JVJordan
12/14/2015, 09:13 PM
I turn to this forum from time to time in hopes your collective wisdom will help me see something I do not.
I've had a Red Planet colony, grown from a wee little frag for years. In its prime, as recently as May 2015, it looked like this:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/johndoe076/300%20Gal%20Photos/IMG_6364_zps7051ace3.jpg (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/johndoe076/media/300%20Gal%20Photos/IMG_6364_zps7051ace3.jpg.html)
Now, it looks like this:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/johndoe076/300%20Gal%20Photos/20151206_156_zpsf3myrbbv.jpg (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/johndoe076/media/300%20Gal%20Photos/20151206_156_zpsf3myrbbv.jpg.html)
I haven't a clue what the problem is. The rest of the tank appears healthy and my parameters wander a bit but are generally in line. I haven't made any significant changes to the system that I can recall or recorded between when the colony was beautiful and now, where it is hanging on by a thread and has already had major, but slow tissue recession.
Potential causes:
Phosphates are too high because I've been slacking on GFO
Bulbs color shifted over time (I just replaced them)
Too much light? It is centered prominently under a 400 watt MH, but appeared to relish that for the first 8 months
Stung every day by the BTA next to it
General chemical warfare as my tank is overgrown
Starvation?
Any thoughts?
And because people will ask, parameters are typically:
Temp 78-81F
pH 8.3
ALK 7-9 DKH
Ca+ 420 PPM
Mg+ 1300 PPM
NO3 20 PPM
PO4 .10 PPM
You can see more tank photos here:
http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/johndoe076/library/300%20Gal%20Photos?sort=9&page=1
Note the other sickly corals in those photos (such as the montipora and pavona) were cured by dosing iodine.
I've had a Red Planet colony, grown from a wee little frag for years. In its prime, as recently as May 2015, it looked like this:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/johndoe076/300%20Gal%20Photos/IMG_6364_zps7051ace3.jpg (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/johndoe076/media/300%20Gal%20Photos/IMG_6364_zps7051ace3.jpg.html)
Now, it looks like this:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/johndoe076/300%20Gal%20Photos/20151206_156_zpsf3myrbbv.jpg (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/johndoe076/media/300%20Gal%20Photos/20151206_156_zpsf3myrbbv.jpg.html)
I haven't a clue what the problem is. The rest of the tank appears healthy and my parameters wander a bit but are generally in line. I haven't made any significant changes to the system that I can recall or recorded between when the colony was beautiful and now, where it is hanging on by a thread and has already had major, but slow tissue recession.
Potential causes:
Phosphates are too high because I've been slacking on GFO
Bulbs color shifted over time (I just replaced them)
Too much light? It is centered prominently under a 400 watt MH, but appeared to relish that for the first 8 months
Stung every day by the BTA next to it
General chemical warfare as my tank is overgrown
Starvation?
Any thoughts?
And because people will ask, parameters are typically:
Temp 78-81F
pH 8.3
ALK 7-9 DKH
Ca+ 420 PPM
Mg+ 1300 PPM
NO3 20 PPM
PO4 .10 PPM
You can see more tank photos here:
http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/johndoe076/library/300%20Gal%20Photos?sort=9&page=1
Note the other sickly corals in those photos (such as the montipora and pavona) were cured by dosing iodine.