M. Digitata bleached or light starved?

[AFHokie]

I’ve had this blue digitata frag for several months, one of first SPS I put in my tank. Since getting it it’s grown but was always very pale and got more pale. It looks pretty much white to the naked eye. It’s always had lots of polyps as well.

Based on the growth and polyps I started assuming it was bleached out. But…..when I just took a picture with my orange lens I found something surprising. It actually looks blueish. The shaded part looks white.

That observation has reversed what I thought. Is it actually light starved and needs more light to color up more?

It’s 4-5” from the surface right under an XR15 G5 Pro on the standard mount.

Tank about 4 months old.
SG: 1.026
Temp: 78.5
Alk: 9.6
Ca: 410
Mg: 1310
NO3: 10
PO4: 0.07

 

[Dburr1014]

I’ve had this blue digitata frag for several months, one of first SPS I put in my tank. Since getting it it’s grown but was always very pale and got more pale. It looks pretty much white to the naked eye. It’s always had lots of polyps as well.

Based on the growth and polyps I started assuming it was bleached out. But…..when I just took a picture with my orange lens I found something surprising. It actually looks blueish. The shaded part looks white.

That observation has reversed what I thought. Is it actually light starved and needs more light to color up more?

It’s 4-5” from the surface right under an XR15 G5 Pro on the standard mount.

Tank about 4 months old.
SG: 1.026
Temp: 78.5
Alk: 9.6
Ca: 410
Mg: 1310
NO3: 10
PO4: 0.07
View attachment 2733742

Tough to say, but I don't like the base. Looks like it's in the light and also turning white.
Your parameters look good.

 

[Lavey29]

Very difficult to be successful with SPS in a 4 month old tank unless you are a very experienced reefer with extensive knowledge of their requirements. You will have better luck around one year mark if your tank is stable then.

 

[Dburr1014]

Very difficult to be successful with SPS in a 4 month old tank unless you are a very experienced reefer with extensive knowledge of their requirements. You will have better luck around one year mark if your tank is stable then.

Good catch.

 

[AFHokie]

Very difficult to be successful with SPS in a 4 month old tank unless you are a very experienced reefer with extensive knowledge of their requirements. You will have better luck around one year mark if your tank is stable then.

Yeah. I wouldn’t considered myself very experienced but this isn’t my first reef. I kept a mixed reef previously but it’s been a long time…about 13 years. That being said, I was probably a bit ambitious with adding SPS so soon.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

Yeah. I wouldn’t considered myself very experienced but this isn’t my first reef. I kept a mixed reef previously but it’s been a long time…about 13 years. That being said, I was probably a bit ambitious with adding SPS so soon.

I get that as I have done the same thing. However, what I don't understand is why people say it's too soon but yet your parameters are good?

 

[AFHokie]

I get that as I have done the same thing. However, what I don't understand is why people say it's too soon but yet your parameters are good?

Stability is important and gets better as the tank ages. There’s still settling and fluctuation happening.

I also had a bloom of dinos. Didn’t zero out nutrients as is often the case so not sure the cause. Seems to be common in new tanks that start with dry rock. That also hasn’t helped my SPS. Blackouts and light changes while battling them made matters worse.

It’s not all bad news though. The dinos whacked my Birdsnest really good. Thought it was dead. It’s made a great recovery since so I’m doing something right.

 

[LIreefguy]

To answer your question about light. We would need to know what intensity you keep your light at , but that light is strong enough, so I wouldn’t say too little light

dull colors probably has more to do with water quality than anything else

my advice to new reefers is water changes. I would do 10 percent every 5 days. This will help keep your tank stable It’s a lot of work but the reward is worth it

 

[AFHokie]

To answer your question about light. We would need to know what intensity you keep your light at , but that light is strong enough, so I wouldn’t say too little light

dull colors probably has more to do with water quality than anything else

my advice to new reefers is water changes. I would do 10 percent every 5 days. This will help keep your tank stable It’s a lot of work but the reward is worth it

I’ve actually stopped changes recently in my dino fight. I do, however, dose AFR and have tested obsessively since starting the tank. My parameters have been very stable since starting.

As for the lights, I was running AB+ and had ramped up to around 80% when the dinos hit. Since then I’ve cut way back and right now I’m running the following, ramping up much slower:
11hr period, 5 hours at max below, other six blue only ramp-up
Schedule 68%
Blues 100%
Red and Green 12%
Whites 19%

 

[Lavey29]

Yeah. I wouldn’t considered myself very experienced but this isn’t my first reef. I kept a mixed reef previously but it’s been a long time…about 13 years. That being said, I was probably a bit ambitious with adding SPS so soon.

