges tend to help somewhat but imo not en

Somehow I read you had lower alk.

Your alk is fine number wise but how much variance do you have daily?

Does it go up to 9.5 and back down or does it dip to 7.5 and come back up? Is it swinging?

I would now focus on long term po4 exposure.

My ph sits at 7.9 and I have 0 issues.

I would get better growth if I had it around 8.3 but I don't want to add a line outside or another cow scrubber.

What do you have to remove po4?

People use gfo
Phosgaurd
lanthium

Edit.....there is a lot of good info in the link.

I do feel something is up with the balance of nutrients and not just low ph.

 

[Reefing Mama]

Somehow I read you had lower alk.

Your alk is fine number wise but how much variance do you have daily?

Does it go up to 9.5 and back down or does it dip to 7.5 and come back up? Is it swinging?

I would now focus on long term po4 exposure.

My ph sits at 7.9 and I have 0 issues.

I would get better growth if I had it around 8.3 but I don't want to add a line outside or another cow scrubber.

What do you have to remove po4?

People use gfo
Phosgaurd
lanthium

Edit.....there is a lot of good info in the link.

I do feel something is up with the balance of nutrients and not just low ph.

Also to add, the reason I took off the lid was to put a new AI prime on the tank. Everything has been a bit off since then

 

[MERKEY]

Also to add, the reason I took off the lid was to put a new AI prime on the tank. Everything has been a bit off since then

Ah new light!!!!!!

 

[MERKEY]

That plays a big part.

Did you use animation mode?

What schedule are you running?

Do you know the par before and after the change?

New Higher par and higher nutrients....

 

[Reefing Mama]

It in acclimation mode yes and I'm using the Saxby schedule

 

[MERKEY]

Ok so you the corals are reacting to a handful of things.

At this point letting things settle is going to be your best bet.

Getting po4 down to around .1 is going to be a goal but the change of lights I would think is also playing a part.

We started with a biocube 32 and took the lid off and got an ai prime and we had po4 at .8

That upgrade is huge in par and light even on acclimation mode compared to the stock lid.

Put the rest of the euphyllia in the corners so they get less light.

Look into po4 export and see what way you want to go.

We just added a scrubber as we feed heavy.

 

[Reefing Mama]

How long has the tank been running?

How long have you had these hammers?

Have you added anything new recently?

Are those parameter numbers normal for your tank?

Tank almost a yr old

The green hammer was my first coral so almost a year

Added some zoas recently but of course I dipped them first

These parameters are spot on for my tank except mag is a little low

 

[JCM]

Tank almost a yr old

The green hammer was my first coral so almost a year

Added some zoas recently but of course I dipped them first

These parameters are spot on for my tank except mag is a little low

In that case it's almost certainly the new light. Phosphate is high but if they've been used to that for a year, they wouldn't all the sudden decide to bail in masse. Move them to a lower light area and hope for the best

 

[vetteguy53081]

Gosh. Its not the alk, nor the new light. New bright light will affect mainly SPS, and LPS will typically close up and having it on acclimation mode is a safety to that factor.. .. If you havent keep whites to 10% for another week. As I mentioned in a large posting above too much light and especially flows are stressors contributing to bailout /
Its when this happens that it is a factor of LPS corals being sensitive to declining water quality and elevated levels of nitrate and phosphate are an indicator of declining water quality. Low nitrate levels around 5-10ppm are actually welcome for large polyp stony corals, but around 30-40ppm of nitrate you might start running into some issues such as tissue recession and makes me wonder if youre getting false readings.
High Phosphate will affect Coral Growth by either slowing it down or stopping it completely depending on how high the phosphate level is and grow More Algae, and will not affect the Fish whatsoever. Also, Phosphate will only affect Hard Corals LPS and SPS and will not affect Softies like Zoanthids and similar softies. Also High Nitrate will not affect Any Corals to the point of recession but will support growth of more Algae.

I mainain in multiple tanks:
Moderate light and water flow
temp 77-79
salinity 1.025
ph 8.2
alk 8.37
mag 1311
CA 446
nitrate .3
Ammonia .001
Phos .0331

These hammers were all 1-2 head frags a year ago:

 

[JCM]

Gosh. Its not the alk, nor the new light. New bright light will affect mainly SPS, and LPS will typically close up and having it on acclimation mode is a safety to that factor.
Its when this happens that it is a factor of LPS corals being sensitive to declining water quality and elevated levels of nitrate and phosphate are an indicator of declining water quality. Low nitrate levels around 5-10ppm are actually welcome for large polyp stony corals, but around 30-40ppm of nitrate you might start running into some issues such as tissue recession and makes me wonder if youre getting false readings.
High Phosphate will affect Coral Growth by either slowing it down or stopping it completely depending on how high the phosphate level is and grow More Algae, and will not affect the Fish whatsoever. Also, Phosphate will only affect Hard Corals LPS and SPS and will not affect Softies like Zoanthids and similar softies. Also High Nitrate will not affect Any Corals to the point of recession but will support growth of more Algae.

