Help, dont know what happen to my Duncan coral.

[maddox]

Hello, 180 gallon, 6month old now,I bought duncan coral from local reefer almost 2months ago (date added December 8) , put him bottom on sand, was happy and fully opened, but two weeks before it started to close or not fully open, I just little changed flow schedule for my gyres, because have started cyano, but my flow is high enough on the bottom. Saw some new heads on one of head starting to grow, thought maybe this is why its closed, tried to change coral place to lower flow, didnt helped so today tried to take out and dip in Revive, so pictures attached from today as i see coral not happy at all, started to getting white.
tank parameters keeping stable just phos and nitrates raised, after stopped dosing sugar, because maybe cyano start growing from sugar dosing. Now added gfo reactor.
Parameters:
AlK 8.1-8.3. Hanna checker
Salinity: 1.025 hanna checker
Ph: 8.2 Salifert
NO3: date added coral was 7 now 10.7
PO4: date added coral was 0.17ppm after sugar dosing 0.03 after stopped sugar raised to 0.12, now with gfo reactor dropping, 0.07.
Temp: 25.5 celsius
Calcium: 420 API
Magnesium: 1380-1410 Salifert

Attached pictures of testing results in report. And pictures before diping and after dipping in revive and turkey baster, and when coral was happy.

 

[T-J]

I'd say it's dying. Duncans are very hardy, but something is obviously wrong.
Looking at the last pic, I'd say that massive mat of Cyano is most likely the culprit. That and the tank looks incredibly new. I don't even see any coralline forming yet.

 

[maddox]

I'd say it's dying. Duncans are very hardy, but something is obviously wrong.
Looking at the last pic, I'd say that massive mat of Cyano is most likely the culprit. That and the tank looks incredibly new. I don't even see any coralline forming yet.

Yes its 6months old, no coralline yet, but as I see 80% of new tanks put their coral in the first month, i put mine in forth month, have some euphylia zoanthids and blastomusa seems fine.

 

[welsher7]

What are using for light and what kind of schedule do you run? Where was the duncan in the tank and what else was around the duncan? at any point was cyano on the coral?

 

[damsels are not mean]

You changed a whole lot of stuff in what sounds like a short period of time. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a coral is nothing and let it adapt to whatever change happened. Moving it around a bunch and changing the balance you had forces it to keep re-adapting and wasting a lot of energy

 

[Dburr1014]

The coral skin that forms on the stalk is /has receded. It is slowly wasting away.

What lights and schedule?
Flow should be medium, not to hard not to gentle, I like a random flow so it can get rid of waste.
My par on mine is around 125/150. It can take more but move up slowly.
Also, what fish are in your system?

Not my Duncan but my hammer. You can see how far down the tissue is on the stalk. This is a healthy coral that gets plenty of light. This should be the same on a Duncan.

 

[maddox]

I am using Hydra 32 just two pcs, but i put corals just under them till i buy two more my tank length 7.5 ft i guess all in all i will need 5-6pcs, they are 13inch from surface, tank depth 24 inch, wide 24inch also, schedule attached. Coral almost straight under light. Also have to pcs led bars but dont use them yet. Attaching picture and video how duncan looks today.
My jebao 2pcs gyre 150MCP flow on 55% both, flow sine random classic pulse again random classic then crossflow and sine during all day check attached.
Fish list:
Foxface
3 anthias copperi
Midas blenny
Azura Damsel
2 clowns
4 chromis viridis
Cleaner shrimp
Conch snail
Cerith
Turbo
Nassarius

 

[T-J]

Like I said, you have a HUGE mat of CYANO in that tank. Obviously things are not in balance. Cyano can also release toxins.
Clear the cyano out, get your tank stable, get the lights you need and THEN you'll be ready for some corals.
I don't care that some people are able to put corals in sooner than you did. We're talking about this tank, and this tank is NOT ready IMO.

 

[maddox]

Like I said, you have a HUGE mat of CYANO in that tank. Obviously things are not in balance. Cyano can also release toxins.
Clear the cyano out, get your tank stable, get the lights you need and THEN you'll be ready for some corals.
I don't care that some people are able to put corals in sooner than you did. We're talking about this tank, and this tank is NOT ready IMO.

What would be your suggestion to treat cyano? Mat was much bigger but i shipon it out, in the morning cyano seems not so much but during day it covers more area, i dont want chemicals to treat it for one time, how to balance system or I just need give it some time, i was dosing Microbacter 7 for few weeks nothing better.

 

[Dburr1014]

What would be your suggestion to treat cyano? Mat was much bigger but i shipon it out, in the morning cyano seems not so much but during day it covers more area, i dont want chemicals to treat it for one time, how to balance system or I just need give it some time, i was dosing Microbacter 7 for few weeks nothing better.

Pull it out. For that big of a mat just turn off all your flow grab it with your fingers, it should just roll up like a carpet and throw it away. Don't worry too few pieces come detached just try to get them out with a net. By you throwing away that mat you're getting rid of some of the stuff that's causing it to that's locked up in it and not releasing back in the tank.
I'm not very familiar with that actual light maybe somebody that knows can chime in on your settings.
I think that Duncan needs more light. To start I would move it more directly under the light for a few days. That would start moving it up a couple inches every few days. Or I could be your settings are a little off like the violet, not sure it should be that high. But let others chime in on that actual light and your spectrum that know that light better.
I didn't see anything in your fish list that would be nipping on it so that's good.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Do you run a refugium with macro algae? If not, starting one would be one natural way to lower the nutrients that are feeding the cyano.

