Sps losing colors a few weeks after adding

[Qwarex]

Hello, so i got some acros, crazy t monti, forest fire monti, staghorn and a red digitata a month ago and they are still alive but lost so much of their color, i really dont understand why. I also have a red plating monti that slowy lost most of its color, a neon green montipora confusa that is fully white with a tint of green on the base , a green seriatopora hystrix (birdsnest) that lost 90% of its polyps and color, the same thing with a pink one, i also had some other staghorn and bali green slimer that slowly lost color and died when i moved them. Now since then, when i had 0 po4 and 0 no3 for like 6 months, i finally got some fish and my no3 is now somewhere at 10 (i cant really read the chart from the test) and po4 is somewhere between 0.05-0.12 (i have 2 tests that give totally different results), kh 8, mg 1590, ca 515, ph 8.05, sal 1.024, temp 25 c, tank is 80 gal (300l) plus a 100 l sump, lights are 2 evergrow it5080. Since the no3 elevated the green hystrix regained (i think) all of its color, still almost no polyps. I really dont know what to do. I got some reef energy ab+ but the corals dont seem to react to it and also got red sea colors abcd trace elements, only got these 2 a few days ago so no difference yet. Also some zoas just dont do well, they slowly lose color and melt, some are ok and grow tho. Euphyllia are really well, i have some golden torches from 1 month ago and they are really puffed up and look really good, as well as my other euphyllias and lps in general. One hammer didnt like it when i put it in higher flow and is only a quarter opened, has been like this for 2 months or more. Also the monti is less colored than the photo. Please someone help.

 

[Dburr1014]

How was tank started and how long ago?

 

[Shibaken3]

if ur stating that the water chemistry is good then light? or just keep on water changing until it gets better. maybe copper is leeching.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Looks like low nutrients and high lighting to me.
This spot that is shaded more looks to still have good color which also points to high light low nutrients. IMO

 

[Lavey29]

You stated you had 0 phosphate and 0 nitrates for 6 months prior. This means over that time period your corals were starving. They can take weeks or even months to show the outward visual signs of deterioration but inside they are shutting down. If you have recently corrected those parameters then perhaps some of your corals will survive. Your magnesium and calcium are still elevated though. Weekly water changes and get the par numbers for your light set up.

 

[Qwarex]

How was tank started and how long ago?

All the rock was old live rock, at the start everything was ok, tank is 8 months old. I think the problem was 0 no3, i had 2 very small fish because my fish order didnt arrive and still hasnt arrived after almost 1 year, so i went to austria by car and got some fish. Now no3 is about 10 i think and the seriatopora colored up real nice but the other corals not yet.

 

[Qwarex]

if ur stating that the water chemistry is good then light? or just keep on water changing until it gets better. maybe copper is leeching.

Where would copper leach from? Should i get a test? If it isnt copper or light what else can it be?

 

[Qwarex]

Looks like low nutrients and high lighting to me.
This spot that is shaded more looks to still have good color which also points to high light low nutrients. IMO

In real life its whiter, i also moved it a bit and no good reaction, this is the spot it was from the start. The lights are only 20% so idk what to say about it, cant really get a par meter because i dont have an lfs

 

[Qwarex]

You stated you had 0 phosphate and 0 nitrates for 6 months prior. This means over that time period your corals were starving. They can take weeks or even months to show the outward visual signs of deterioration but inside they are shutting down. If you have recently corrected those parameters then perhaps some of your corals will survive. Your magnesium and calcium are still elevated though. Weekly water changes and get the par numbers for your light set up.

Is an elevated level of ca and mg bad? I think the salt i use is why its so high so i cant really do anything about it. I use red sea coral pro salt

 

[Shibaken3]

par reading and ICP test that's all I can think of that will help ur tank. GL

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

In real life its whiter, i also moved it a bit and no good reaction, this is the spot it was from the start. The lights are only 20% so idk what to say about it, cant really get a par meter because i dont have an lfs

The % is one part of high lighting but also duration and water flow, in relation to your nutrients available to the zooxanthellae to protect themselves from the light, this is where colors will change or get lost..imo

Start with more nitrates and phosphates don't adjust lights, if color starts to come back increase lighting, the way you describe a slow loss could also be an indication..

This will be something that needs to be worked through for the correct answer, I can only speculate with not knowing the system

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Is an elevated level of ca and mg bad? I think the salt i use is why its so high so i cant really do anything about it. I use red sea coral pro salt

I use blue bucket coral pro is not ideal for me imo

 

[Qwarex]

The % is one part of high lighting but also duration and water flow, in relation to your nutrients available to the zooxanthellae to protect themselves from the light, this is where colors will change or get lost..imo

Start with more nitrates and phosphates don't adjust lights, if color starts to come back increase lighting, the way you describe a slow loss could also be an indication..