I mainain in multiple tanks:
Moderate light and water flow
temp 77-79
salinity 1.025
ph 8.2
alk 8.37
mag 1311
CA 446
nitrate .3
Ammonia .001
Phos .0331

These hammers were all 1-2 head frags a year ago:

First off, beautiful tank.

What are you suggesting caused the polyp bailout? From her posts, it sounds like they've been growing fine in the current nutrient levels for a year now. I doubt all of them suddenly decided those levels are unacceptable at the same time.

I agree phosphate needs to be lower but it sounds like the new light was the catalyst for these problems.

Edit: I reread your post, you're saying the new light could've stressed them enough to make them more sensitive to the poor water quality? That makes sense, good call.

 

[MERKEY]

Thanks @vetteguy53081 for clearing this up!

So declining water and all else as stressor contributing to make them bail.

 

[vetteguy53081]

First off, beautiful tank.

What are you suggesting caused the polyp bailout? From her posts, it sounds like they've been growing fine in the current nutrient levels for a year now. I doubt all of them suddenly decided those levels are unacceptable at the same time.

I agree phosphate needs to be lower but it sounds like the new light was the catalyst for these problems.

Stress. Hammer are submissive to stress. Stress factors are:

• Alkalinity being too high or too low (ideally 8 – 11 dKH)
• pH being too high or too low (ideally 8.0 – 8.4)
• Temperature being too high or too low (ideally 76-79 deg)
• Calcium/Magnesium being out of balance or being too high or too low (ideally calcium should be 3 times less than magnesium levels. Calcium should be between 400 – 450ppm, magnesium between 1200 – 1450ppm)
• Phosphate being too high or too low (ideally between .01- .04 ppm)
• Having zero Nitrates or Nitrates above 20ppm
• Too much or too little flow directed at the coral- I direct towards coral, not at the coral. 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.

Hammers, Torches, and Frogspawn (Euphyllia) do not require as much light as some other corals. It can be kept under normal output fluorescents without much difficulty. In some cases, Hammers may extend more readily under subdued lighting,

 

[JCM]

Stress. Hammer are submissive to stress. Stress factors are:

• Alkalinity being too high or too low (ideally 8 – 11 dKH)
• pH being too high or too low (ideally 8.0 – 8.4)
• Temperature being too high or too low (ideally 76-79 deg)
• Calcium/Magnesium being out of balance or being too high or too low (ideally calcium should be 3 times less than magnesium levels. Calcium should be between 400 – 450ppm, magnesium between 1200 – 1450ppm)
• Phosphate being too high or too low (ideally between .01- .04 ppm)
• Having zero Nitrates or Nitrates above 20ppm
• Too much or too little flow directed at the coral- I direct towards coral, not at the coral. 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.

Hammers, Torches, and Frogspawn (Euphyllia) do not require as much light as some other corals. It can be kept under normal output fluorescents without much difficulty. In some cases, Hammers may extend more readily under subdued lighting,

I reread your post above and think you're saying the new light stressed them enough to make them sensitive to the subpar water quality. That makes total sense. My experience in general has been that Euphyllia corals are more sensitive than most people admit.

 

[MERKEY]

@Reefing Mama from all the info collected here it sounds like you just need to keep your water cleaner.

more frequent WC.....
exporting those nutrients is going to be key.

 

[Reefing Mama]

@Reefing Mama from all the info collected here it sounds like you just need to keep your water cleaner.

more frequent WC.....
exporting those nutrients is going to be key.

I do a waterchange every week between 3-5 gallons, sometimes even twice a week...

 

[MERKEY]

A lot of tanks around your age are still releasing po4 from the rocks and sand that has bound up as the rock becomes established.

Vetteguy will clear this up if I'm off base.

I think exporting nutrients constantly is your next step.

 

[MERKEY]

Getting consistent water quality is what vetteguy is talking about.

Without it all these other things we think is causing the issue are just stressor and any one could be the final straw.

 

[RobW]

Good stuff.... 0.5 PO4 would have me concerned for sure.

Yeah that seems to be almost 8 to 10 times what it should be. Phosphates in my tank hover around .07 - .04 usually depending on feedings

 

[vetteguy53081]

I reread your post above and think you're saying the new light stressed them enough to make them sensitive to the subpar water quality. That makes total sense. My experience in general has been that Euphyllia corals are more sensitive than most people admit.

You got it my friend. Im not the answer- We are the answer to resolving this. Years ago I had bailout and it ceased as soon as I cut down water flow and light intensity although those lights at the time were current orbits

 

[RobW]

Yeah that seems to be almost 8 to 10 times what it should be. Phosphates in my tank hover around .07 - .04 usually depending on feedings

I know when I feed some reef roids the phosphates tend to go up. But I have an innovative marine and the replenish packs come with 2 gfo and 2 carbon sacks. I actually have a small chemi-pure blue sack in there and I have about 8 cubes of brightwell export bii-cubes for nitrate control as well.