mtnsky Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I've noticed a steady decline in some of my soft coral. There are two pictures below for comparison. Nothing has changed really. Weekly water changes are performed and the salinity is kept at 1.024. I replaced my metal halide bulb when it seemed old and there was a lot of brown algae and that seemed to help. I can roughly time the begin of the decline when I got a new bucket of reef crystals. Before that I was experimenting with different salts. Now that I'm almost done with the bucket, I'm going to change salts to see if that changes anything. Maybe the bucket I had wasn't mixed correctly. My only other concern is that my crocea clam was new at that time, and maybe he is hogging all the nutrients. Is there a common supplement I can try if a new salt doesn't work? FTS 8/30/10 FTS 3/27/11 Link to comment
LarryMoeCurly Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Wow, thats a really dramatic difference. I feel bad for you. Link to comment
Cheapreef27 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Wow, thats a really dramatic difference. I feel bad for you. Well, do you run a skimmer or carbon, cause i know that some soft corals secrete chemicals and will initiate chemical warfare, killing others. Link to comment
Rehype Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Firstly you need to stop switching salts...i can tell you from experience that changing between salts can have a detrimental effect on some of your livestock. Each salt mix depending on manufacturer/batch can vary greatly and these differences in ph/alk/mg/ca..etc can have adverse affects on your lifestock.Stability in a reef is key. If you do decide to switch salts it should be done slowly in small water changes mixed with the current salt brand. If your clam was sucking all the calcium out of your tank it would have been better to dose those supplements separately. Keep in mind softies dont use calcium or alk for growth so they wouldnt benefit from these supplements. Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Is there a common supplement I can try if a new salt doesn't work? First thing you need to do is test your water and I mean a full run of tests so you know what your levels are. Dosing blind is dangerous. Another thing is try to settle on a salt and stay with it. I've noticed declines in my corals when switching brands quickly and not easing into it. I had just about shocked my tank when I switched salts. If I ever change salts again, I'd buy the new salt while I still had a few water changes of the old salt left and gradually increase the amount of the new salt in the old salt until I was just using the new salt. Or you could do smaller water changes with the new salt. Link to comment
thoppa Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 +1. Too much light I can see your mushrooms moved out of the light and into cracks. Everything else cept for that one stalk is fine. If you want to keep softies, you need to put that towards the bottom as they prefer a 20-150 par range. It looks like you are putting out over 200 on them. Link to comment
mtnsky Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Well, do you run a skimmer or carbon, cause i know that some soft corals secrete chemicals and will initiate chemical warfare, killing others. I have chemi-pure elite in the back. I guess it could be changed though. Firstly you need to stop switching salts...i can tell you from experience that changing between salts can have a detrimental effect on some of your livestock. I've used the same salt for 6 months, and it seems like this decline happened when I started using it. The bucket is almost done, so I'm thinking I should switch back to what worked before. I can see your mushrooms moved out of the light and into cracks. Everything else cept for that one stalk is fine. If you want to keep softies, you need to put that towards the bottom as they prefer a 20-150 par range. It looks like you are putting out over 200 on them. I don't know. I've always had 14k 150watt metal halide bulb, and my coral have always been in the middle or higher. I did switch from the stock bulb to the phoenix though. My SPS (2 birdnests and monti cap) were the first things to go when I had the old bulb, and I attributed this to the bulb going bad. Link to comment
Chyendra Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 What are your nitrates and phosphates? maybe you're keep your water TOO clean for softies. My softies slowed down in growth when I started dosing vodka and my nitrates dropped. Just a thought. Link to comment
mtnsky Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 What are your nitrates and phosphates? maybe you're keep your water TOO clean for softies. My softies slowed down in growth when I started dosing vodka and my nitrates dropped. Just a thought. That could fit with these troubles starting somewhat after the clam was introduced since they make the water cleaner. However, there is a good bit of hair algae every week that must be scraped off the glass and back. Link to comment
Chyendra Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Evil hair algea... mine grows in 0 nitrate.... Link to comment
javisaman Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I don't know. I've always had 14k 150watt metal halide bulb, and my coral have always been in the middle or higher. I did switch from the stock bulb to the phoenix though. My SPS (2 birdnests and monti cap) were the first things to go when I had the old bulb, and I attributed this to the bulb going bad. This^ . The shrooms look bleached to death. The phoenix bulb will put out a whole lot more PAR than your stock one, especially an old bulb. Link to comment
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