Softies Shrinking?

[dwall174]

I only have softies for now because of my lighting, I only have 260-watts of PC’s. I noticed in the last few days that my Mushrooms & Button Polyps seem to be shrinking & not opening up that much. My Ca is a little low at 370 but the other parameters seem good. NH4, NO2, NO3, all “0” PO4 0.03, Alk 3.89 meq/L, PH 8.3, SG 1.024, Temp 78degrees. Would the low Ca cause the polyps & mushrooms to shrink up? Or should I be looking for something else?

 

[joshinjosh]

im not really experienced in reef keeping (i just started), but i had the same problems with my mushrooms. from my experience, my mushrooms were always closed, but opened up quite nicely when i put it in the shaded region of my tank, so maybe its cuz of ur lights. not sure about ur button polys. eh, hope this kinda helps

 

[gehidore]

Did you have a major change in lighting spectrum/intensity recently?

 

[dwall174]

I’ve had the same JBJ fixture for over a year now & I replaced the bulbs about three months ago! The corals have been doing really good up until just a couple days ago. The only thing I’ve changed recently (about a week ago) is the brand of kalk that I use for my drip system. I use to use Kent brand kalk, however the last time I was at my LFS they were out of Kent kalk & I ended picking up some “Coralife Kalk Plus” which has an Iodine supplement added?

 

[NaH2O]

Moving to Anthony's forum for his thoughts....

 

[MikeS]

If your inhabitants appearence/behavior change coinsides with a recent change in maintenance or supplimentation, then IMO that's a good place to start looking. You say the new kalk you are using has iodine as well? Have you tested the levels? Iodine is good at the proper level, but it's easy to overdo it and harmfull in excess. Test your iodine levels...

Also, your alkalinity is a bit high for your Ca level...at 3.9 meq/L your calcium should be around 440ppm. This could be a factor as well....

MikeS

 

[dwall174]

Moving to Anthony's forum for his thoughts....

Thanks Nikki! I wasn't sure which form to post it in chemistry? or coral? So I just went with the general forum!

Also, your alkalinity is a bit high for your Ca level...at 3.9 meq/L your calcium should be around 440ppm. This could be a factor as well....
MikeS

Yea I know! It usually stayed around 420ppm using the Kent kalk so there may be a difference there? I’m going to go out & pick up some Turbo Ca & slowly try to get the Ca back to 440ppm & see if that helps.

You say the new kalk you are using has iodine as well? Have you tested the levels?

Yea it says it’s supplemented with Strontium & Iodine? Unfortunately the three tests I don’t have yet are Strontium, Iodine, & Magnesium. I do plan to pick them up eventually but haven’t been able to get them locally. The next time I place an on-line order I will probably pick them up.

My Xenia & Zoa’s are doing great! It just seems to be the mushrooms & polyps that are effected?

 

[dwall174]

Also, your alkalinity is a bit high for your Ca level...MikeS

Well I think I found the source of my high Alk & low Ca! It looks as though IO has had some batches of salt with high Alk levels. I just tested a batch that I was getting ready for a water change & I got a reading of 15dkh!

 

[NaH2O]

Thanks Nikki! I wasn't sure which form to post it in chemistry? or coral? So I just went with the general forum!

I wasn't sure either. I figured with Anthony's expertise - he could steer you in the right direction. Glad you found your imbalance source. I tested my IO mix water last night, too. My alk wasn't as high as yours, it was 11.8dKh, with Ca 350ppm. *sigh* - the neverending battle

 

[dwall174]

My alk wasn't as high as yours, it was 11.8dKh, with Ca 350ppm.

So how do I get my Alk back down to around 11dkh? I bumped up my Ca in the water change tank to 460ppm thinking it would help level out the Alk! But it's still stayed at 15dkh?

 

[NaH2O]

Alright - I moved this to the chemistry forum....sorry for the jumping around - just trying to get the best exposure. Have you checked the Mg yet? I should probably do that, too - I'll make up some new water and test. I'll test my tank's Mg, but it will probably be skewed because I was using Oceanic prior to IO, so my Mg was really high. I know its come down some, but not sure how far at this point (it was almost 1600, then last time I checked it was 1450 or somewhere around there).

 

[dwall174]

Alright - I moved this to the chemistry forum....sorry for the jumping around - just trying to get the best exposure.

Thanks Again Nikki!

Have you checked the Mg yet?

No thats one of the tests I haven't got yet.

 

[dwall174]

Alright - I moved this to the chemistry forum....

Thanks again Nikki!
Looks as though I got things back in line, Ca at 420ppm & Alk at 10.9!

BTW After doing a little ckecking around I found out this problem with IO having high Alk has been going on for some time! This was the first time I've heard of it & the first time I've had any real problems with IO! But here's a couple links from RC talking about batches as high as 45dkh!
Post 1 & Post 2 I guess it just gives us one more thing to watch for!

 

[plack]

Hey could it just be trying to peel off some layer of skin for growth mine does that now and again or when the flow is not sufficient try increasing the flow on them for a few hours they see if they start to peel and then improve hope that helps
also do you have any polyps nearbye that are too close(they don't have to be touching to cause this ) and might be stinging them or stressing them ?

 

[dwall174]

Well I got the water parameters back in line however the polyps & several mushrooms are still looking bad? I have stopped using the “Coralife Kalk Plus” as that was the only real change I had made! I managed to borrow a camera so here are a couple pic’s.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

it will take some days/weeks for some corals to snap back, so to speak. No worries... with corrected water quality and patience, all will be well soon, likely.

Sorry I missed the action on the thread... I just flew back into town

 

[dwall174]

Thanks Anthony!

I have a tank (20gal) of water mixing right now for another water change tomorrow! I kind of think it was from the “Coralife Kalk Plus” that states it's supplemented with Strontium & Iodine. Being I don’t test for Iodine or Strontium yet, I have a feeling that could have been part of the problem.

 

[longnose]

1-I will play with a flow[reducing].2-Lock of iodine may be a factor[nsw will help]3-reducing photoperiod[won't hurt]