Leather coral shut down???

Steve attewell · 03/08/2006, 11:42 AM

Hi all last time I posted about some sun polyps and this leather coral, now I know for this coral it is normal for this to happen. But it been shut for a good 3 weeks and it looks like algae is growing on it?? So if anyone has had this problem before some information would be brilliant. Thanks for all replies Steve.

From this

To this

Steve attewell · 03/08/2006, 04:46 PM

Anyone???????

Blown 346 · 03/09/2006, 02:51 AM

What type of lighting and flow do you have?
What are the water conditons?
Do you have any other problems with algae besides on the toadstool?

How long has the tank been setup for.

graveyardworm · 03/09/2006, 06:27 AM

Looks like the spot its in has low flow ( cyano ) I would try to get more flow to it.

Nanook · 03/09/2006, 10:53 AM

This thread has been moved to the current forum.

Anemonebuff · 03/09/2006, 11:34 AM

Blast the leather with a turkey baster. Leathers have a waxy coating that builds on their surface to catch this type of stuff. When the flow is insufficient it will need help removing it. Blast it then increase flow to the coral.

sabodish · 03/09/2006, 11:36 AM

holy cyano blooms..i think you need to check your phophates, nitrates and increase your water flow. blast that stuff off the leather and see what happens. mine shuts down every other week and sheds its coating.
-mike

rustybucket145 · 03/09/2006, 12:49 PM

Wow, just by looking at the difference in the sand in each pic I would say that something else has gotten out of whack. Personally I would check all levels (maybee take sample to LFS to confirm) and do a big water change. Has anything else died lately? All tankmates accounted for?

Steve attewell · 03/14/2006, 08:43 AM

Right I do water changes every week I do about 10 gallons a week, I have just tested my water here are the results.

1. PH Profi-test 8.3

2. N03 Profi-test 25

3. Phosphate NUTRAFIN 0.00

4. Calcium Profi-test 450 ppm

3. Salinity 1.026

DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know if the above will help you guys?? I have been in there with a turkey baster and tried to get the green stuff off the toadstool but it wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t come off. I have ringed a few Fish stores they say that some sort of work gets in the bottom of the toadstool and eats it from the inside. I turned it upside down but there was nothing under there, at the weekend I will get some of the snails recommended above. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t like using treatments in my tank so I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use any pour in treatments, I put garlic liquid in with my food but that is all. I have just installed an aqua medic phosphate reactor. Thanks for all replies so far as always.
The toadstool looks alot more darker now from when the picture was took, i have had another go at rubbing off the alge but still its not moving!! Thanks steve

Oh by the way i have lost about 4 fish in 2 month and i have taken them all out of the tank as a whole before they died, I have 2 peppermint shrimps and one normal one and one red legged one as well. One ble and black hermot crack and a few turbo snails. They are all full alive and well. Also 1 yellow tang still alive and well aswell.

reverendmaynard · 03/14/2006, 08:50 AM

Try shutting down the reactor for a bit and see if it comes back. I've heard of them causing problems with corals before. Not sure what it is about them. My first guess is that corals, just like algae, need some amount of phosphate to perform photosynthesis and that the reactor is just too efficient at removing it. My second guess is that the actual reactor media itself is getting into the water column and irritating the coral.

xtrstangx · 03/14/2006, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reverendmaynard
Try shutting down the reactor for a bit and see if it comes back. I've heard of them causing problems with corals before. Not sure what it is about them. My first guess is that corals, just like algae, need some amount of phosphate to perform photosynthesis and that the reactor is just too efficient at removing it. My second guess is that the actual reactor media itself is getting into the water column and irritating the coral.

Ditto. Depending on how your reactor is running, the dust media can "grind" together and make a dust that is potentially harmful. You want your media to be gently moving in the chamber, not violently moving.

But yeah, shut down the reactor for a few days.

Steve attewell · 03/14/2006, 09:15 AM

Right i have just changed my ROWAphos i think thats how you spell it??

Well what i mean in the stuff that cam with my reactor was not filtering the phosphate out of the water very well and there was still phosphate in the water, but the toadstool has been shutdown for a good 4 weeks now and there was phophaste in the water at the time. Only now since i have changed the stuff in the reactor to ROWAphos is has been 0.00 So it only been about 2 days since the new ROWAphos has been in!!!! It also in a the neted bag suppled with it.

My reactor is my sump and it pumps it back into my sump when its been filtered, but my sump pump is in a sort of overflow section. Where there is a wall of glass then the pump sits in it own section so i have the pipe from the rector in there so its not getting pumped back into the sump!!!!

