HELP! Sps coral not doing great

[Angelos]

Hello to you all, i have these sps corals that the green one has white tips with some brown stuff on top of this, and the other coral is starting to develop some brown stuff on it to. Is this a problem of flow or something else?
Alk 8.5
Mag 1430
Calc 430
Phosp 0.1
Nitrate 1-2

 

[mcarroll]

Hello to you all, i have these sps corals that the green one has white tips with some brown stuff on top of this, and the other coral is starting to develop some brown stuff on it to. Is this a problem of flow or something else?
Alk 8.5
Mag 1430
Calc 430
Phosp 0.1
Nitrate 1-2

NItrate is on the low side, but overall those numbers look OK. Are these numbers all typical?

How about specific gravity, temperature and pH, if you test for it?

Can you tell us how the tank is being cleaned/filtered? How old is it?

Do you have some green algae growth in the tank anywhere?

How about coralline algae?

 

[Angelos]

NItrate is on the low side, but overall those numbers look OK. Are these numbers all typical?

How about specific gravity, temperature and pH, if you test for it?

Can you tell us how the tank is being cleaned/filtered? How old is it?

Do you have some green algae growth in the tank anywhere?

How about coralline algae?

Its 4 months old, 1.025 all the time, with 8.3ph constant and 26.5c temp. I have some coraline algea growth but no green algea. I clean the tank once a week when i perform 10-15% water change (its 400 total liters)

 

[mcarroll]

Its 4 months old, 1.025 all the time, with 8.3ph constant and 26.5c temp. I have some coraline algea growth but no green algea. I clean the tank once a week when i perform 10-15% water change (its 400 total liters)

Take it easy on nutrient export while nitrate is so low – essentially zero already. So no water changes. Are you doing anythign else for export? Rollers, skimmers, carbon dosing, GFO, etc, etc?

Also, why is pH constant and why is it so high? Seawater should buffer to 8.1....indoors where CO2 can build up, it tends to run under 8.1, at least at night.

Did you see any diatoms or other algae during the tank's first four months/during cycling?

Also, can you get a closeup of one of the brown patches you mentioned?

(This could be a "nothingburger" BTW.)

 

[Angelos]

Take it easy on nutrient export while nitrate is so low – essentially zero already. So no water changes. Are you doing anythign else for export? Rollers, skimmers, carbon dosing, GFO, etc, etc?

Also, why is pH constant and why is it so high? Seawater should buffer to 8.1....indoors where CO2 can build up, it tends to run under 8.1, at least at night.

Did you see any diatoms or other algae during the tank's first four months/during cycling?

Also, can you get a closeup of one of the brown patches you mentioned?

(This could be a "nothingburger" BTW.)

I have carbon currently in the water bcz of water clarity, i have stopped making water changes bcz i had cyano outbreak I think, and it worked kidna! Abiut my ph its always there, 8.0-8.3. I hope its nothing but its my first sps and i am nervous!

 

[mcarroll]

I have carbon currently in the water bcz of water clarity, i have stopped making water changes bcz i had cyano outbreak I think, and it worked kidna! Abiut my ph its always there, 8.0-8.3. I hope its nothing but its my first sps and i am nervous!

The look liek they've been doing well overall.....I suspect you've been overdoing it a little with the water changes given how low your nutrients are. If you take it easy and let NO3 get higher (> 5 ppm) I bet things will improve.

If the activated carbon is new, that could be what's triggering the brown tips....the increase in water clarity directly increases light levels the corals are seeing, so you may have forced the corals to adapt.

Part of that adaptation process can be for them to expell some (or all) of their photosynthetic dinoflagellates...which will usually appear as a brown mass, sometimes snotty, at the tips of the corals/polyps.

Make sure your tank has good strong flow.

 

[Angelos]

The look liek they've been doing well overall.....I suspect you've been overdoing it a little with the water changes given how low your nutrients are. If you take it easy and let NO3 get higher (> 5 ppm) I bet things will improve.

If the activated carbon is new, that could be what's triggering the brown tips....the increase in water clarity directly increases light levels the corals are seeing, so you may have forced the corals to adapt.

Part of that adaptation process can be for them to expell some (or all) of their photosynthetic dinoflagellates...which will usually appear as a brown mass, sometimes snotty, at the tips of the corals/polyps.

Make sure your tank has good strong flow.

I am thinking of purchasing an inexpensive powerhead and pointing it directly at them, is this gonna improve the situation?

 

[mcarroll]

I am thinking of purchasing an inexpensive powerhead and pointing it directly at them, is this gonna improve the situation?

If you think they are getting sub-par flow right now, then it should help. If you want more of an opinion, post a full tank picture and describe how you have your flow set up now.

 

[Angelos]

I am thinking of purchasing an inexpensive powerhead and pointing it directly at them, is this gonna improve the situation

If you think they are getting sub-par flow right now, then it should help. If you want more of an opinion, post a full tank picture and describe how you have your flow set up now.

This is my tank! Feel free to suggest any improvements!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Strong lighting and strong water movement for sps. How is your lighting and flow? How is your experience in the hobby? Sps corals are more advanced and there are easier corals to start with. Is the alk stable? Unstable alk will quickly affect sps corals

 

[Angelos]

Strong lighting and strong water movement for sps. How is your lighting and flow? How is your experience in the hobby? Sps corals are more advanced and there are easier corals to start with. Is the alk stable? Unstable alk will quickly affect sps corals

Alk is stable at 8.5, i have 2 radion xr15 running ab+ on a waterbox 4ft long. For flow i have one vortech mp40 and a sicce, i cant remember the model

 

[mcarroll]

keep in mind the vortex only have about 2 feet of usable distance in front of the pump. (1 foot for the little model)

Folks seem to get better performance from them on the back wall as a result.

If you're not sure which model of Sicce then maybe can you take a close-up of that one?

At the moment, I'm a little bit suspect that your flow might be too soft.

 

[Dburr1014]

I am thinking of purchasing an inexpensive powerhead and pointing it directly at them, is this gonna improve the situation?

I have to say no.
Direct flow at a coral will not help and probably hinder. What they need is indirect flow. Lots of it.
Direct flow can/will have more of a chance to strip the flesh off a coral and kill it.

What I do is either bounce the flow off a side of the tank or have the water flow over/under/beside the coral. I will actually put my hand in the tank and feel the strength of the flow in the middle of the pump and to the sides and see if it's hitting the coral or not.
Never point it directly on the coral, please. :)