Help SPS dying

[Joel A]

yeah this is tough.. i wouldn't call it a significant drop or gain in light now that i think of it..

and most cases where i hear of to much or too little light SPS are affected much faster than 4 weeks... i'm starting to think we should be looking elsewhere besides the light...

 

[JohnK]

Yup, it the affected corals are bleaching from the bottom up, then IMO it sounds like something other than light causing it. If it were a light issue, I would expect to see the branch tips affected first and the problem progressing from there.

 

[Liam]

I agree,with John K.
Sounds more like RTN to me now you have stated it is from the bottom.

 

[salthobby]

So can the rapid change in light cause RTN and what can I do about it. I have been fragging them and discarding the white parts.

 

[MikeG]

My halides were only a couple months old they were 10,000k XM's

XM 10k's are monsters as far as PAR goes especially in Luminarcs. However I agree that this doesn't sound like a light issue. That would definately be seen pretty quick and from the tips down if it is burning and would normally just lose color if too little light. Could have RTN in both cases as well.

Have you added any phosphate removal media lately, had any change in parameters, change in test kits, or change in other equipment?

 

[ReeferMedic]

Agreed, probably not a light issue at all. Good thing no one got their panties in a bunch over the light issue.

 

[Joel A]

Agreed, probably not a light issue at all. Good thing no one got their panties in a bunch over the light issue.

i was close though (i'm good at that )

 

[tigerslacrosse4]

although i myself dont have a reef tank and dont know much about them .... i would think the bleaching of your corals is because they are geting to much light and puting the bulbs closer to the water is just like bringing the sun closer to the earth most likely going to speed up your problem you should try pulling them even further off the water than they already are and see what happens again i dont know much about reefing but if im understanding this correctly then thats what i would do and please correct me if im wrong bc i would like the advise for the future when i do start my reef tank

 

[JohnK]

So can the rapid change in light cause RTN and what can I do about it. I have been fragging them and discarding the white parts.

Is the flesh falling off the skeletons, or just losing color? If it's just losing color, then it's not RTN. If the flesh is quickly dying and falling/peeling off the skeletons, then it is RTN.

FWIW, RTN is more a symptom than a disease. It can be caused by all sorts of things, and often the cause is a bit of a mystery. (the same can be said for slower bleaching as well). Any stress can contribute, and any change is stress, so that would be why the lighting seemed like a likely explanation.

Considering that you said the loss of color is from the base up, it sounds like it's something other than the light causing it. There could be some system instability stemming from the change in light, and this could contribute, but it sounds like it's either something other than the light causing the problem, or it's something secondary to the change and not a direct reaction to the lighting change.

 

[jtma508]

have you considered doing window screen shading acclimation to see if they come back? Remember it's not just about PAR. The T5's are putting out alot more light at certain wavelengths than the MH's were.

 

[salthobby]

Is the flesh falling off the skeletons, or just losing color? If it's just losing color, then it's not RTN. If the flesh is quickly dying and falling/peeling off the skeletons, then it is RTN.

FWIW, RTN is more a symptom than a disease. It can be caused by all sorts of things, and often the cause is a bit of a mystery. (the same can be said for slower bleaching as well). Any stress can contribute, and any change is stress, so that would be why the lighting seemed like a likely explanation.

Considering that you said the loss of color is from the base up, it sounds like it's something other than the light causing it. There could be some system instability stemming from the change in light, and this could contribute, but it sounds like it's either something other than the light causing the problem, or it's something secondary to the change and not a direct reaction to the lighting change.

No the flesh is not peeling off just turning white, Also I did just add a phosphate reactor if that helps.

 

[JohnK]

OK so your seeing "bleaching" but not "RTN". Sometimes bleached corals will recover.

The phosphate remover/reactor could be an issue. Not that GFO is bad, but sometimes when a reactor is first installed it can cause a fairly rapid change in the system. Any change is likely to be a stressor, so that easily could have something to do with it. Some instablilty in parameters, lack of water changes, increased temp swings because of the season.... all these things could have something to do with it.

*please keep in mind that I am not a SPS guy and my advice should only be taken generally and with a grain of salt about this *

 

[tigerslacrosse4]

well i dont know if you have a DSB but i was just reading up on some things that can happen... did your rock or corals become disturbed in any way shift or fall and disturb your sand bed? because there can be pockets of water with low levels of oxygen under pieces of rock in the sand bed and if the rock shifts this the corals and all other inhabitants are effected like i said im not an "expert" but i have been doing some reading and thought maby that could be plausable cause..... again good luck

 

[salthobby]

Thanks for everyones help I'll just do water changes and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[SharkLover]

One question that I have is......
Does SPS consume more and/or less calcium under different lighting/par. example.

now this is just an example, all number arbritary.

Lets say salthobby started with calc reactor running at half its maximum output.
and with this setting he used 20g of alk per day to raise alk to a 8-12dkh rating.

Now lets say, he switches out those MH and uses T5's.....
Could this cause a change in the amount of power the calc reactor should run. Also could this cause a change in the amount of alkalinity he would need to dose?

If this is the case.. Have you considered re-creating your variable chart for dosing to fit your T5 needs?


Complete arbritrary talk. I've never looked any of this up. but i'm sure someone here would have at least thought about this and may know the answer.

+1 on the GFO. When i started dosing GFO they warned me to start with half the dosage.

 

[SteveDola]

bingo on the gfo, that stuff will stn sps. cut the amount in the reactor and it should help.

 

[UncleJT]

In his other thread the OP says his alk is 12-14. :: I suspect this is a major part of his problem.