Coral Bleaching

[00Turbo00]

Hi Im Kinda of a newbie to saltwater. The Question i have is two peices of my coral in my 55 Gallon tank are bleaching out, but all my water levels are perfect. I have overflow box with sump,protein skimmer, coral life quad lighting with the right blubs in it. Please help dont want to loose these corals

 

[NanaReefer]

What kind of corals?

 

[ak_reefer]

I know you said your water parameters are perfect but I am sure most will want to know what those levels are. Also what is your temp and salinity? Like Nana said what types of coral SPS, LPS,...etc. Are you running T5's or PC's?

 

[00Turbo00]

Birdnest Coral And Chesterfieldensis Acropora coral, both located towards the top of tank, with to power heads and return line for flow. Salinty is 1.024, Temp Is 79, Ph. 8.4, Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate inbetween 0 And 5 ppm using api liquid test kits. Calcuim is around 420 Phosphate is Under 0.25. T5 Bulbs For Sunrise And Sunset. And 10,000 Durning the high part of day. Also I use Kent Liquid Calcuim, Iodide, Strontuim And Molybdenum, Mirco Vert And Kent Reef Acclerated, at the right times per directions on bottle also i shut my protein skimmer off durning feeding times. Also there is mico planton in tank

 

[00Turbo00]

I should note that there is a clown fish in the tank, they have been in there for a month and just starting doing it now

 

[ak_reefer]

I'm sure others will chime in since I do not keep SPS I am not sure on their specific needs, I do know they require pristine water conditions and very intense lighting. I am not sure if T5's are strong enough for them. Also I do not dose I just do weekly water changes and use a buffer but I have read that using Iodine can have an adverse effect on our home reef tanks.

 

[ak_reefer]

I forgot to as as well how long has your tank been up and running?

 

[00Turbo00]

My Soft corals and polyps and anemone are thriving in the tank, plenty of live rock and sand, from what i have read from Dr. Fosters and Smith they can live in a tank with t5 lighting if placed at the top with plenty of flow, they also say that they need iodide. i have not heard that it can harm them, but it is something i will need to do some more research on this. also have heard that they are harder to keep then some corals, maybe just tried to start with corals that are too hard for my level

 

[00Turbo00]

Over two months the tank has been up and running, waited a month too let everything settle before putting any corals in

 

[blk822822]

Are your corals loosing color from the bottom up or the whole coral all at once?

 

[00Turbo00]

The Birdnest is from the bottom up and the chesterfieldensis is just on one branch starting at the top

 

[kpiotrowski]

phosphate is high, salinity low, lighting is low for acro's. tank is still very young. how about flow?

don't dose anything you can't measure some will say...so don't be overdosing!

advise several 20-25% waterchanges every 3-4 days x 4-5.( to bring your water back into balance if you have overdosed anything) increase light period and flow. stop dosing everything but calcium, mg, and alk but be sure to understand how to go about that and test for the them and their affects.

and finally just chill. ( while you read read read about your corals and their needs) it can sometimes take months for sps to adapt and color up in a new environment.

 

[pandora32]

I used to dose iodide "as per directions" and found out that if you dont test your water for it like you do for calcium, it can build up in the tank until it does get toxic. I would stop dosing iodide until you can test for it. I also use the api reef master and the api saltwater master test kits. Have come to find out, not the most reliable. Slowly been buying elos test kits. Much better imo. Also, unless your absolutely sure your water is perfect, your tank is young. If you wanna try sps, id go with montipora. For an sps coral, its hardy.

 

[00Turbo00]

okay in your opinion what should i do to lower phosphate then, Water changes then? What should the salinity be? flow is good i believe. should i leave the daytime 10,000 blubs going longer durning the day? and i really appericated all the help, sometimes i look into things to much and should proly just let the tank be for awhile.

 

[blk822822]

Are you using RO/DI water for your top off and salt mix?

 

[NanaReefer]

Alkalinity also plays a very important roll in the health of Acroporas. Granular Ferric Oxide (GFO) is what is mainly used to remove (Po4) phosphates. IMHO...Acros are much harder to keep. Especially in a *mixed* reef. Softies/LPS are known for chemical warfare which is not tolerated by Acros.

 

[ak_reefer]

If you are using tap water that could be the main source of you elevated phosphate levels.

 

[blk822822]

You can run actinic bulbs all day along with the 10k bulbs. Have them come on first , then the 10k's , then the 10k's off first , then the actinics off. You can have a 12 hour light cycle or longer .

 

[00Turbo00]

i dont have a RO/DI machine, i use prime or aqua safe on my tap water to clean it, then i add the salt mix. can i buy RO/DI water anywhere intell i can get a machine

 

[00Turbo00]

I did some reseach and my local lfs does not sell ro/di water nor do they use, we only have a petco here, but they told me i could buy it at the gorcery store what will i be looking for and do i still need to treat it?