Yellow Fiji Leather is wilting...

[Logain842]

Hi all,
I'm a big fan of RC forums but this is my first "help!" post. I tried to find the information elsewhere but I'm affraid time is of the essence.

I have a yellow fiji leather (Sarcophyton Elegans) that has been in my system for about six to eight weeks. Over the past few days it seems to be progressively "wilting." The polyps are all but gone and the surface of the coral is quite smooth. Please see the pics attached.

Healthy:


Wilting:


The only thing I can think of that I changed is that I added a 250 MH lamp running an XM 10,000k bulb. It replaced my previous setup which was a PC hood running 2 65W 10,000k bulbs and yet another AGA hood running 2 60W bulbs (came with the tank). So, with the 220W of Ushio actinics, I was at about 475W. When I got a single 250W MH I removed the PC lighting (and left the 2-110W actinics). The 250W MH is over the left side of the tank until I can afford another 250W lamp and ballast for the right side. The Yellow Fiji is pretty much directly under the MH lamp. The bulb is about 9-10 inches off the water, and the leather is about 6-8 inches below the surface of the water. The coral was quite healthy up until this lighting change.

I put down 2 layers of window-screen replacement mesh to reduce the shock of a brand new MH bulb. I also timed the MH lamp to be lit for only 5 hours a day. It's been running for about 4 days now. I can't tell if the Yellow fiji is receiving too much light, too little light, or if the problem has nothing to do with light.

The system is a 120g AGA with a 30g sump. It's been running for about 4 months but was upgraded completely from a 55g that was 18 months old. Water chemistry has been quite stable. Here is a summary of the parameters as measured today.

Temp: 77-78 deg F
SG: 1.024
pH: 8.0
NH3: .25 ppm
NO2: 0
NO3: 20 ppm
Alk: 11.9 dKh
Ca: 330-350 ppm

I appreciate any advice in helping me save my yellow fiji!

[seriousreefer91]

IMHO,it got shocked with the light that you installed recently try to put it n the lower part of the tank and look hw it does.

[Logain842]

I'll give that a try I think. Will it matter that the coral might be in an area of reduced flow? I guess I'll just have to find the lowest spot in the tank with the highest flow.

[Logain842]

No change yet. Is it possible this could take a few days? Should I keep the lights out for awhile?

[seapug]

I've read the elegans come from deeper water than others, so the light theory is probably correct.. Try less light and but maintain good flow around it.

[Logain842]

It doesn't seem to be getting worse, which is good. It seems to be looking just a little better actually. I'm just going to give it time to come back. Any ideas for ways to introduce the MH lamp in the future that won't shock it? Do I need even more screen mesh?

[bitis316]

THIS GUY NEEDS LOTS OF FLOW ESPECIALLY NOW...Turn up the flow rate......Don't worry about the light......Your calcium is low though I would up it to 420 or so.....I treat my fijis like Acro....Plain and simple....

[Logain842]

Roger that, thanks for the advice!

[Piazzon12]

Agreed, fiji's are high light, high flow