Staghorn losing color

[The Shark]

I recently put a neon green staghorn frag into my tank. The frag appeared to be doing great, with full polyp extension right away. I keep it under 4 18' VHO actinic-r lamps and a single ended Reeflux 250w 10k metal halide.

Over the past couple weeks the staghorn has lost most of its color and turned a shade of brown. I know it is not dead because I still see the same amount of polyp extension out of it.

Am I doing something wrong here? Could my lighting system be flawed?

 

[matts125]

It is not unusual for an sps frag to go through a brown out faze after being moved to a new tank/enviroment. but there may be something else going on too. we need more details to go on before we assume something is wrong. (lighting from pevious tank, your water parameters and water flow)

Matt

I recently put a neon green staghorn frag into my tank. The frag appeared to be doing great, with full polyp extension right away. I keep it under 4 18' VHO actinic-r lamps and a single ended Reeflux 250w 10k metal halide.

Over the past couple weeks the staghorn has lost most of its color and turned a shade of brown. I know it is not dead because I still see the same amount of polyp extension out of it.

Am I doing something wrong here? Could my lighting system be flawed?

 

[gary shandling]

Could be normal.
Whats the water readings?
Whats used for water flow?
What type of food is added in the tank?
SPS perfer good flow over high lights.

 

[The Shark]

My turnover rate is approximately 53 times an hour in a 60 gallon tank. I am using two maxi-jet 1200's on a red sea wavemaker for circulation.
I am using Rod's food, ocean nutrition pellets and flake and nori sheets for food. I am adding liquid life phytoplankton twice a week.

Calcium is 420, heat 78-82 degrees.

 

[matts125]

My turnover rate is approximately 53 times an hour in a 60 gallon tank. I am using two maxi-jet 1200's on a red sea wavemaker for circulation.
I am using Rod's food, ocean nutrition pellets and flake and nori sheets for food. I am adding liquid life phytoplankton twice a week.

Calcium is 420, heat 78-82 degrees.

how do you suppose you are turning over your water 53 times per hour with less than 400 gph water flow from 2 maxijets?

that is only turning your tank over 6 times per hour and that is with them both on full time and not alternating current.

IMO 2 maxijets is not enough water flow for a 20 gallon sps tank let alone a 60.

I hope you have more flow than stated above.

hope this helps.

matt

 

[The Shark]

I have a PanWorld return pump running 790 GPH

 

[matts125]

I have a PanWorld return pump running 790 GPH

how are you doing your math for your waterflow turn over, cause 790+400= 1190/60 gallons =19.8 times per hour.

(please dont think I am critisizing your tank, I am just trying to understand your tank specifics to help your situation...)

Matt

 

[matts125]

most all sps corals especially acropora's strive for high to very high water flow.
for examply my tank is a simple 30''x30''x30'' and within that small tank (115 gallons) I have a little over 8000 gph water flow and still have bad/dead spots where I dont have the proper flow and there for algea grows and sps wont color or grow in these dead spots.

 

[tamarindthai]

heat 78-82 degrees just liitle bit too hot= 82,,4 degree temperature swing ?,,sps willl look a lot better if you try not to have more than 2degree swing.

 

[ziggy]

heat 78-82 degrees just liitle bit too hot= 82,,4 degree temperature swing ?,,sps willl look a lot better if you try not to have more than 2degree swing.

Thank you Dang,
I've been having about 4 degree swings and thought that wasn't the best "but it's ok". I will strive for tighter temp ranges. However my wife won't like the increase in the energy bill. As Matt125 said to me once " Your already in the game!" Hey, whats another couple dollars a month?

Results...............Priceless

Chad

 

[The Shark]

Whoop, I am dumb. I counted the Maxi-jets as 1200 gph...that would be nice.

Perhaps I will replace them with some nanostreams or koralias and see what happens.

 

[matts125]

Whoop, I am dumb. I counted the Maxi-jets as 1200 gph...that would be nice.

Perhaps I will replace them with some nanostreams or koralias and see what happens.

I am glad I caught that for you, cause your never going to have any success with that water flow for sps.

go with korillia's (cost effective) they have a much more wide spread water flow and are more random unlike the maxijets that is a strong jet stream of water which is not good for your corals especially if they are pointed at the corals...

and as Dang said get that temp under controll and your tank will do better, I keep mine 75-77 but is only at 77 for less than 5 minutes at a time as that is when my 1 hp chiller kicks on..

good luck...

Matt
Matt

 

[plack]

I would add that brown corals as much as we hate the color ARE HEALTHY.

More flow is an excellent idea. Keeping the temperature more steady works for some --Keep in mind that corals in the wild go thru up to 4 degree Temperature swing's daily on the great barrier reef:

"One of our guides also said that the reef already has temperature swings of 4 degrees per day anyway and so a 1 degree increase in global temperatures should not affect it but who knows for sure?"" Well said !!

I know there are other scientists that see the temperature as causing the bleaching--- but that is the continual rise and not the everyday swings.

I am more coincerned about "The crown-of-thorns starfish is also a major predator as it feeds on coral polyps and can wipe out vast areas of reef."

http://ozreef.org/index.php?set_alb...=com_gallery&Itemid=46&include=view_photo.php



Celsius Fahrenheit
22.00 71.60
22.50 72.50
23.00 73.40
23.50 74.30
24.00 75.20
24.50 76.10
25.00 77.00
25.50 77.90
26.00 78.80
26.50 79.70
27.00 80.60
27.50 81.50
28.00 82.40

Sorry if I went on a bit -- I try and manage to keep my tank between 78.. to 79.5
myself.

I just know that in the WILD they can handle more including salinity changes from rainfall runoff depending on where it is located .



Paul

 

[dailydriven911]

What about your other params like alk, po4, no3, mg, and so on that are so important to sps corals.

 

[gary shandling]

The flow you have on your wave maker is wrong.You want a constant circulation in your tank. Then they would perfer small meaty bits of food like cyclops. They get little if any from marine snow.

 

[The Shark]

Thanks gary...

I just bought two nanostream 6025's that I am going to mod and run without a wavemaker. Hoping it makes a difference. Chiller is next.

 

[gary shandling]

You need better food also. Heres a link on coral health.GL..

http://www.asira.org/caresheets

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
The most probable cause for your color change is lighting that was different from the original place it was when green. This doesn't mean that it won't return to green once it adapts to your lighting situation. It just may take a few months. The most reliable way to maintain color is to place a coral under the same lighting intensity and spectrum as it came from unless of course you want to change the color. It may well change to an altogether different shade or color that you like even better.

If you are unable to find out what the original placement was, it is best to just leave the coral in place rather than moving it around every few weeks. In a few months make a frag or two and place them in other locations and see what it does. If one of the frags color to your liking then you can move the whole colony.

If you have fish with your corals and maintain NSW levels of calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity additional food is not required. Excellent skimming, high random water flow, and clean/clear water are much more important.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[dailydriven911]

I have many frags from others tanks and while some have changed color they have not browned out on me, especially within 2-3 weeks. I could also see corals turning brown quite quickly if po4 levels or no3 levels are much higher than the previous tank conditions. Not saying lighting is not a factor here but I don't believe it's the only reason. Have you tested for po4, no3, etc?

 

[The Shark]

Don't have an MG test kit yet.

NO=0
po4=0
alk=8.3