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Chalice coral verification please


Janine Pignatone

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Janine Pignatone

Hi!  I’m new to reefing and seeking some guidance please. I’ve been into freash water aquariums for most of my life. Recently I decided to take the plunge and start a reef tank. I always wanted to do salt water but never had the time to really focus on and care for reefing. I’m retired now and have the time to actually enjoy life so, I bought a 32 gallon nano about 6 months and I’m loving this. I love the life and absolute tranquility of the tank. So, I do have a question about one of my corals. I was told it was a chalice. I have had it for about two months. It appears to be growing, but it is turning white on the edges. I have tried every level of light but it doesn’t appear to be working.  I have attached a photo. Can someone please first verify that it is a chalice, and second please advise of what is going on with it, and how to fix it. Thank you all in advance for the advice and I am excited to be part of you group!

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RayWhisperer

Welcome to N-R. Sorry, I doubt anyone can give you verification, or diagnose a possible problem with that picture. Try getting a much clearer picture (I know, easier said than done), and post some water parameters.

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Janine Pignatone

Hi!!  Thank you for the warm welcome!! So this is the best pic I can get.  As for the water parimiters :

 

nitrate: 0

alka: 180

ph: 8.4

salinity 1.025

 

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Hi @Janine Pignatone, thanks for posting the pictures. Unfortunately the pics are a still blurry.

 

The "white edges" do seem to throw you off for it to be a Chalice. The left half does seem to have the characteristics of a Chalice coral. I can say because I have one. Its only the white edges that kinda misleads me a bit.

 

Let's wait for others who might be able to shed some light on this!

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RayWhisperer

As best I can tell, it looks to be a chalice. That’s not definitive, though. There are a few corals that it could be confused with by that pic. However, all would have about the same care requirements as a chalice. So, as of now, we’ll just focus on care and worry about ID later. The white you are seeing is the skeleton of the coral. That means the flesh has receded from that area. It doesn’t look to be necrotic, though. So, I’m guessing it’s just from poor health or conditions. Which, luckily, are usually easily remedied. 

 

I do alk in DKH, so I had to check the conversion. It comes out around 10 1/2. That’s high, not dangerously high, unless you are running your tank on ultra low nutrients. Considering, you’ve only been at this for 6 months, I kinda doubt that. However, it is a possibility. So, with that said, and assuming nitrates are true zero. What is your phosphate level at? Also, what are you doing to keep it that high? Dosing, water changes, kalk? The reason I ask is it could be a problem of wildly swinging parameters. Or, an imbalance caused by the high alk. Best give us the calcium, and just to eliminate any other possibilities, the mag levels. I don’t think it’s low mag, as that usually shows as low alkalinity, but I suppose it could be a possibility.

 

As as best I can tell, the hammer above it seems fine. However, it’s pretty tough to kill a hammer. Unless you actually use a hammer on it... so, let’s focus on a few other things. What kind of light are you using? Hammers can tolerate much lower light than chalice can, IME. Most consider all LPS as medium light corals. However, to get good growth and color from a chalice, they need to be acclimated to pretty intense light. Light source is going to be pretty important for corals. Chances are, if it’s a cheap, budget light, it won’t do the job. That’s not to say any cheap light can’t grow corals. But something like a marine land double bright led isn’t going to cut it.

 

Flow is another area area to consider. I’d suggest moderate, to moderately strong current to get the most from it. Not knowing anything about your system, I’ll just give you some numbers and you can take it from there. Bare minimum of flow would be 10x the total volume of your system per hour. And that really is bare minimum. I’d suggest 20x times, or even more. The idea is to get adequate, random flow to every area of the tank. Some areas will be stronger than others, so you just have to use your best judgement where to place certain corals. Since we’re on the subject, another possibility is the coral is getting stung occasionally from the hammer above it. I kinda doubt it, but it’s worth checking on it a few hours after lights out. Contrary to popular beliefs, hammer corals do have sweeper tenticals that they occasionally send out at night. If they contact the chalice, they will sting the coral anywhere they touch it. The same goes for the chalice, though. And they are a much more aggressive coral. That’s why I kinda doubt that’s your issue. The chalice would have likely done more damage to the hammer, which I see no evidence of.

 

Feeding is another need when trying to get to get the best growth and color from any LPS. Contrary to what many stores will tell you, most LPS can’t use phyto. They need actual meaty foods. True, they are photosynthetic animals, deriving much of their “food” from the light. (Actually, it’s much more complicated than that, but I’m not getting into that here.) Suffice it to say, any polyp with a mouth, has it for a reason. That reason is they need to supplement their diet with actual food. In the case of a chalice, I’d suggest a small piece of krill or mysis shrimp. This will go a long way towards improving the health of your chalice. Just feed it once or twice a week. No need to go overboard, as that usually ends up making water quality a problem. 

 

I figure thats enough to keep  you busy for a while. Post back with some answers and let’s see if we can’t get that coral going for you.

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Janine Pignatone

Hi!   Thank you soooooo much for that!  So my tank is a 32 gallon nano reef tank. One wave maker and led lights.  Are you thinking I should put the coral on top of the rocks for the most light?  I do try feeding the coral but no luck yet.  All I do to this tank is weekly water change with the salt water from lfs. And then monthly filter changes and a good cleaning.  I will move the coral and try to feed.  

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RayWhisperer

Move the coral up slowly. Say a few inches every few days. It has to acclimate to higher light, especially now that it’s not in the best of health. Once it’s higher up, in a place you like it, glue it down. (Gel super glue) chalice are really more of an encrusting coral, so they’ll do better attached to rock.

 

Clean your filter once a week, not once a month. If the filter has sponges, get rid of them. Use filter floss instead of sponges, that way you just throw the dirty floss away, and put clean floss in. Carbon? Are you using any? Any other filter media? Just a little bit of good carbon changed out once every 2 weeks, goes a loooong way. 

 

You say the light is led. That doesn’t tell us anything. Brand? Wattage? Number of blue and whites? Anything else you can tell us? Not all led lights are created equal.

 

 

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RayWhisperer

Sorry, forgot food. What are you trying to feed it, and how? If it’s something like I suggested, you’ll need to place the food item directly onto the polyp (commonly called an eye on a chalice.) If you can’t find a polyp, of the frag only has a tiny potion of one, you’ll probably need a much smaller food item. Something designed for broadcast feeding. Reef roids is a popular one. Be careful with broadcast foods. They tend to foul the water quickly. If you use them, feed only once a week, the day before you do a water change. 

 

Sinceyou mentioned it. LFS water can be iffy. I wouldn’t plan on it long term. If it’s in the budget, and you plan on keeping a reef long ter. Start saving for an RODI unit, some good salt, and a refractometer. These are things you will need if you are going to stay with it. Also, what do you use for top off water?

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