 

[Duncan62]

Hello, 180 gallon, 6month old now,I bought duncan coral from local reefer almost 2months ago (date added December 8) , put him bottom on sand, was happy and fully opened, but two weeks before it started to close or not fully open, I just little changed flow schedule for my gyres, because have started cyano, but my flow is high enough on the bottom. Saw some new heads on one of head starting to grow, thought maybe this is why its closed, tried to change coral place to lower flow, didnt helped so today tried to take out and dip in Revive, so pictures attached from today as i see coral not happy at all, started to getting white.
tank parameters keeping stable just phos and nitrates raised, after stopped dosing sugar, because maybe cyano start growing from sugar dosing. Now added gfo reactor.
Parameters:
AlK 8.1-8.3. Hanna checker
Salinity: 1.025 hanna checker
Ph: 8.2 Salifert
NO3: date added coral was 7 now 10.7
PO4: date added coral was 0.17ppm after sugar dosing 0.03 after stopped sugar raised to 0.12, now with gfo reactor dropping, 0.07.
Temp: 25.5 celsius
Calcium: 420 API
Magnesium: 1380-1410 Salifert

Attached pictures of testing results in report. And pictures before diping and after dipping in revive and turkey baster, and when coral was happy.

Duncans hate sand. One pic is a new bud but another looks like some tissue loss. Get it off the bottom. Moderate light and flow. They are very hardy and some heads may make it. They hate to be moved around. Put It in a good place and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[maddox]

Do you run a refugium with macro algae? If not, starting one would be one natural way to lower the nutrients that are feeding the cyano.

Not yet, while tank young there was not a lot nutrient but now as started to raise i will going to start one, for phosphates started gfo reactor and for nitrates doing nothing now, while dont want to dose carbon, as it seems to let cyano grow or maybe try vinegar dosing, I have place for refugium in sump, just now there is rock inside. Need lamp for it and macroalgea, thinking about tunze light, while i dont want to have a mess in sumo if lot of light will spill.

 

[Duncan62]

Not yet, while tank young there was not a lot nutrient but now as started to raise i will going to start one, for phosphates started gfo reactor and for nitrates doing nothing now, while dont want to dose carbon, as it seems to let cyano grow or maybe try vinegar dosing, I have place for refugium in sump, just now there is rock inside. Need lamp for it and macroalgea, thinking about tunze light, while i dont want to have a mess in sumo if lot of light will spill.

Tunze is a great light.

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Not yet, while tank young there was not a lot nutrient but now as started to raise i will going to start one, for phosphates started gfo reactor and for nitrates doing nothing now, while dont want to dose carbon, as it seems to let cyano grow or maybe try vinegar dosing, I have place for refugium in sump, just now there is rock inside. Need lamp for it and macroalgea, thinking about tunze light, while i dont want to have a mess in sumo if lot of light will spill.

I'm super low budget so this is what I use in my fuge with a grow bulb from Home Depot. I took the clip off and I have it sitting on glass directly over the macro so I don't have an issue with light flooding everywhere. Monitor your nutrients closely with GFO. I hear a lot of people bottom out their nutrients with it and end up dosing phosphates and nitrates to keep their tank healthy.

 

[BeSaltyReefer]

Any type of carbon dosing sugar , vinegar or vodka are all adding food for all bacteria so keep that in mind. +1 on the fuge!!!

 

[Pntbll687]

I could be cyano getting on the duncan and irritating it, could also be sand on it, or a hermit crab pinching it and causing stress.

From the parameters you posted, nitrates look to be on the low end. With duncans, I usually keep my nitrates around 30-40 and see awesome polyp extension and good growth.

Get the cyano out, it's probablly consuming allot of the nutrients that the other corals need.

 

[Lyss]

You changed a whole lot of stuff in what sounds like a short period of time. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a coral is nothing and let it adapt to whatever change happened. Moving it around a bunch and changing the balance you had forces it to keep re-adapting and wasting a lot of energy

I agree with this. I recently had an issue with my Duncan where I noticed one of the heads closed up, tissue loss on the stem, and a flatworm. I have no idea what the actual cause of the tissue loss and closed head was at this point, but I did nothing other than suck out the flatworm and left the coral alone -- within three days the closed head was open fully again.

I also agree with the folks commenting about the cyano. That is one potential cause that's easy to see so it is best to work to resolve that and get rid of it. Even if it's not the cause for the Duncan going south it is still best to work on resolving it.

My Duncan was in the sand for the first two weeks only, to acclimate, and it never looked unhappy. Then I moved it to the rocks and glued it in place. I don't think having it in the sand for a bit would be a huge issue, but I do agree that keeping it there isn't best for this particular type of coral. If you move it again, do it to a place on the rocks where you will be able to leave it to acclimate now, and not move it again.

 

[T-J]

My duncan has been in the sand for two years. It has gone from a tiny two-head frag to a massive colony.

 

[Dburr1014]

My duncan has been in the sand for two years. It has gone from a tiny two-head frag to a massive colony.

That's a nice colony, mine was on the rocks for a while but put it on the sand a couple years ago. It's doing well on the sand also. As long as it's not buried should be okay.
I just think the op's is not getting the light it needs. For that, I say move it up some.