PE decreasing a ton after 6 hours?

CoralWealth · Mar 6, 2019

So I went on vacation, salinity fell to 1.021 and alkalinity rose to around 9.5 when I normally keep it around 7. I have a little STN on same bases, but besides that (knock on wood) everything is fine now that I corrected it.

However, my SPS will look great with amazing PE for the first 4 hours of lights 8 bulbs T5s, then after around 5-6 hours the PE decreasing a ton.

I used to run my lights full blast for 10 hours and the PE would never change, this is something ive never seen before and I am really stumped.

Has this happened to anyone else before? Any recommendations?

avijay_23 · Mar 6, 2019

Any changes to flow around the same time you see PE drop off?
Vijay

CoralWealth · Mar 6, 2019

No flow and everything is the exact same throughout the day

x2uranium · Mar 6, 2019

Maybe the fish got hungry and ate some polyps lol they scared

CoralWealth · Mar 6, 2019

x2uranium said:
Maybe the fish got hungry and ate some polyps lol they scared

haha no thats not it. It never has happened before till my salinty got low and my alkalinity rose, both corrected now.

I am 99% sure it is from that and them being stressed, just wondering why this happens and if anyone else has had it happen before?

jda · Mar 6, 2019

The corals only need PE for gas exchange. Any other time that the polyps are out, it is extra... and a risk. They retract when the lights are on because the zoox has taken over co2 and o2 exchange and they don't need to exchange gas with the water. When they were healthy, they could probably risk having the polyps out to collect more rays or maybe even food. This is likely too large of a risk now that they are stressed a bit.

You also could just have an untimely nipper.

CoralWealth · Mar 7, 2019

jda said:
The corals only need PE for gas exchange. Any other time that the polyps are out, it is extra... and a risk. They retract when the lights are on because the zoox has taken over co2 and o2 exchange and they don't need to exchange gas with the water. When they were healthy, they could probably risk having the polyps out to collect more rays or maybe even food. This is likely too large of a risk now that they are stressed a bit.

You also could just have an untimely nipper.

Okay that is what I was figuring that it was because of the stress they occurred, but just didnt know why they have great PE for the first 4-5 hours and then it declines after 6 hours when before it was always the same throughout the day.

I definitely dont have a nipper as it is in both my frag and display tank that this is happening (theyre connected) and I do not have a fish that nips at SPS in either tank.

CoralWealth · Apr 3, 2019

Okay this is still happening and it is really starting to be annoying.

The PE will be great for the first 5-6 hours of lights on and then around 6pm (likes come on around 12pm) the PE decreases a ton and it is only on the top of the corals, the bottom or underneath branches still have a lot of PE. I am completely lost.

alk is very very consitent between 7-7.5 (I have a KH Guardian so I know that is good)

salinity is back to being 1.026 and has been for 3 weeks.

Two things I noticed that are out of whack:

P04 is over 0.3 and I have using the hanna ultra low range, it was over 200.

Also my potassium is only 230-250.

CoralWealth · Apr 3, 2019

My PC Rainbow has turned from a dark red to green and my pink lemonade that was a very nice yellow has turned completely blah

CoralWealth · Apr 3, 2019

This is what they looked like before my vacation when they were thriving. They looked like this ALL day.

rkpetersen · Apr 3, 2019

codydemmel4 said:
P04 is over 0.3 and I have using the hanna ultra low range, it was over 200.

Also my potassium is only 230-250.

So, both are pretty not good. That Hanna reading means your PO4 is greater than 0.6.
Also I've never seen a potassium that low. I supplement if mine drops below 400.
I'd work on correcting both, slowly, and maybe your corals will turn around.

CoralWealth · Apr 3, 2019

rkpetersen said:
So, both are pretty not good. That Hanna reading means your PO4 is greater than 0.6.
Also I've never seen a potassium that low. I supplement if mine drops below 400.
I'd work on correcting both, slowly, and maybe your corals will turn around.

I am working on both, I am doing water changes and also added a little GFO which I hate to do but I know I have to. Potassium I am sure is that low as it was confirmed by the salifert test and also an ATI ICP

Weird thing is nitrate was only 12-16 via red sea

What I dont get is why they look great with amazing PE for the first 5-6 hours and then look like crap the rest of the time the lights are on. It would make more sense if they looked like crap the whole time

Hemmdog · Apr 3, 2019

I think it might be a light issue. What lights are you using. If they start looking stressed after 6 hours of being blasted maybe they are telling you to start your ramp down time a little before your 5-6 hour mark, or lower intensity a little bit overall if you want longer hours, see what happens; Just a guess.

jda · Apr 3, 2019

They don't need to exchange gas once the lights have been on for a while. Once the zoox get going with the light cycle, then they create more sugar and gasses and the polyps can come back in. The look fine. Don't worry about this. It does not mean anything.

jda · Apr 3, 2019

You will get better color if you get the P down. It will not really do much for the PE, though.

CoralWealth · Apr 3, 2019

Hemmdog said:
I think it might be a light issue. What lights are you using. If they start looking stressed after 6 hours of being blasted maybe they are telling you to start your ramp down time a little before your 5-6 hour mark, or lower intensity a little bit overall if you want longer hours, see what happens; Just a guess.

unfortunately it definitely isnt light ( I wish it was that easy haha), this is the same exact light I have had for 2+ years its a 8x80w ati sunpower

CoralWealth · Apr 3, 2019

jda said:
They don't need to exchange gas once the lights have been on for a while. Once the zoox get going with the light cycle, then they create more sugar and gasses and the polyps can come back in. The look fine. Don't worry about this. It does not mean anything.

Just strange how it was never like this before and just started in the past month when the tank has been setup for over 2 years

CoralWealth · Apr 3, 2019

jda said:
You will get better color if you get the P down. It will not really do much for the PE, though.

I assume the greenish colors coming in some of my corals is because of the high P04?

Holy_makerel · Apr 3, 2019

jda said:
The corals only need PE for gas exchange. Any other time that the polyps are out, it is extra... and a risk. They retract when the lights are on because the zoox has taken over co2 and o2 exchange and they don't need to exchange gas with the water. When they were healthy, they could probably risk having the polyps out to collect more rays or maybe even food. This is likely too large of a risk now that they are stressed a bit.

You also could just have an untimely nipper.

Never thought about it like that before. Makes sense. Thanks for sharing that

jda · Apr 3, 2019

As P rises, they go a greenish shade of the original color, then green, then a brownish shade of the original color (which gives people hope since it is not green) and then all brown. Go slow lowering it. Some of them might not change at all... but some will - the Pink Lem and PC Rainbow are good litmus corals for this.

You are starting to get colonies now. They are different than frags... they have more energy, grow faster and otherwise act differently. In some ways, they are harder especially with flow and shadowing, but you should be set there. In some ways, they are hardier and less likely to RTN. Sometimes they color differently as well.