Is this algae or a bacteria slowly killing my coral?

[ReluctantIM]

Hi,

My tank has been upa and running for ~4 years, but just in the past two months I e seen some corals slowly start being overtaken by what looks to be algae, or perhaps a bacteria. Any ideas what this might be and how to treat it?

I don't have any algae problems elsewhere in the tank and have generally stable parameters.

Thanks!

 

[crazyfishmom]

Looks like algae but in general algae doesn’t just grow over healthy Coral so it’s possible they were decaying due to something else and then the algae started to grow over them. Any parameter changes in the last couple of months or changes in flow/lighting?

 

[ReluctantIM]

Looks like algae but in general algae doesn’t just grow over healthy Coral so it’s possible they were decaying due to something else and then the algae started to grow over them. Any parameter changes in the last couple of months or changes in flow/lighting?

Flow yes, just rearranged the tank a bit, and started carbon dosing three months ago, which has helped bring phosphates down from a stable 0.3 to 0.15. The rest of the tank is thriving.

 

[crazyfishmom]

Flow yes, just rearranged the tank a bit, and started carbon dosing three months ago, which has helped bring phosphates down from a stable 0.3 to 0.15. The rest of the tank is thriving.

Interesting. I wonder if there’s a lot less flow on those corals than there was before allowing for the algae to settle in. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable forum members will chime in.

 

[ReluctantIM]

Interesting. I wonder if there’s a lot less flow on those corals than there was before allowing for the algae to settle in. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable forum members will chime in.

I appreciate the help.

 

[ryanjohn1]

Was the tank looking good with the higher phos? Why drop it down?

 

[ReluctantIM]

Was the tank looking good with the higher phos? Why drop it down?

Yes, it did look very good. But I use a lot of phosguard and without it my phosphates move even higher. So, I started dosing vodka as a cheaper way to help control nutrients.

 

[ryanjohn1]

I’m wondering if the swing in phos rtn’d or stn’d them and the algae was able to attach

 

[ReluctantIM]

I’m wondering if the swing in phos rtn’d or stn’d them and the algae was able to attach

Could certainly be. It's been stable now, so I'll see if it affects any other corals. Thanks