This will be something that needs to be worked through for the correct answer, I can only speculate with not knowing the system

No3 is now about 10 and po4 about 0.10 and my seriatopora is now way greener than before. Other corals not so much

 

[vetteguy53081]

There are several reasons this occurs. Not sure on age of tank but if at least 4 months, should be supportive assuming your tests are accurate. How are you testing ?
Often its as simple as flow or light and things overlooked.
Some possible triggers are:
- Alkalinity spike
- Temperature spike
- Salinity spike
- Low dissolved oxygen
- Poor water quality related with phosphate levels up to 5 ppm
- Change in water flow
- Additions of sand
- Changes in brand of salt
- Bad test kits giving faulty results
- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium
- Light intensity
- Addition of new corals
-- Pesticides
- Airborne Contaminants or sprays

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

No3 is now about 10 and po4 about 0.10 and my seriatopora is now way greener than before. Other corals not so much

I'd say stay there! That's good and your seeing improvement so stick with that, it's hard to say what your lights need to be at, are you running led's? It's even harder to say what% they should be at, that's why I like to add t5 lights for the unknowns but maybe you can find a similar set up and light and get someone's schedule so you know your not under/over lighting the tank.

Keep up the good work heading twords improvement, thats all you can do is be proactive.

 

[Qwarex]

There are several reasons this occurs. Not sure on age of tank but if at least 4 months, should be supportive assuming your tests are accurate. How are you testing ?
Often its as simple as flow or light and things overlooked.
Some possible triggers are:
- Alkalinity spike
- Temperature spike
- Salinity spike
- Low dissolved oxygen
- Poor water quality related with phosphate levels up to 5 ppm
- Change in water flow
- Additions of sand
- Changes in brand of salt
- Bad test kits giving faulty results
- Levels of minor elements such as Iodine, Potassium, Strontium
- Light intensity
- Addition of new corals
-- Pesticides
- Airborne Contaminants or sprays

I just got a new test and compared the other tests i had with the reference substance, i did that to mg and ca. No3 and po4 tests are very hard to understand. I did not add any sand, i am now dosing trace elements from red sea colors abcd, i have now added a tube to the skimmer and now its out of the tank and i think that should help with oxygen,maybe the alk spikes, i did have them before but now i dose 1 dkh every weekend and it goes from 7.2 to 8.2, i dont think its the temp spike or salinity spike tho. For tests i have aquaforest ca mg no3, salifert ph, hanna dkh. Po4 i have an old nyos test and a newer test from idk what company that works for fresh and salt.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just got a new test and compared the other tests i had with the reference substance, i did that to mg and ca. No3 and po4 tests are very hard to understand. I did not add any sand, i am now dosing trace elements from red sea colors abcd, i have now added a tube to the skimmer and now its out of the tank and i think that should help with oxygen,maybe the alk spikes, i did have them before but now i dose 1 dkh every weekend and it goes from 7.2 to 8.2, i dont think its the temp spike or salinity spike tho. For tests i have aquaforest ca mg no3, salifert ph, hanna dkh. Po4 i have an old nyos test and a newer test from idk what company that works for fresh and salt.

Your DKH is a very wide arrange and may be affecting calcium. Alk buffers ph and when high, you risk burning the coral with hardness and reduces calcium. When low, corals can be deficient in calcium

 

[Qwarex]

Your DKH is a very wide arrange and may be affecting calcium. Alk buffers ph and when high, you risk burning the coral with hardness and reduces calcium. When low, corals can be deficient in calcium

So what should i do?

 

[Lavey29]

Is an elevated level of ca and mg bad? I think the salt i use is why its so high so i cant really do anything about it. I use red sea coral pro salt

At your current levels it's not urgently bad but high magnesium can hurt inverts over time. You want around 1400 mag and cal 420 to 450. I use coral pro salt also and it works well to maintain numbers. Alk and cal become necessary to dose as you get enough corals which I'm sure you know. Magnesium only depletes at 1/10th the rate of cal and alk so it is fine with weekly water changes maybe a small hand dose weekly.

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

 

[vetteguy53081]

So what should i do?

Add a teaspoon of Baking soda to stabilize the Dkh and see what the alk content is with your salt brand. Test your alk 8-12 hrs after addition of bicarbonate( baking soda) if see if numbers increase slightly and stabilize