Montipora bleaching and other hard coral issues...(Picture heavy/detailed)

[Zeal]

Calc 439
Alk 9.28
Mag 1326
Phosphate 0.006 (Very low I turned off my GFO reactor and it will remain off for a very long time)
Nitrate 13.6

B-Ionic 2-Part Calc/Alk


For the life of me, I cannot keep Montipora and other random hard corals healthy. Ever since I started this tank I cannot grow them or color them up. I'm not sure what the issue is.

I recently started dosing Calcium, for a long time I only dosed Alk because I hardly saw any calcium being used up. I thought a bi-weekly WC would be enough to replenish the calcium. I did fiddle with my light schedule a bit but now I have settled on 1 setting and its been like that for about 2 months now.

I don't know what else to do. I ordered an ICP test to see if its something in the water.

As you can see in the pictures even the red digi has those black spots around it as well and the red monti some of the purple ones also have it. You can see that the plate coral is also showing skeleton and the green chalice also is losing tissue
.

Its extremely discouraging that this keeps happening...

Could it be my lights?
Could it be lack of PAR or too much par?

I dont believe its lack of par...

If anyone has any insight please help.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Are you dosing the B-Ionic in two equal doses, like 10mls of Alk, 10mls of Cal. You don’t want to overdose as well.

 

[Zeal]

Are you dosing the B-Ionic in two equal doses, like 10mls of Alk, 10mls of Cal. You don’t want to overdose as well.

Now I am. Im Spacing them out on a auto doser

 

[Zeal]

Bump

 

[Zeal]

Bump

 

[Rmckoy]

I’d try feeding a few days of reef roids to bring phosphates up a little .
0.03 to 0.1 especially with alk above 9

 

[Zeal]

I’d try feeding a few days of reef roids to bring phosphates up a little .
0.03 to 0.1 especially with alk above 9

I have benepets, would that raise it?

 

[Timfish]

Low phosphates. Raise it to above .03 mg/l. Based on the research I've read it seems anywhere between .03 and .5 mg/l will work. Best way is to raise it is feed your fish more.

Skeptical Reefkeeping 9: Test Kits, Chasing Numbers and Phosphate – The Rich Ross

therichross.com

Here's the research done by SOuthampton University in England with corals in an aquarium shwoing to avoid phosphate deficiency in corals that makes them sensitive to light and changes in temperature as well as a couple other papers on phosphorus and corals:

An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom | Cambridge Core

An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals - Volume 92 Issue 4

www.cambridge.org

An Experimental Mesocosm for Longterm Studies of Reef Corals

Phosphate Deficiency:
Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching:

Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching - Nature Climate Change

Increased dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in sea water have been linked to a reduction of the temperature threshold at which corals bleach, however, the mechanism underlying this change is not known. This phenomenon is now explained in terms of increased phosphatase activities...

www.nature.com

Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont:

Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont

Reef building corals associated with symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) can access environmental nutrients from different sources, most significantly via the uptake of dissolved inorganic nutrients by the algal symbiont and heterotrophic feeding of the coral host. Climate change is expected to...

www.frontiersin.org

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Enrichment of reef environments with dissolved inorganic nutrients is considered a major threat to the survival of corals living in symbiosis with din…

www.sciencedirect.com

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Phosphate contamination can negatively affect corals, modifying growth rates, skeletal density, reproduction, mortality, and zooxanthellae. We determi…

www.sciencedirect.com

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

SUMMARYSeveral untested aspects of the regulation of inorganic nutrient uptake were examined using nutrient depletion experiments with the symbiotic coral Stylophora pistillata. The total inhibition of phosphate uptake in artificial seawater lacking sodium indicates the involvement of a...

jeb.biologists.org

Phosphorus metabolism of reef organisms with algal symbionts

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecm.1217?casa_token=ziDzrEEJ8g0AAAAA%3AHnfuGTIntMdqOtx2ij-lnoTh7qVg8VBhYFz98e60zfBEvx5IcIVGhmlpUYmzIJuqUNVm0sG8_0vth6lq

 

[Zeal]

Low phosphates. Raise it to above .03 mg/l. Based on the research I've read it seems anywhere between .03 and .5 mg/l will work. Best way is to raise it is feed your fish more.