If you don't swing the bat you ain't gonna get a hit. Nothing wrong with trying a few easy test corals just dont impact your wallet until you see some good coraline growth and your LPS or softs are thriving. I waited till about 10 or 11 month mark to try SPS.

 

[Lavey29]

I get that as I have done the same thing. However, what I don't understand is why people say it's too soon but yet your parameters are good?

I think it just takes time for the bionome to build ans yes good parameters help but I'm sure there is a huge battle going on behind the scenes in the microscopic arena. Dry rock slows this whole process down and until that bionome is ready SPS corals are challenging. LPS and softs are more forgiving of water instability.

 

[AFHokie]

I think it just takes time for the bionome to build ans yes good parameters help but I'm sure there is a huge battle going on behind the scenes in the microscopic arena. Dry rock slows this whole process down and until that bionome is ready SPS corals are challenging. LPS and softs are more forgiving of water instability.

Totally agree and likely why I had a dino bloom.

All my zoas, shrooms, and LPS are doing great as well as my leptoseris. Multiple new heads on all my acans, Favites growing fast, psammacora growing slowly but growing. Sunset monti also growing and encrusting over its epoxy.

Besides the monti and dino’d Birdsnest the only other problem is suddenly with my small cyphastrea frag. The top side has lost some tissue. Since my parameters are still good I’m leaning toward the hawkish that loves finding coral to perch on or a clownfish nipping at it for pods. I’ve noticed them bothering some other frags on occasion. Final thought would be that I reramped my lights too quickly after having them dim for a few weeks for the dinos. I’m watching it closely and if tissue loss continues I’ll see if I can pop the frag off and move it to lower light.

 

[Lavey29]

Totally agree and likely why I had a dino bloom.

All my zoas, shrooms, and LPS are doing great as well as my leptoseris. Multiple new heads on all my acans, Favites growing fast, psammacora growing slowly but growing. Sunset monti also growing and encrusting over its epoxy.

Besides the monti and dino’d Birdsnest the only other problem is suddenly with my small cyphastrea frag. The top side has lost some tissue. Since my parameters are still good I’m leaning toward the hawkish that loves finding coral to perch on or a clownfish nipping at it for pods. I’ve noticed them bothering some other frags on occasion. Final thought would be that I reramped my lights too quickly after having them dim for a few weeks for the dinos. I’m watching it closely and if tissue loss continues I’ll see if I can pop the frag off and move it to lower light.

I run my XR15s at 70% schedule for 10 hours on the AB plus program so about the same as yours.

 

[Dburr1014]

I get that as I have done the same thing. However, what I don't understand is why people say it's too soon but yet your parameters are good?

There is a lot going on in the first year, things you can't test for. Bacteria for example, population is in constant Flux. Things are changing.
But yes, I can test my salt level, I can test magnesium, calcium, I can test po4, ect...
Can you test how quickly is the bacteria handling doc's? Can you test which type of bacteria will prevail?
There is so much we don't know and the more we know, the more we realize we don't know. So it's much easier to say "give your tank a year to mature before adding this sensitive live stock of xxxxx". ( fill in the blank). I'm this case sps.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Check alk and calcium. This is one of my faster growing coral and only time I had an issue is when alk was low and CA was high. Those two work together and have to be in balance. High salinity and too high of flow can also be a cause

 

[Dburr1014]

High salinity and too high of low can also be a cause

What does this mean?

 

[vetteguy53081]

What does this mean?

Corrected- Too high of flow

 

[Spare time]

If I had to guess anything it would be too much light. Bleaching, not tissue necrosis, often is a result of intense light. Montipora species, as far as I'm away, are really not a high light (shallow water) species compared to other "sps." One of the primary reasons most monitpora are thought to be encrusting or plating is that it opens a wide area of surface for light to maximize how much they can recieve. Digi are different in growth in some notable ways, but I still find they thrive under moderate lighting.

 

[AFHokie]

If I had to guess anything it would be too much light. Bleaching, not tissue necrosis, often is a result of intense light. Montipora species, as far as I'm away, are really not a high light (shallow water) species compared to other "sps." One of the primary reasons most monitpora are thought to be encrusting or plating is that it opens a wide area of surface for light to maximize how much they can recieve. Digi are different in growth in some notable ways, but I still find they thrive under moderate lighting.

Thanks. This is what I was leaning toward based on the polyp extension and lack of tissue loss. When I saw the stark color difference under the orange filter though I was quite confused.

 

[Spare time]

Thanks. This is what I was leaning toward based on the polyp extension and lack of tissue loss. When I saw the stark color difference under the orange filter though I was quite confused.

I have a digital that seems to do well from 120-200 for par