acros are white

[blacktip0000]

i recently put in about 10 or so acroporas in a 180g tank with about 900 watts of lighting(going to buy more lights). when i put the acros in they released a milky looking substance and lost the color that they had when they were at the lfs very nice looking coral(purple green, blue, pink, blue spotted, and a brown one). and they made the tank cloudy and a little smelly so did water change, but that dropped my calcium from 425 to 200 i added some reef complete in the tank which only brings it up 60ppm a day. are the coral dead or alive?? if they are alive what do i do to make them regain some color??

[Horace]

If your corals turned white in a very short period of time, you likely killed them. If you killed them in that short of time then something is seriously out of whack, and lights probably have nothing to do with it. Typically light stress is because of too much, and 900w over a 180 doesnt qualify as too much IMO (not even close actually).

I hate to say this but you NEED to be sure your system is ready for SPS BEFORE you buy them. This means you need to test your water and ensure that the Kh, Ca, Mg is all in acceptable ranges. There is no possible way that your Ca suddenly dropped 200ppm Ca in that short of time, so it must have been off by alot before you even added the corals.

My suggestion is ensure your tank alk is ~8.0dkh, Ca 370-420, and Mg 1250. Ensure your able to maintain those levels over the next several weeks, then perhaps you can give it another shot.

Good luck..

[lazaro torres]

dude corals are very delicate,if you spent alot of money,its worth trying to save them,if they are still alive,I COULD HELP YOU,I did this for somebody else,he had the same problem,I put his corals in my tanks,and gave him plenty of my cycled water and a few days later his tank was fine,meanwile his corals colored up fast in my tanks.I think thats the best way to save corals,because there worth it.If you want help let me know.

[blacktip0000]

what is dkh? i tested the calcium yesterday and it was at 425 but when i did a water change it dropped this morning. so are the acro dead or alive? one salesman at a wholesaler told me that they would come back alive in about a week or so he said the reason that happened was because the blue zoeantahlee did not like my lighting and new diiferent colored zoeantahlae would inhabit later.

[blacktip0000]

i need help lazaro torres

[plyle02]

lazaro torres
that is really cool of you to help this guy! BTW, I saw your tank on the Tampa forum, and it's sweet. I think you had a huge frag tank with tons of frags lined up like little soldiers....lol.. I am hoping to check that beauty out one day.... Really though, nice gesture on lazaro's behalf. Good luck, let us know if the corals make it or not.....

[blacktip0000]

so what is dkh and could the corals be dead is is white one of an acros colors?? do acros have skin??

[aqua5]

Originally posted by blacktip0000
so what is dkh and could the corals be dead is is white one of an acros colors?? do acros have skin??

Researching is the first step BEFORE adding coral, especially SPS. You say you have 900 watts of light, is that in VHO, PC, MH, T5?

a 400 watt MH light is going to be FAR more efficient at keeping SPS than 900 watts of PC. Its all about intensity.

EDIT: Acros should not be white, posting a picture would be very helpful.

[blacktip0000]

hqi was going to add maybe 150watt hqi,and a 250watt hqi. so what is dkh, and do acros have skin and is white a color

[GraviT]

dKH is a measurement of carbonate hardness, or alkalinity. Yes, SPS corals do have skin and white is a color, but not one commonly found on acropora with the exception of some polyps and a few deep water species.

[blacktip0000]

so is my acro "dead" can it be revived i was told it could but not sure how long would it take to revive it

[plyle02]

I would find a local lfs and buy a Salifert Calcium, and Alkalinity test kit. Are you using RO/DI water, and testing the TDS. RO/DI will ensure that the water to be mixed with the salt is sterile. All necessary nutrients will be added with the salt and buffering. Also, what type of salt are you using? Sounds like your water is really out of whack. SPS corals are VERY difficult to care for, even with lots of knowledge. Here are the parameters I test for, and the targets I am looking for. Again these are my targets. 1. PH=8.0-8.2 2. Calcium=420-440 3. Alkalinity(dkh)=11-12dkh 4. Magnesium=above1250ppm 5. Nitrates=below 5ppm 6. Phosphates= undetectable I test PH, and Alk every 3 days, and all others weekly. Good luck, and keep us posted....

