Anyone have any ideas?

[smm607]

Any help with this is much appreciated, Also if there are any comments on to whether they are healthy or not would be great too, I didn't recieve too much help with these in the regular sps keepers forum(only 1 response )

Full shot and the base


Another one with the top and the base(different coral)


Seems to be the healthiest, All three pics are the same coral just newly fragged

[Kolognekoral]

The first two pic show a case of tissue necrosis, probably due to poor water quality. I assume they are new for you, so check the PO4 and nitrates. If the PO4 is over 0,18, this is the main problem. I would recommend keeping them out of too strong light, as this may exacerbate the situation.

The last corals are A. millipora or A. prostrata, which are both very similar, with A. prostrata tending more to branching, while A. millipora is digitate. They look essentially healthy, but a bit dark in colour, which means too many nutrients in the water.

Check you water parameters and report back. If you don't deal with the situation, you will most likely loose the corals. Sorry for the bad news

[Kolognekoral]

I just checked your posts to the other thread. Your dKH is too high. I know that many find this ok, but I have come to the conclusion it is not a positive thing. The general ion mix in the water is different at such a high alkalinity. Around 7-8 is best. There have been reports of high Alk causing tissue loss, but I've not experienced it myself. Are you using a calcium reaktor or adding a supplement (Balling method, etc)?

You didn't mention your phosphate level. Are you testing for this?

[smm607]

Well i use ro/di water so phosphates are zero there and when i test the water phosphates are not showing up at all as far as i can tell.... I do not use a calcium reactor because i haven't found one for a decent price and not to mention it wouldn't fit under the display right now... So for now i dose the B-ionic 2 part supplement about every third day... Is there any good way to keep my PH in check without raising the Alk? How about any good ways to lower Alk without doing water changes? Oh yeah, when i test the trites and trates both are undetectable with the salifert and red sea tests... I just got out of work and now i will be essentially going back to work.. AKA testing the water and reporting back with results

[Kolognekoral]

A quick note on PO4 testing, the only kits I've seen that read well are the ROWA and Merck, which are essentially the same thing. One must be able to read down to 0.01. Many tests are not accurate under 2.0, such a JBL. I'm not familiar with the Elos test kit, though.

[smm607]

ok so the PO4 on the red sea test measure <.1, My Alk is 10.6, Calcium is 410(today was my day to dose so the low reading makes sense) nitrates are <2ppm and my Ph is 8.23... Oh yes and to touch on a topic you mentioned before, Yes they are all new corals of which i was told in the beginning they weren't the healthiest but in a healthy tank they would probably color right up and become healthy again... This is why i got them fpr a steal... Both Acro's seem to be coloring up a bit more now and polyps are extending a bit more... As for the milepora polyps are always fully extended and seems to be becoming less brown and more green...

[Kolognekoral]

OK,
this doesn't sound too bad, after all! As the corals are new and seem to be responding to the tank in a positice way; i.e. poly extension, I would say you are in good condition. The corals will need time to adjust to the water and repair themselves. I would think 4-6 weeks as a reasonable amount of time to see clear change.

The pH is a bit high, as is the dKH (alk), therefore I would not add any more carbonates to the system until they drop a bit. The actual values are less critical than the overall balance of the Ca, Mg, carbonate ions. (aim for NSW values) When these are out of balance, then the corals find it difficult to grow. Normally they tend to remain in balance, but CO2, coming from a kalkreaktor can drop the pH while increasing the alk. A reason to be careful with reaktors an monitor their effects. I use one and find it the best method to maintain my system. It may need additional supplements in the future, as it will drop the pH, if I turn it up too high.

As to the PO4, I think you are fine, but would recommend investing in a better test kit. PO4 turned out to be more important than I expected and being able to monitor it on a fine scale is a very advantageous thing. The ROWA kit is kinda expensive (€50 in Germany), but I found it worth the expense.

One additional item. I have been using Sponge Power from the Zeovit system and it seems to really help corals to grow and develope. I would recommend trying it out. You use it drop-wise, so do not OD !

Now the key is a bit of patience. Stay in touch.

[smm607]

Thank you for your help, i thought 8.0 to 8.2 was the acceptable range? Anyways i will do some more reading and post another thread in a couple weeks with results and pics of progress

[solcernes]

Full shot and the base


Another one with the top and the base(different coral)

Hello smm607,

I have the same problems in my acros. You know why this happens? or any thread to read about this?

Thank you

[smm607]

well my millepora looks 100% better and my two other ones look about the same just with better polyp extension, By no means do they look worse though... I think it's just the fact that they need some tlc and time to color back up.. The above posts have been the only help or insight i have had

[solcernes]

Thank you,

What means tlc?

In my case I put carbon 3 days and I made a change around 10% of water.

Now it seems all is ok.

Tonight I will put photos.

You can see my installation here www.hiddenreef.es

[smm607]

TLC basically means time, patience and lots f good care. Just make sure all your water parameters are where they should be and let the coral become healthy again on its own