Ocean temperatures and coral bleaching

[Mark Gray]

I am writing this just to get some opinions on the reefs that are bleaching. I know that in our reefs if the nutrient is to low and the lights are to intense we will get bleaching witch can often just be fixed by increasing nutrient. In the past a long time ago I have worked on ocean trawlers, witch take an unbelievable amount of fish buy the hour, non stop. And there are thousands of them. What I am wondering if maybe out reefs are bleaching due to lack of fish waste. Just thinking but please write your options

 

[Robink]

I think it's a combination of things. Global warming, pollution, over fishing as you stated. Probably a few more things but can't think of them at this moment.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Low dissolved nutrients in ocean water does not cause corals to starve. Despite nitrate and phosphate levels being almost undetectable in seawater, there are actually very high amounts of nutrients floating around in the ocean. In the wild, there is a never-ending supply of planktonic foods on which the corals may feed. Having measurable nitrates and phosphates appears to have a similar effect in our tanks, but if we're going for how the corals evolved, it would be much better to have almost no detectable nitrate and phosphate and endless particulate foods.

Obviously this is a bit of hyperbole since such a setup would be almost impossible to implement in captivity. The point is that corals in the wild are not dying because they don't have enough fish poop. Corals consume particulate matter from the water around them. They only consume fish poop (or more importantly, the constituents of fish poop, nitrate and phosphate) when they cannot filter feed from the water around them.

 

[Mark Gray]

I think it's a combination of things. Global warming, pollution, over fishing as you stated. Probably a few more things but can't think of them at this moment.

I agree I am not 100% temperatures are it though, I have a friend in the Philippines no AC no chiller SPS runs really hot all year same with my friend in Thailand, and mine in my garage ran 87 plus not problem in the summer

Low dissolved nutrients in ocean water does not cause corals to starve. Despite nitrate and phosphate levels being almost undetectable in seawater, there are actually very high amounts of nutrients floating around in the ocean. In the wild, there is a never-ending supply of planktonic foods on which the corals may feed. Having measurable nitrates and phosphates appears to have a similar effect in our tanks, but if we're going for how the corals evolved, it would be much better to have almost no detectable nitrate and phosphate and endless particulate foods.

Obviously this is a bit of hyperbole since such a setup would be almost impossible to implement in captivity. The point is that corals in the wild are not dying because they don't have enough fish poop. Corals consume particulate matter from the water around them. They only consume fish poop (or more importantly, the constituents of fish poop, nitrate and phosphate) when they cannot filter feed from the water around them.

Well if you have see the trawlers at work you would understand my concern think of it this way 10 semi tractor trailer loads an hour coming out of the ocean, and that's just one ship. every country has 1000's of these ships.

 

[saltyhog]

I don't think we fully understand everything that's involved. Temps are only part of the equation IMO. There are places with identical temps where one reef is flourishing and the one next to it is bleaching. Pollution/agricultural run off/physical damage from man made objects/ and who knows what else probably play a part as well.

 

[User1]

No one knows. They have ideas. Hypothesis. With the ocean covering over 70% of Earth I'd wager we only scratched a gnat's rear of it. Surface above and floor below. This is what I do know and believe. People, humans, are not helping. Some countries have regulations, others don't. When a poor nation needs to feed a high population those sorts of things go out the door. Garbage, pesticides, illegal fishing, nets, recreation, etc - they all play a role. Then factor in humans trying to play Mother Nature or God and try to fix it, well, we make matters worse. Mother nature is pretty amazing at how she manages the circle of life. I for one wouldn't want to tick her off.

I will say this - this is a hobby that can be more or less self sustaining. We can pass frags around and support captive bred when possible - as much as possible. We might not have the most exotic fish, if that is indeed a problem (and I don't think it is) but we can at least do a small part outside of our personal homes (recycle, try to use eco friendly products, etc). Not extreme bohemian stuff, just, um...the conscientious marine aquarist that Mr. Fenner wrote about

 

[Crashjack]

My 75 gal I kept in the mid-90s thru early 2000s was an in-wall, located under my staircase, with 2 175w MHs and power compacts. I had no chiller but had fans hanging all over the tank closet. Temps got up to 82-84 deg F. Corals grew fast and looked great. You always hear that corals are fragile and need pristine water conditions and constant water temperatures to survive... even a fraction of a degree F change can wipe out a reef. I guess the corals in all the reef tanks around the world that thrive in too warm of temperatures that vary all over the place and in far less than perfect water conditions didn’t realize they were supposed to keel over.