SCOLY CORAL RECEDING

[YandyRiv]

Good afternoon,

ive had a bleeding apple scoly for the last 7 months which always inflated and responded very well to being fed. The scoly was on the sand bed of a biocube 32 with a ai prime 16hd light. I recently upgraded to a red sea reefer 200xl and upgraded the to a hydra 32. I kept my light settings the same. But i noticed the scoly tissue has been receding alot. I have other corals in the tank which seem to be doing fine. I have moved it to shaded area and low flow area. If anyone has any iput i would highly appreciate it.

ph - 7.8
Alk- 8.3
Calcium-420
Magnesium - 1200
Phosphate - 0.043
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite-0
Amonia-0
Salinity-1.025

 

[brandon429]

you did well, adjusting the light intensity by repositioning that was good instinct

now it needs spot injection feeding sustained for two mos see how it does. try and catch when feeders are out, put a drop in the tank at 5 am to bring them out then use a target feeder to directly feed it, it'll come back.

 

[ReefJCB]

What temp are you keeping your tank at? Scolys like cooler water, you may also want to increase your nitrates. They can benefit from a little dirtier water.

 

[YandyRiv]

you did well, adjusting the light intensity by repositioning that was good instinct

now it needs spot injection feeding sustained for two mos see how it does. try and catch when feeders are out, put a drop in the tank at 5 am to bring them out then use a target feeder to directly feed it, it'll come back.

Thanks for your input

 

[YandyRiv]

What temp are you keeping your tank at? Scolys like cooler water, you may also want to increase your nitrates. They can benefit from a little dirtier water.

Tempt in the tank is at a steady 75.5 F. Nitrates i suspect is in low numbers. Api test kit just not measuring it.

 

[YandyRiv]

Tempt in the tank is at a steady 75.5 F. Nitrates i suspect is in low numbers. Api test kit just not measuring it.

 

[Dkmoo]

Yeah probably got ticked by sudden light change. a little TLC will help it get back on its feet

params look good - only thing I'd try to SLOWLY adjust is to raise that pH to 8.1 to 8.3

You'll find two different camps here - those who believe 7.8 is good enough if you keep alk stable, and there those like me who believe raising it to above 8.1 the right way is better for long term lps/sps success

I think there is merit in stability. Those in the former camp also points to the fact that ph also swings daily, and blindly chasing numbers does more harm than good. While these are valid points, i firmly believe that, done correctly, I think everyone will agree that maintaining a stable pH at above 8.1 has well documented benefits than corals kept at stable 7.8, including better growth, calcification, and overall healthier corals that's less susceptible to environmental stressors

At alk of 8 under normal conditions, pH should be around 8.2 8.3. This is why many point to maintainly alk around 8 is important. However, in many tanks, high co2 drops pH into the 7.7,7.8 range. This is easily remedied, but needs to be done the right way and identify the right cause vs other causes that drops pH.

If this is an area you are interested as a future improvement for your tank, please do your research first before you start adding buffers to raise pH. BRStv did a good video on this. Randy also has a number of articles on the chemistry. There is a right way to fix this and a wrong way. We are also here to help.

 

[YandyRiv]

Yeah probably got ticked by sudden light change. a little TLC will help it get back on its feet

params look good - only thing I'd try to SLOWLY adjust is to raise that pH to 8.1 to 8.3

You'll find two different camps here - those who believe 7.8 is good enough if you keep alk stable, and there those like me who believe raising it to above 8.1 the right way is better for long term lps/sps success

I think there is merit in stability. Those in the former camp also points to the fact that ph also swings daily, and blindly chasing numbers does more harm than good. While these are valid points, i firmly believe that, done correctly, I think everyone will agree that maintaining a stable pH at above 8.1 has well documented benefits than corals kept at stable 7.8, including better growth, calcification, and overall healthier corals that's less susceptible to environmental stressors

At alk of 8 under normal conditions, pH should be around 8.2 8.3. This is why many point to maintainly alk around 8 is important. However, in many tanks, high co2 drops pH into the 7.7,7.8 range. This is easily remedied, but needs to be done the right way and identify the right cause vs other causes that drops pH.

If this is an area you are interested as a future improvement for your tank, please do your research first before you start adding buffers to raise pH. BRStv did a good video on this. Randy also has a number of articles on the chemistry. There is a right way to fix this and a wrong way. We are also here to help.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Do you have any suggestion in a proper way to raise ph?

 

[Dkmoo]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. Do you have any suggestion in a proper way to raise ph?

Id start with the below to get a better understanding the relationship between alk, ca, mg, and ph. Then determine what is the cause of your ph, before you take any corrective actions. High co2 is the most common cause but we still want to confirm via the cup test to see if its too high in tank co2 vs too high ambient co2 vs something else

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/rhf/index.php

 

[Seaspirit]

I’m still a beginner but have worked hard on raising pH, even just a bit, and for me (with high ambient CO2 in our house) it has definitely not been easy. If there’s a way you can increase air exchange and get outside fresh air to your tank, that can get you up to at least 8.

I’ve also heard that scolys (and acanthastrea which I have) prefer some nitrates, maybe in the 5-10 range. I’m trying to get there by feeding more and not keeping my tank quite so squeaky clean.

I also target my magnesium at 1350, got that recommendation from BRS, I think.

You’re doing everything right for your scoly! Am sure it will turn around.