Green star polyps turning purple, help

[DOJOLOACH]

Is my gsp bleaching? Each poly head used to be solid green. Now it is mostly purple. I just put it under new leds sbreef

[DOJOLOACH]

Only the tips are green now

 

[mcarroll]

Tell us a little more about the tank. Nitrate and phosphate test results would be a great place to start. We also like to know the tanks age, etc. Anything you think might be of interest.  🙂

[DOJOLOACH]

Of course.

 

So the tank has been setup for 2 months. I've had this coral for a year now though, before it was in a fluval evo with stock evo lighting. Now it is under a sbreef 18" unit which I have dialed up a few % on both channels (white and blue) every few days. I am now at 25% White, 65% blue. For what its worth my Montipora are not happy either and they are turning pale. Now I run a skimmer in my sump, a carbon reactor and gfo reactor. I do not necessarily have a need for the gfo reactor but thought it would be good to have anyways to keep phosphates undetectible. I also have a ato for salinity. Temp I just checked is high at 82.5F. I believe my heater is going out so I just bought an inkbird controller and a new jager heater 50w.

 

Water parameters:

Salinity 35ppt (Salifert)

Alk 7.0dkH (Salifert) My saltwater mixes at 8.3-8.5 so I'm not sure why this has dropped while everything else stayed consistent.

Calcium 470ppm (Salifert)

Magnesium 1360ppm (Salifert)

Phosphates 0.0 (Salifert test)

Temperature: 82.5F

Nitrates 0-3ppm

Nitrite 0ppm

Ammonia 0ppm

PH 8.1

 

Now for coral placement the gsp was sitting on the bottom, 16" from the water surface, with the light hanging 14" above water surface or so.

 

My guess is my problem is the light, temperature, or lack of phosphates? Maybe the alk swing? I was told I do not need to dose and that it is unusual for alkalinity to drop by itself.

[jambon]

Just a guess is the temp may be a bit high. That is what  causes coral bleaching. Around 78 or 79 is better.

[DOJOLOACH]

Thanks jambon. How quickly can i bring the temp down?

 

Also i read gfo can deplete alkalinity so i took the gfo reactor offline

[jambon]

1 degree per day would  be ok... if you have that accurate a heater. It could be a while to see results... 

[jservedio]

Your temperature isn't causing the problem here as long as it's actually staying around there, though it is a touch high. Lots of people run at 81-82 - there just isn't much headroom for an accident or if your room gets too hot.

 

The big question is why were you running GFO at all if your phosphates are testing at 0? That is likely your problem there - your corals need nutrients to survive and grow. You just don't want an excessive amount of nutrients since it can cause nuisance algae - however, having too low nutrients is far worse than high - especially for soft coral.

 

You need some phosphates (at least 0.03ppm) and some nitrates (at least 2ppm) - start feeding your fish a little more and stop running GFO all together. Save your reactor for emergencies. Everything else is fine.

 

Also, if things look weird - before thinking about making any major changes - always do a big water change, it won't ever hurt anything and will make most problems disappear.

[DOJOLOACH]

1 hour ago, jservedio said:

Your temperature isn't causing the problem here as long as it's actually staying around there, though it is a touch high. Lots of people run at 81-82 - there just isn't much headroom for an accident or if your room gets too hot.

 

The big question is why were you running GFO at all if your phosphates are testing at 0? That is likely your problem there - your corals need nutrients to survive and grow. You just don't want an excessive amount of nutrients since it can cause nuisance algae - however, having too low nutrients is far worse than high - especially for soft coral.

 

You need some phosphates (at least 0.03ppm) and some nitrates (at least 2ppm) - start feeding your fish a little more and stop running GFO all together. Save your reactor for emergencies. Everything else is fine.

 

Also, if things look weird - before thinking about making any major changes - always do a big water change, it won't ever hurt anything and will make most problems disappear.

Well, basically i was trying to imitate a tank of the month and also i wanted to eliminate early algae outbreaks associated with new tanks. Ive removed all gfo now.

[jservedio]

3 hours ago, DOJOLOACH said:

Well, basically i was trying to imitate a tank of the month and also i wanted to eliminate early algae outbreaks associated with new tanks. Ive removed all gfo now.

All of the TotMs are mature tanks and generally fully stocked and fed heavily. Apples and oranges compared to a new tank.

 

Just keep up with your water changes, keep your rocks and sand clean, and feed reasonably and you won't have issues. Algae and cyano is generally really easy to deal with.

[j.falk]

6 hours ago, jservedio said:

Also, if things look weird - before thinking about making any major changes - always do a big water change, it won't ever hurt anything and will make most problems disappear.

I've been telling people that for years.  It's really good advice.

[DOJOLOACH]

On 4/17/2019 at 5:17 PM, jservedio said:

Your temperature isn't causing the problem here as long as it's actually staying around there, though it is a touch high. Lots of people run at 81-82 - there just isn't much headroom for an accident or if your room gets too hot.

 

The big question is why were you running GFO at all if your phosphates are testing at 0? That is likely your problem there - your corals need nutrients to survive and grow. You just don't want an excessive amount of nutrients since it can cause nuisance algae - however, having too low nutrients is far worse than high - especially for soft coral.

 

You need some phosphates (at least 0.03ppm) and some nitrates (at least 2ppm) - start feeding your fish a little more and stop running GFO all together. Save your reactor for emergencies. Everything else is fine.

 

Also, if things look weird - before thinking about making any major changes - always do a big water change, it won't ever hurt anything and will make most problems disappear.

Okay @jservedio one week after removing all gfo and the reactor my phosphates have jumped to 0.25 according to the Salifert test I have. Maybe a touch more like 0.3. Should I just keep cruising with this and monitor? at one point do I need to worry. My most finicky corals for phosphate are probably the montipora, acans, and favia.