[prop-frags]

Originally posted by blacktip0000
hqi was going to add maybe 150watt hqi,and a 250watt hqi. so what is dkh, and do acros have skin and is white a color

What is dkh: Reef Aquarium Water Parameters

Do acros have skin: Anatomy of coral

Is white a color: white

There are many resources here on RC and many helpful people to get you answers to your questions. You really should do some reading and build a solid basic understanding of reefkeeping prior to putting new animals in your system. Better for you, better for them!

[Bebo77]

what are you water parameters... if you are unsure of your daily changes you need to test your water every day..

[blacktip0000]

i usually do so is it possible to revive the corals

[blacktip0000]

ph-8.0 alkalanity-5.5meq/l salt 1.021 calcium was 425ppm but after water change became 200ppm ammonia 0 dont test phosphate or magnesium

[plyle02]

I have had corals that suffered from STN, and have bleached on me come back. If you have RTN, I doubt it. I just lost a gemmifera moving it 2" higher in my reef. This softball size colony lost 95% of it's tissue that day while I was working. I could not even scrounge up a frag. If your water is in check, and your corals are bleached, then maybe. If you cannot see any tissue, or polyp extension, or polyps for the matter, I would consider them gonners......

[blacktip0000]

what is stn,rtn. i have some good coral live and well(brown) but i thought the polyps were just the little holes in their branches because i can see those and polyp extensions what are those

[GraviT]

You have a lot of research to do my friend. I suggest using Google to find some of the answers you seek.

Try looking here for answers to the STN and RTN questions.

[plyle02]

Originally posted by GraviT
You have a lot of research to do my friend. I suggest using Google to find some of the answers you seek.

Try looking here for answers to the STN and RTN questions.

Agreed, not trying to doubt your knowledge of sps reefkeeping, but this should already be known before delving into the sps hobby. These type of corals will accept nothing less than consistency, perfect water, stable params, quality lighting, and lots of flow. One slight screw up can wipe your tank out. Read all the threads you can on this forum. Research goes a long way in this hobby.....

[Dog boy Dave]

smell the coral. If it is dead there will be no smell. If the coral is alive you will be able to smell it.

[blacktip0000]

well the whole tank smell very bad

[Horace]

Blacktip, before even considering keeping any corals in your tank, you need to have a thorough understanding of all the things mentioned in this thread and then ALOT more. I suggest you start by reading the articles written by Randy Holes Farley on our Reef Chemistry forum here on RC. There you will get a much better understanding of what is going on in your little glass box. Until you understand basic water chemistry, you have no hope in keeping SPS alive. The simple fact that the corals died that fast tells me your water parameters are WAY WAY off. Corals dont typically die that fast unless something is WAY out of whack

BTW, who ever your fish store owner is that told you about your lights being the cause is freggin clueless. To my knowledge Zooxanthelle (otherwise known as zoox), are brown. When a coral is stressed they release all thier Zoox and causes the coral to look white. Zoox do not grow back a different color, they just come back (sometimes). The color of a coral is in its tissue, NOT its zoox, though zoox can effect color if over/underpopulated making the coral look washed out, or totally brown (too many zoox). You need to read about what causes this. If a coral lost TISSUE (what you call skin), that means they are toast. The fact that your tank stinks tells me that the corals probably are dead and rotting....most unfortunate.

At this point it likely wont hurt to leave them in there and wait it out for a while to see if they come back, but given how fast they bleached, if they arent dead now, they likely will be in short order.

[bluetmax]

I completely agre with everything Horace just said. In the meantime, however, I think you should do a hefty water change and run some carbon.

[blacktip0000]

i did the water change yesterday about 50%