Giving up with sps...

[mcarroll]

11 minutes ago, jservedio said:

Guys, dumping loads of phosphate in all at once isn't the answer.

If only that had happened (sooner) I don't think it would have ended with a bailout.

 

The problem with phosphates dosing here, if there was one, is that "loads" needed to be dumped in all at once in order to make a significant difference.  With levels persistently at or near-zero, there wasn't really enough for anything good to happen...if anything, it was just enough to slow the trend already underway.

 

One thing that has never really been popularized (enough) is how deadly photosynthesis is for an organism to engage in.  (And of course, phosphate's role in photosynthesis.)

 

Without a proper setup (see: light acclimation) and availability of proper resources (see: phosphates, et al), it is destructive as hell.  And hell (as commonly conceived) is an apt metaphor since photosynthetic cells which are inadequately prepared get virtually cooked.  Photosynthetic machinery is often the first to go.

 

Check out:

• High-light vs. low-light: Effect of light acclimation on photosystem II composition and organization in Arabidopsis thaliana (plants)
• Phosphorus and photosynthesis (plants)
• Adaptation of Unicellular Algae to Irradiance: An Analysis of Strategies. (reefs)
• Is the coral-algae symbiosis really ‘mutually beneficial’ for the partners? (reefs)  <--this is one of my all-time favorites

I've got links to and comments on quite a few journal articles along these lines (but all are specific to corals and reefs) in the Light section on my blog.

 

[mcarroll]

14 hours ago, darksun92 said:

I decided to turn off the tank and give my left corals to a friend, I’ll try it again soon...

Bummer, but sometimes you just have to know when to say when.  You'll be starting off with a lot more experience on the next go-around!  👍

[jservedio]

23 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

If only that had happened (sooner) I don't think it would have ended with a bailout.

 

The problem with phosphates dosing here, if there was one, is that "loads" needed to be dumped in all at once in order to make a significant difference.  With levels persistently at or near-zero, there wasn't really enough for anything good to happen...if anything, it was just enough to slow the trend already underway.

Yes, lots of phosphate is/was needed but you can't be swinging from 0 to 0.1ppm and back to 0 every single day. Corals don't starve overnight and you can address chronic lack of nutrients over the course of weeks and months. Making any extreme changes overnight and forcing them is a recipe for disaster - always.

 

Not to mention the heat was going to kill him anyway. Everything was already in overdrive and on the edge at over 84 degrees, fixing that is dead simple and would have made the nutrients easier to deal with.