Skeptical Reefkeeping 9: Test Kits, Chasing Numbers and Phosphate – The Rich Ross

therichross.com

Here's the research done by SOuthampton University in England with corals in an aquarium shwoing to avoid phosphate deficiency in corals that makes them sensitive to light and changes in temperature as well as a couple other papers on phosphorus and corals:

An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom | Cambridge Core

An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals - Volume 92 Issue 4

www.cambridge.org

An Experimental Mesocosm for Longterm Studies of Reef Corals

Phosphate Deficiency:
Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching:

Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching - Nature Climate Change

Increased dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in sea water have been linked to a reduction of the temperature threshold at which corals bleach, however, the mechanism underlying this change is not known. This phenomenon is now explained in terms of increased phosphatase activities...

www.nature.com

Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont:

Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont

Reef building corals associated with symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) can access environmental nutrients from different sources, most significantly via the uptake of dissolved inorganic nutrients by the algal symbiont and heterotrophic feeding of the coral host. Climate change is expected to...

www.frontiersin.org

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Enrichment of reef environments with dissolved inorganic nutrients is considered a major threat to the survival of corals living in symbiosis with din…

www.sciencedirect.com

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Phosphate contamination can negatively affect corals, modifying growth rates, skeletal density, reproduction, mortality, and zooxanthellae. We determi…

www.sciencedirect.com

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

SUMMARYSeveral untested aspects of the regulation of inorganic nutrient uptake were examined using nutrient depletion experiments with the symbiotic coral Stylophora pistillata. The total inhibition of phosphate uptake in artificial seawater lacking sodium indicates the involvement of a...

jeb.biologists.org

Phosphorus metabolism of reef organisms with algal symbionts

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecm.1217?casa_token=ziDzrEEJ8g0AAAAA%3AHnfuGTIntMdqOtx2ij-lnoTh7qVg8VBhYFz98e60zfBEvx5IcIVGhmlpUYmzIJuqUNVm0sG8_0vth6lq

Interesting…. I noticed my corals are extremely sensitive to light. Anything else I could do other then dose reef roids? I also have chaeto

 

[Rmckoy]

Interesting…. I noticed my corals are extremely sensitive to light. Anything else I could do other then dose reef roids? I also have chaeto

The cheato is working against you by absorbing more nutrients .

I mentioned reef roids as it’s guaranteed to increase phosphates one way or another . And corals love it

I don’t know if sps benefit from it as much as lps or Softies would buy the increase phosphates needed

 

[Zeal]

The cheato is working against you by absorbing more nutrients .

I mentioned reef roids as it’s guaranteed to increase phosphates one way or another . And corals love it

I don’t know if sps benefit from it as much as lps or Softies would buy the increase phosphates needed

Ok, should I remove the chaeto then as well?

 

[Rmckoy]

Ok, should I remove the chaeto then as well?

I wouldn’t .
As
Mentioned above . You need to find a way to increase phosphates .
essentially . Your corals are starving but as you noticed . Some require more nutrients than others .
some are showing while Others are not effected yet

 

[BoneDoc]

How much are you running your Radions?

 

[Zeal]

How much are you running your Radions?

3 radions xr15 pro g5

 

[Wasabiroot]

As mentioned above, ensure you dose equal portions alk and calcium. It is normal to see a much smaller reduction in calcium compared to alkalinity as it depletes way slower. I would agree the corals are probably starving and need phosphates.

 

[Zeal]

I wouldn’t .
As
Mentioned above . You need to find a way to increase phosphates .
essentially . Your corals are starving but as you noticed . Some require more nutrients than others .
some are showing while Others are not effected yet

I’ll trim it down then lol.
Maybe it is the low phosphate that causing all these issues.

 

[Zeal]

As mentioned above, ensure you dose equal portions alk and calcium. It is normal to see a much smaller reduction in calcium compared to alkalinity as it depletes way slower. I would agree the corals are probably starving and need phosphates.

Noted, I just dosed a nice amount of reef roids and I will again when the lights turn off.

Time to get this tank dirty

 

[BoneDoc]

3 radions xr15 pro g5

So 60% max? For sure, bleaching is NOT caused by low light. If anything, browning out is more a symptom of low par because the sps expressing more zoos to get more light.

Don’t go crazy with the reef roofs and test every two days to make sure that you’re not increasing it too fast. Aim for 0.01 to no more than 0.02 every 2 days.

also make sure you can see the polyps moving. That tells me that your flow is decent (at least).

 

[Zeal]

So 60% max? For sure, bleaching is NOT caused by low light. If anything, browning out is more a symptom of low par because the sps expressing more zoos to get more light.

Don’t go crazy with the reef roofs and test every two days to make sure that you’re not increasing it too fast. Aim for 0.01 to no more than 0.02 every 2 days.

also make sure you can see the polyps moving. That tells me that your flow is decent (at least).

Flow in the tank is great I got 3 Nero 5s

and for bleaching and low par. What could be the cause for my red digi to literally looks so ugly? And my montis bleaching? Everyone tells me that light can cause bleaching.

 

[Timfish]

Interesting…. I noticed my corals are extremely sensitive to light. Anything else I could do other then dose reef roids? I also have chaeto

I would just be feeding my fish more and keeping an eye on PO4. Corals prefer the amnio acids and urea and ammonia from fish and fish poop also provide valuable carbonates. Feeding coral specific foods like reef roids is probalematic as individual coral species have very specific requrements and what is beneficial for one species is detrimental for another species.