Help with sps!

[Emeraude1484]

My 90galDT 20galsump has been running for 2yrs. Had ushio 2x250w 10000k + 2t5s til about 3 weeks ago switched to 2x250w xm20000k same t5s. Running gfo, Tunze 9005 skimmer, dsb and refugium. Have had ongoing bubble algea issues. Growth has been good in sps and clams. fairly slow in lps, zoas.

Lately, cyano has been wreaking havoc, choking the spsfrom the bottom up. the pink birdsnest doesn't look like it'll make it. My clams are also showing signs of stress I'm thinking might be pinched mantle but with everything else I don't want to assume and stress them more unecessarily.

The only GOOD polyp extension I ever get is with the Yellow birdnest.

Went through 3 days no lights cyano was still strong as was the valonia. Decided to scrape every inch of bubble/cyano I could get to and do a 30gal water change on Saturday.

The parameters today with new API tests:
Ammonia: undetectable
Nitrite: undetectable
Nitrate: 0-0.2
Phosphate: undetectable
Calcium: 360
Salinity: 1.022

Only have 2 clowns, 1 firefish, 1 mandy (finally felt I had enough to sustain his diet) and a yellow watchman.

What do you suggest to get these corals to stabilize again and colour up? I would like to add more colourful pieces of sps and chalices but not until these show better signs....





Parameters: last night
Specific Grav (with recalibrated refractometer) 1.025
PH: 8.2
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0
Phosphate:0 (asking LFS to do a test)
DKH:9
Calcium:420

Waiting for mag test to arrive at LFS tomorrow and planning to start balling method dosing.

This is after scrapping all the bubble possible.

[Aquattro]

The cyano on the birdsnest looks like too much flow across the top, they tend to lose tissue easily from this. For now, since you apparently don't have nutrient issues, I'd regularly use a baster to clean the corals of any cyano and let it adjust to the new lighting. Try that for couple of weeks or so.

[Aquattro]

Oh, and what is your alk?

[Emeraude1484]

ummm alk/dkh is 9 still a newbie is that not the same thing?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Emeraude1484

ummm alk/dkh is 9 still a newbie is that not the same thing?

Yup. That's within range. Try the stuff above, see if it helps.

[Emeraude1484]

I have been blowing the cyano off with a baster for a couple weeks. now that the parameters are good hopefully it works!!! My refractometer was completely off which means the specific gravity on 04/18 was probably closer to 1.019... :S

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

The cyano on the birdsnest looks like too much flow across the top, they tend to lose tissue easily from this. For now, since you apparently don't have nutrient issues, I'd regularly use a baster to clean the corals of any cyano and let it adjust to the new lighting. Try that for couple of weeks or so.

Too me it looks like you might have too much flow across the top BUT not enough flow through the branches of the birdsnest. From my experience, if the isn't enough flow through the branches, the tissue inside the colony dies off. This die off causes cyano in the lower part of the colony. The colony then goes up like a lit match from the inside out. Is the colony near a power head that the top of it is getting blasted?

Try switching your flow around so that you get rid of dead spots in your tank and get flow through the lower part of your colonies. To me this is a flow problem, not nutrients.

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by Emeraude1484

I have been blowing the cyano off with a baster for a couple weeks. now that the parameters are good hopefully it works!!! My refractometer was completely off which means the specific gravity on 04/18 was probably closer to 1.019... :S

Yeah, that salinity is pretty low. Start bringing it up slowly with each water change.

I forgot to mention, if the birdsnest is still slowly dying, cut your losses (literally) and frag off all the good pieces and toss the rest. It'll regrow quickly. I find birdsnest to be sickness factories once they start going like this. I had a couple go and the others next to it went as well. Once I figured out to just frag it, all was well.

[Emeraude1484]

Originally Posted by ScubaSteve

Yeah, that salinity is pretty low. Start bringing it up slowly with each water change.

I forgot to mention, if the birdsnest is still slowly dying, cut your losses (literally) and frag off all the good pieces and toss the rest. It'll regrow quickly. I find birdsnest to be sickness factories once they start going like this. I had a couple go and the others next to it went as well. Once I figured out to just frag it, all was well.

I brought up the salinity over 10 days with top off and water changes.
There isn't much left to save most pieces that come off are smaller than an inch of healthy tissue... Neither of the 2 colonies are being blasted by flow... I added a koralia at the complete opposite end of the tank trying to add flow but I can't see how to get flow through the colonies without blasting them.

[ScubaSteve]

From your picture it looks as though the colony was losing flesh from the inside out. Is this correct? Was the cyano there before or after the colony started to die?

If it was dying from the inside out, it's not getting enough flow. If it's outside in, then too much flow. I wouldn't worry too much about blasting it. It needs to be pretty intense for that. Once I figured out my birdsnest I started putting it about 8" from a hydor K3. That was the happiest colony I had... and it grew from a 1" frag from a dying colony to bigger than a melon in less than 6 months. So save a frag!