[Oldsalt01]

On 4/13/2019 at 2:08 PM, DOJOLOACH said:

Only the tips are green now

 

That’s what GSP usually looks like. As the heads mature the purple becomes more evident. Don’t worry. It’s fine. Hope it’s on an island as it can easily over-grow other corals.

[jambon]

They should eat that up...

[DOJOLOACH]

On 4/27/2019 at 7:31 PM, jambon said:

They should eat that up...

This is such a tricky hobby. It seems my hammer coral doesn't come out as much now that I removed the gfo and phosphates went up. Should I add a small amount of GFO? So levels stay at .03ppm. I have absolutely zero algae of ANY kind

[DOJOLOACH]

Good news! The GSP is back!... But now my montis and one favia are suffering a bit and not out. Phosphates at 1.0. Looks like theyre turning whiter and whiter

[mcarroll]

On 4/16/2019 at 5:08 PM, DOJOLOACH said:

Water parameters:

Salinity 35ppt (Salifert)

Alk 7.0dkH (Salifert) My saltwater mixes at 8.3-8.5 so I'm not sure why this has dropped while everything else stayed consistent.

Calcium 470ppm (Salifert)

Magnesium 1360ppm (Salifert)

Phosphates 0.0 (Salifert test)

Temperature: 82.5F

Nitrates 0-3ppm

Nitrite 0ppm

Ammonia 0ppm

PH 8.1

 

Please re-test.  

 

You can skip the last three...but we need updates on the rest.  

 

A photo update would be helpful as well.

[DOJOLOACH]

Water parameters:

Salinity 35ppt (Salifert)

Alk 8.3dkH (Salifert)

Calcium 460ppm (Salifert)

Magnesium 1350ppm (Salifert)

Phosphates 1.0 (Salifert test)

Temperature: 78.5F

Nitrates 0-3ppm

 

My alkalinity has stayed more consistent since removing the gfo

[mcarroll]

On 5/7/2019 at 7:45 PM, DOJOLOACH said:

Salinity 35ppt (Salifert)

Alk 8.3dkH (Salifert)

Calcium 460ppm (Salifert)

Magnesium 1350ppm (Salifert)

Phosphates 1.0 (Salifert test)

Temperature: 78.5F

Nitrates 0-3ppm

DOesn't look too bad....but are you sure the 1.0 phosphates wasn't 0.10?

 

Either way, it seems like phosphates are accumulating due to a nitrogen limit....consider dosing a little nitrate such as Flourish Nitrogen to maintain 5+ ppm until phosphates start getting used up.

[DOJOLOACH]

@mcarroll add some nitrates, really? I suppose that makes sense if my limiting factor is nitrate/nitrogen. Here is a picture of my test for phosphates too so it looks like 1ppm to me. Test kit is good

[mcarroll]

 I doubt I would be able to judge threw a photo posted online, but I trust you… Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a typo. The bigger it is the more sure I am of the answer I gave… There isn't too much else that's very common that will make phosphates accumulate like that. Corals and algae are both extremely adept at using up phosphates when present… There has to be a limiting factor and nitrates is the most likely IME.

[DOJOLOACH]

On 5/23/2019 at 11:14 AM, mcarroll said:

 I doubt I would be able to judge threw a photo posted online, but I trust you… Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a typo. The bigger it is the more sure I am of the answer I gave… There isn't too much else that's very common that will make phosphates accumulate like that. Corals and algae are both extremely adept at using up phosphates when present… There has to be a limiting factor and nitrates is the most likely IME.

Well I went ahead and purchased a nitrogen supplement and a salifert nitrate test. My API test was reading zero nitrates... Somehow the Salifert is saying 15-25ppm nitrates. What the heck! Did this a few times. Maybe its time for a big waterchange? Like 50% then retest. I find it odd that the two tests gave me significantly different results

[mcarroll]

It's possible your old test kit was expired. It happens.

 

Get your LFS to retest the parameter for you if you want another double check.  (I'd get them to doublecheck phosphates and nitrates if it were me. )

 

So phosphates still seem to be around 1.0ppm and nitrates seem to be well over 5ppm, right?

 

Can you post a full tank shot?  I'm curious about your algae growth (how much?) and snail activity among other things.

 

If your corals are still suffering, then something does not add up.

[DOJOLOACH]

10 hours ago, mcarroll said:

It's possible your old test kit was expired. It happens.

 

Get your LFS to retest the parameter for you if you want another double check.  (I'd get them to doublecheck phosphates and nitrates if it were me. )

 

So phosphates still seem to be around 1.0ppm and nitrates seem to be well over 5ppm, right?

 

Can you post a full tank shot?  I'm curious about your algae growth (how much?) and snail activity among other things.

 

If your corals are still suffering, then something does not add up.

Algae is scrubbed off the front glass 2x a week. Ive got a decent sized clean up crew of 50 or so snails about 2 months ago...not sure how many are still left.. Attached a pic of the tank and some pissed off acans in the left corner

[Garf]

31 minutes ago, DOJOLOACH said:

Algae is scrubbed off the front glass 2x a week. Ive got a decent sized clean up crew of 50 or so snails about 2 months ago...not sure how many are still left.. Attached a pic of the tank and some pissed off acans in the left corner

 

 

 

How big is the tank? You said you had a 50w heater, so I can't imagine it is big. 50 or so snails, and not sure how many are left? All those inverts are nutrient batteries just waiting to release when they die. I'd be damned sure to know within a few how many were left. Most likely they starved and your nitrates shot up. I'd tend to believe the high number from the salifert nitrate test, though I would try and confirm it with another type of test, or LFS store test.