Monti's and other SPS darkening

[Stevorino]

I've been fighting this on-again, off-again problem for the last ~6 months.

My Monti's are the first to show it and then the other corals in my tank follow:

The color/tissue will start turning black over the course of weeks. I don't have any filters for my phone camera, so I apologize for the quality here:


This Red Monti, when doing well, is pure red throughout the coral (how it looks on the tips in this pic is how it looks throughout the entire coral, not just on the tips).

Here it almost looks like shading, but it's just darkened significantly in the core of the coral.

Here's another coral, which is usually a bright orange with some bright green polyps. The tissue is almost black/dark brown and the green polyps still show throughout. A little bit of bright orange still exists on the outside.

Parameters have generally stayed around:
8.2 Alk
450 Calc
1400 Mag
79-79.5 F
34-35 Salinity
Nitrate 5-10
Phos: 0.04-.10 (when it hits 1.0, I hit it with some phos RX to get it back down)


The monti's have fluctuated where they'll darken like this and then bounce back slowly and then fade off again. I've tried various things (water changes, feeding more/less, carbon changeouts etc), but haven't been able to identify the cause/solution.

Other SPS corals not pictured have generally turned and stayed greener than they used to be for the better part of the last ~6 months. My best colony SPS the tips 'died ~3 months ago and now has some kind of algae growing on just the tips, though the rest of the colony looks totally normal.

I've never experienced this specific problem in my ~9 years, but this year it has been a problem that I can't seem to properly diagnose and treat. Any help would be super appreciated!

 

[blaxsun]

It's hard to tell from the images, as things look both brighter and darker than they may appear to you. I don't know what your SPS normally likes for phosphate levels, but mine seem to best in the 0.1-0.2ppm range. I also try to keep my salinity in the 35.5ppt range and temperature around 77.5°F (but again, just what my SPS seems to like). I assume you're checked your lighting PAR?

 

[Dburr1014]

Very strange...
I'm interested in your lighting also.
A virus??
That's all I got. Sorry OP.

 

[Stevorino]

Thanks guys....

Currently running some XR15 Blue's. I hadn't measured par in a while, so just re-measured: Red Monti is at 202 and The 'Orange' Monti is at 195. Other SPS's in tank are higher and closer to ~250 par on average

 

[FIN&BONEZ]

Our montis are the first to show signs when our iodine gets low. Never had iodine issues in the past till this new tank. Not exactly sure why or what's changed over the years but might be worth looking into?

 

[Lavey29]

Not sure if related but browning typically means excess nutrients like amino overdosing or light issue with low par.

Have you done a recent ICP test to look at everything?

 

[Stevorino]

Our montis are the first to show signs when our iodine gets low. Never had iodine issues in the past till this new tank. Not exactly sure why or what's changed over the years but might be worth looking into?

I did do one this summer and it was at 16ug/L.... hmmm that is low. I saw it was yellow but disregarded it.

I'll look into that - thanks!

 

[Stevorino]

Not sure if related but browning typically means excess nutrients like amino overdosing or light issue with low par.

Have you done a recent ICP test to look at everything?

Yeah, the only 2 yellows were 16 Iodine (low), and 322 Lithium (high). I admittedly had just figured these were still in a tolerable range, but maybe these are the issue?

I do dose a bunch of Reef Nutrition products. Maybe I need to cut those off and see what happens?

Par is right at 200 for both of the corals pictured, and ~250 for the other SPS corals mentioned. LPS all seem to be doing solid.

 

[Lavey29]

Yeah, the only 2 yellows were 16 Iodine (low), and 322 Lithium (high). I admittedly had just figured these were still in a tolerable range, but maybe these are the issue?

I do dose a bunch of Reef Nutrition products. Maybe I need to cut those off and see what happens?

Par is right at 200 for both of the corals pictured, and ~250 for the other SPS corals mentioned. LPS all seem to be doing solid.

I have some similar issues. Your par is low for SPS but still manageable. However, if there is an overdose of nutrients like aminos and not enough par then some browning starts. I have some too and have basically stopped dosing aminos because if you have sufficient nutrients in your tank that is all you need courtesy of fish poop. I've seen better color now that I don't add aminos anymore. Perhaps an extra hour of light might help with lower end par.

 

[Dburr1014]

Par is right at 200 for both of the corals pictured, and ~250 for the other SPS corals mentioned. LPS all seem to be doing solid.

Personally I think your par is perfect for plating type Montis.

 

[Superlightman]

Your phosphate is crazy high ,start with this and stop all coral food ,stop also useless adding of trace elements until it reverse and make a full water change

 

[FIN&BONEZ]

I did do one this summer and it was at 16ug/L.... hmmm that is low. I saw it was yellow but disregarded it.

I'll look into that - thanks!

If it turns out to be the case, what I did for my situation was slowly start dosing 1 drop of the lugols per 25 gallon once weekly. After about three weeks they started looking better. I'm still confused about my situation but am now leaning towards some salt manufactures cutting corners. I do daily 1-2 gallon changes to try to keep everything as balanced as possible so I know its not me. What better supplements to cut corners on then the hardest ones to test for? Or maybe my vivid confetti colony is just drinking it? lol

 

[Duffer]

Is that the correct phosphate number…if so I agree with the above, that is crazy high

 

[Lavey29]

Is that the correct phosphate number…if so I agree with the above, that is crazy high

I thought he meant .04 to .1. But if it is .4 to 1 yes that is quite high and excess nutrients equals browning.

 

[Stevorino]

Your phosphate is crazy high ,start with this and stop all coral food ,stop also useless adding of trace elements until it reverse and make a full water change

Oops, I mistyped in OP - It's actually .04 - .1ppm (just edited it - thank you!). Today I tested it at .07

 

[Stevorino]

If it turns out to be the case, what I did for my situation was slowly start dosing 1 drop of the lugols per 25 gallon once weekly. After about three weeks they started looking better. I'm still confused about my situation but am now leaning towards some salt manufactures cutting corners. I do daily 1-2 gallon changes to try to keep everything as balanced as possible so I know its not me. What better supplements to cut corners on then the hardest ones to test for? Or maybe my vivid confetti colony is just drinking it? lol

Huh - well I'll definitely order it and try dosing it. I use Instant Ocean, and honestly have not been doing as many water changes over the last 6 months because my parameters were always in check. If their salt doesn't add much iodine and I haven't done many water changes, that could be it.

I feel like I read somewhere that salt mix is often the cause of high lithium too (may have been a Randy post?)

 

[Stevorino]

I have some similar issues. Your par is low for SPS but still manageable. However, if there is an overdose of nutrients like aminos and not enough par then some browning starts. I have some too and have basically stopped dosing aminos because if you have sufficient nutrients in your tank that is all you need courtesy of fish poop. I've seen better color now that I don't add aminos anymore. Perhaps an extra hour of light might help with lower end par.

I'll add an hour to the photoperiod for sure and also cut back my Reef Nutrition ~50%. See how it goes in a couple weeks and then re-evaluate. Thank you!

 

[MrGisonni]

Maybe stop with the coral food but don't let your nitrates bottom out. I just dosed with a bit of trace elements and Iodide and what a difference. my digitata improved overnight along with my stylocoenella colonies

 

[Lavey29]

I'll add an hour to the photoperiod for sure and also cut back my Reef Nutrition ~50%. See how it goes in a couple weeks and then re-evaluate. Thank you!

I completely cut out the red sea AB. Benepets,etc... I have good levels of phosphate and nitrates and as an experienced reefer told me here, you don't need aminos when you already have sufficient nutrients in the tanks for corals.