Help with sps!

[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 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!

[Emeraude1484]

Originally Posted by 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!

I'm pretty sure the cyano chokes the tissue. I'll try adding more flow. And ok I will!!!

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by Emeraude1484

I'm pretty sure the cyano chokes the tissue. I'll try adding more flow. And ok I will!!!

You don't necessarily need to add more flow (though I'm not sure what kind of flow you have), just tweak it. Move the power heads around around until you get a good flow pattern. Toss some food in the tank to see how the flow is moving around (your fish will love it!). I spent an hour doing the same last night and this morning one of my colonies that had been looking blah for months had crazy polyp extension! Just gotta find that sweet spot.