Kenya Dying. All else seems good

[billaweed]

Hey ya'll,

Lately me phosphates have been getting a little high, starting to get the green hair algae, and I noticed about the same time my Kenya trees were all white (instead of the normal dark to light pink) and bent over as well as the base of every tree turning dark brown. Now, I know they are dying if not dead allready.

I can only think of two issues with my tank that could be causing this.

1.) after noticing this problem I decided I should replace my old MH bulbs that were almost 2yrs old. So i'm not positive whether the bulbs were the issue, though I doubt it since these are very low light corals. (My Xenia are doing fine)

2.)They couldnt handle the rise in phosphates? I'm checking my other levels right now with my test kit, though my little stick on the glass meters say my ammonia and Nitrate levels are fine.

Any Ideas?

 

[Scooterman]

If you have phosphates then you have problems regardless, so start by cleaning everything, including pumps & get to doing some large WC's & continue them frequently until your Phosphates are down!
I know, sound like a broken record but true is true that

 

[returnofsid]

While doing all the above mentioned water changes, make sure to use a powerhead or turkey baster to blow off all your live rock. I mean blow it out good!! All that detritus that's stuck in the nooks and crannies of your live rock....blow it out!! Do this on a regular basis. That's where your phosphates are hiding.

 

[billaweed]

While doing all the above mentioned water changes, make sure to use a powerhead or turkey baster to blow off all your live rock. I mean blow it out good!! All that detritus that's stuck in the nooks and crannies of your live rock....blow it out!! Do this on a regular basis. That's where your phosphates are hiding.

Those sneaky little buggers. I'll show them phosphates who the boss is!

 

[billaweed]

So I guess my question is, will phosphates at a low amount harm my kenya's? Seems they would be kinda harmless, and I dont think the light had much to do with it. Although, I could be wrong.

 

[mschrissygil]

So I guess my question is, will phosphates at a low amount harm my kenya's? Seems they would be kinda harmless, and I dont think the light had much to do with it. Although, I could be wrong.

How are they doing now? I know when Jeff had 3 of them in his nano, sometimes they would just shrivel up and look icky for a day or two for what seemed like no reason and then back to normal. Those things dropped branches everywhere and I'm still plucking them off of the rocks they stuck to, so I think they're pretty hard to kill even with phospates being a little high!

 

[Ed Hahn]

How about your tank temperatures? Tempertures could cause unwanted phosphates from Die off of algae, etc.

 

[shotzie]

Kenya Trees are non photosynthetic. They require some sort of particulates such as phyto, cyclops, or zooplankton on occasion. i feed my fish phyto enriched myasis then i dont have to worry about dosing anything. Most of the bottle feeding is labled to dose in excess in my opinion. A little goes a long way. Anytime i have dosed by the lable i end up with problems. Just my .02

 

[gary shandling]

The addition of a new light source would cause stress on them . When replaceing bulbs u want to restict time and let your stock readjust to the higher lighting. The higher lighting can also cause an algea bloom.

I dought this alone would be the main issue. If your tank was in good shape then the new lights would have not showed any differance but in addition of another problem like high nitrates would increase the effects due to unseen stress.

 

[NaH2O]

shotzie - it really depends on which type of Nephtheidae you are referring to. Unfortunately, common names leads to misunderstanding of needs. Kenya Trees of the Capnella species are photosynthetic. Of the Nephtheidae family, Dendronephthya and Scleronephthya are the ones that make me think non-photosynthetic corals that require special care (i.e. chili corals). Here's some further reading: Nephtheids

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Hey ya'll,

Lately me phosphates have been getting a little high, starting to get the green hair algae, and I noticed about the same time my Kenya trees were all white (instead of the normal dark to light pink) and bent over as well as the base of every tree turning dark brown. Now, I know they are dying if not dead allready.

I can only think of two issues with my tank that could be causing this.

1.) after noticing this problem I decided I should replace my old MH bulbs that were almost 2yrs old. So i'm not positive whether the bulbs were the issue, though I doubt it since these are very low light corals. (My Xenia are doing fine)

2.)They couldnt handle the rise in phosphates? I'm checking my other levels right now with my test kit, though my little stick on the glass meters say my ammonia and Nitrate levels are fine.

Any Ideas?

What kind of meters do you test with?
Last time and % of water change plus frequency?
Please note all measurements include temp, salinity, ph, dkh, ammonia, nitrates.

What kind of water flow you have?
Large temp swings?
What type filtration?