SPS whitening from the bottom up

[Paolissimo]

A little background before this issue started. About a month ago, I switched from metal halides to al sol. Before the switch the corals were fine and colorful. I switched and put the al sol about 12" from the water surface. I don't remember my schedule but from 12pm until 7pm they lights were at 100 intensity. Long story short, my corals tip started losing color and they are now basically brown, except for the purple (who knows why that color is still sticking around). The obvious answer seems to be that I messed up and put the lights too strong. Also since i put the lights I started seeing an increase in algae, but my phosphate is zero, and my nitrate is 5-10mg/l.
My question is, the whitening that is happening at the base of the corals, is that coral bleaching? If isn't coral bleaching what is it? I am worried because I am seeing it in a lot of sps in my tank. I now lowered the intensity of the al sol to 80, so I am hoping that the corals will color up and stop whitening.

 

[Dre]

You bleached your corals. It's a good idea if you change bulbs even if they're the same wattage, slowly increase the output over time. Even too much blue LED's can bleach corals...You can shorten the light cycle and gradually increase it...Good luck!

 

[budddman]

With bleaching the tips should be turning white first....if the bases are receding i would be worried about alk swings, and or pests. Just somthing to think about

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Reefs

 

[Paolissimo]

These are the reading for alk I been having problem keeping it stable.
4/29/2012 6.2
5/13/2012 4.5
5/28/2012 6.1
6/03/2012 7
I use salifert test kit.

 

[dnov99]

These are the reading for alk I been having problem keeping it stable.
4/29/2012 6.2
5/13/2012 4.5
5/28/2012 6.1
6/03/2012 7
I use salifert test kit.

This is why your SPS are bleaching from the bottom up. SPS prefer a stable Alk. I try to keep my DKH at 9 and no less than 8. I would raise you ALK to these levels and then keep it steady anywhere from 8 to 9 DKH. Anything below 7 DKH is too low IMO. What are you using to dose CA and ALK?? Dosing pumps or a calcium reactor are best to keep it stable. I am guessing you are doing manually which is why you cant keep it stable.

 

[Paolissimo]

Like I said, I been struggling to keep a stable alk. I just don't understand why it won't stay stable. I test every week or so, and it's never where I want it. You are correct I dose kent part a & b, and also add a buffer to raise the alk, I am now slowly getting to 7. I am not familiar with reactors or dosing pump, that's why i dose manually. Also my tank has about 40gal of water, so it's not very big. I'll be testing alk every other day, to see if it raises to better levels.

 

[cowfish]

Best alkalinity buffer = baking soda. Cheap and won't affect salinity.

 

[cowfish]

Best alkalinity buffer = baking soda. It's cheap and doesn't impact salinity.

 

[Paolissimo]

Best alkalinity buffer = baking soda. It's cheap and doesn't impact salinity.

I was talking to Tony Vargas at brooklyn aquarium society monthly meeting, and he said DO NOT ADD baking soda, I specifically asked that question and he gave me this all explanation, which I can't quiet wrap my head around. He said the best way is to do water changes. but I do water changes every two weeks and it doesn't really help with my alk, I been dosing a kent alk, and I tested yesterday and it's 7. My corals yesterday, didn't look good, still whitening from the bottom up. So far I been able to frag, but yesterday one of my colony didn't look good.

 

[jcdeng]

whats your pH during the day and at night when lights are off?

 

[Paolissimo]

Well I don't have a controller, and I never tested the ph at night. my ph is 8.0-8.3, I can't really tell the color to give an exact number. At night the light stays on in the sump, so maybe ph doesn't drop. I am really bummed about this, I am losing an sps colony, and a bunch of frags that I bought.

 

[Jarrett]

i had the same problem when i first started with dosing, what you need to do is find out how much your tank is using up in a week and then figure out what you need to dose daily to maintain those levels. first off your alk is to low, you need to start dosing to get it up to a desired range i keep mine between 8.0 and 8.4. once you get it to that point stop dosing and monitor how much it drops in a week and then you will be able to figure out what your tank needs everyday to maintain a consistent alk. i have been dosing 20 ml of alk and 20 ml of cal every morning and it has kept my alk consistent for 4 months now at 8.4

 

[Paolissimo]

i had the same problem when i first started with dosing, what you need to do is find out how much your tank is using up in a week and then figure out what you need to dose daily to maintain those levels. first off your alk is to low, you need to start dosing to get it up to a desired range i keep mine between 8.0 and 8.4. once you get it to that point stop dosing and monitor how much it drops in a week and then you will be able to figure out what your tank needs everyday to maintain a consistent alk. i have been dosing 20 ml of alk and 20 ml of cal every morning and it has kept my alk consistent for 4 months now at 8.4

I been checking my parameters every other day, mag, calc they are normal, 450 and 1590, alk seems to be stabilized for the past week at 7.0. I lowered the intensity of the light. I honestly can't tell anymore if it's slowing down or not. It seems to have slow down, but one of my colony is still dying, I might have to frag whatever is left, a few frags have died, some of the hardier coral show signs of bleaching at the base. I am very bummed about this because i am not sure how to fix this.

 

[Jarrett]

well your mag is on the high side, i dont know if that would negatively effect the sps but 1350 is the desired range. and they could be dying because of your alk fluctuations. how much are you dosing of alk daily to get the level up? if its not rising with the ammount your dosing you need to up the dosage to get it in the 8.0 - 8.4 range how big of a tank is this?

 

[Paolissimo]

Mag is fine. It's got to be the alk. Total water volume is exactly 40gal. I alternate between part a&B and kent alk buffer. i dose 2tsp

 

[Jarrett]

so if you are dosing 2 tbs and it still hasnt gotten your alk above 7 then you need to dose more. you have to get the alk up before you decide how much you need to maintain it. im not familiar with the kent part a&b or how there measurments work but i use B-ionic and its very easy.

 

[Paolissimo]

It's slowly getting there, 7 for alk, is the bare minimum, I am going to try to bring it up to 8. What puzzels me, and mostly bothers me..is the fact that it all happened all at once. I been keeping logs of my readings since november, and my alk was always low, and fluctuating. My corals always grew, but in the past month I been seeing this issue. Alk seems to be the issue, but why hasn't this happened before?
Just saw your thread, i started my tank about a month after you..no where near as nice as yours.My other issue is also algae now, they just popped up out of nowhere.

 

[Jarrett]

possibly you have to many nutrients in the tank? if you have algae that could be the cause for the sps dying. sps need really clean water also close to 0 phosphates and nitrates how are those readings for you?

 

[Paolissimo]

0 phospate with hanna checker and nitrate is 5-10mg/l with salifert..lol..i am telling you my tank was fine before i added the al sol. That lights poisoned my tank..lol...just kidding.

 

[Jarrett]

lolol well i know alot of people end up bleaching there corals when they switch to LED's i read up alot on that. you might of already did the damage and now you just kind of have to wait it out and see if they bounce back. keep your params stable as possible and they should make a come back.