Please help. What's wrong with this coral

[saltydoggy]

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[mr_X]

What are your current parameters? How long have you had this coral?

 

[saltydoggy]

All level are good. Had it about 3 weeks


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[saltydoggy]

Cal. 440
Ph 8.4
1025
78.5 f


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[saltydoggy]

Nitrites etc all 0


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[mr_X]

Alkalinity? What kind of light and flow?

 

[saltydoggy]

I have 165w full spectrum LEDs
It was in med flow area. I've moved it to more flow. Alk was good as well couple days ago.


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[mr_X]

What do you consider good? How often do you check your alkalinity? How do you keep it stable? What lighting was it under in the tank you got it from?

 

[saltydoggy]

I check all my levels evey weekend
Alk was 9.5 kdh. I use reef buffers to maintain my level. I new to this hobby so I learning as I go. The last tank it was under a led e27 type bulb. It was in a 30 gal. Now into a 220 gal


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[mr_X]

Well, the first thing I would suspect would be alkalinity fluctuations. How often are you adding reef buffer? How much coral do you have in the tank? What test kits are you using?

 

[saltydoggy]

I've only used the buffer a couple times. Not a lot of coral in the tank couple of Toad stool some zoas
Purple haze monti. Scroll coral
And trumpet and xania


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[saltydoggy]

I'm using API reef masters kits. For alk. Red Sea for mag and cal


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[mr_X]

So, you saw that the alk was low and you used the buffer....how low was it, and how fast did you raise it? Was the coral in the tank at this time?

 

[saltydoggy]

Yes it was low. Was around 7 ish I mixed buffer as to directions as per my gallons of water. Let it cycle a day tested again. Added little more. Seemed to bring it into were it sitting at now. That was two weeks ago at least. Yes coral was in at the time
Like I said I'm new to this hobby just learning as I read ask and fail.


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[saltydoggy]

Is it saveable. By fragging pieces


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[mr_X]

It's not dead. If parameters stay stable (providing that's what it is, as this is just an educated guess) It will come back to the way it was before. I can't see any totally dead spots...just what appears to be some burnt tips. I would wait and see what happens.
7 isn't terribly low, and you can keep a reef at 7, but the bouncing up and down is what seems to cause sps to go belly up.

 

[saltydoggy]

Oh I didn't know that. Burnt tips? Sitting to high in the tank? To much light? I'll keep a close eye on all my levels. I'll start doing daily test till I get everything ok. Thank you for the advice.


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[mr_X]

I wouldn't Think it's light. If the coral came from LEDs it should not have been shocked, but even if it started to bleach from too much light, I think the polyps would still be out to some extent. What I think I see here are burnt tips from alk swings.

 

[saltydoggy]

Ok awesome advice thank you for your help and knowledge
Cheers. Should this type be in higher flow area it was at the top of my tank. I have now moved it to the bottom of the tank. Higher flow but less light?


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[mr_X]

Sps is found in shallow water where the light is strongest. That said, these LED fixtures are deceiving. I have sps on the sand bed doing very well under the 120 watt units. You have plenty of light, but you can shock these corals as well. Can you contact the guy you got this coral from and find out how much light he was actually putting over it? Do you have them turned all the way up?
High flow, but not direct flow, like not directly in front of a power head.