Steve attewell · 03/15/2006, 07:27 PM

Its still not looking good for the toadstool anyone have any other ideas???

graveyardworm · 03/15/2006, 08:41 PM

Do you have any other corals in there? How do you test your SG, with a hydrometer or refractometer? How long has the tank been set up? What kind of lighting? What size tank? Can you test Alk and Magnesium (Mg)? How much water have you changed since shutting off the Phosphate reactor?

03/08/2006, 11:42 AM	#1
Steve attewell Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: notts Posts: 36	Leather coral shut down??? Hi all last time I posted about some sun polyps and this leather coral, now I know for this coral it is normal for this to happen. But it been shut for a good 3 weeks and it looks like algae is growing on it?? So if anyone has had this problem before some information would be brilliant. Thanks for all replies Steve. From this To this

03/09/2006, 06:27 AM	#4
graveyardworm Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nottingham, NH Posts: 7,251	Looks like the spot its in has low flow ( cyano ) I would try to get more flow to it. __________________ -David- President - New Hampshire Reef Club There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave Current Tank Info: 100 gal lagoon/seagrass, 100 gal sump, Lifereef 72" skimmer, 180 inwall, 125 inwall seagrass/lagoon in progress

03/09/2006, 10:53 AM	#5
Nanook Ancient Eskimo Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Saint Louis, MO Posts: 41,852 Blog Entries: 11	This thread has been moved to the current forum. __________________ The wind blew, the chit flew, and then they came two by two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Current Tank Info: 375g Tanganyikan Tank & 470g mixed reef

03/09/2006, 12:49 PM	#8
rustybucket145 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: valdosta, ga Posts: 3,707	Wow, just by looking at the difference in the sand in each pic I would say that something else has gotten out of whack. Personally I would check all levels (maybee take sample to LFS to confirm) and do a big water change. Has anything else died lately? All tankmates accounted for? __________________ 400gals of various tanks in the same system. Current Tank Info: 2 175w MH, 2 VH0 Actinics, Lots of Live Rock, tons of copepods, a Fat Mandarin Goby, Niger Trigger, Yellow Tang, Falco Hawkfish, Bi-Color Pseudo, numerous soft, SPS and LPS Corals

03/14/2006, 08:50 AM	#10
reverendmaynard Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: RI Posts: 1,490	Try shutting down the reactor for a bit and see if it comes back. I've heard of them causing problems with corals before. Not sure what it is about them. My first guess is that corals, just like algae, need some amount of phosphate to perform photosynthesis and that the reactor is just too efficient at removing it. My second guess is that the actual reactor media itself is getting into the water column and irritating the coral. __________________ Think for yourself. Question authority. Current Tank Info: 125 gal AGA, setup on 1/1/06; 29 gal seahorse tank, setup 10/21/06

03/08/2006, 04:46 PM	#2
Steve attewell Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: notts Posts: 36	Anyone???????

03/09/2006, 02:51 AM	#3
Blown 346 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Rockford, Illinois Posts: 6,596	What type of lighting and flow do you have? What are the water conditons? Do you have any other problems with algae besides on the toadstool? How long has the tank been setup for.

03/09/2006, 11:34 AM	#6
Anemonebuff Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: LI,NY Posts: 3,877	Blast the leather with a turkey baster. Leathers have a waxy coating that builds on their surface to catch this type of stuff. When the flow is insufficient it will need help removing it. Blast it then increase flow to the coral.

03/09/2006, 11:36 AM	#7
sabodish Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Holly Springs, NC Posts: 1,703	holy cyano blooms..i think you need to check your phophates, nitrates and increase your water flow. blast that stuff off the leather and see what happens. mine shuts down every other week and sheds its coating. -mike

03/14/2006, 08:43 AM	#9
Steve attewell Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: notts Posts: 36	Right I do water changes every week I do about 10 gallons a week, I have just tested my water here are the results. 1. PH Profi-test 8.3 2. N03 Profi-test 25 3. Phosphate NUTRAFIN 0.00 4. Calcium Profi-test 450 ppm 3. Salinity 1.026 DonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t know if the above will help you guys?? I have been in there with a turkey baster and tried to get the green stuff off the toadstool but it wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t come off. I have ringed a few Fish stores they say that some sort of work gets in the bottom of the toadstool and eats it from the inside. I turned it upside down but there was nothing under there, at the weekend I will get some of the snails recommended above. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t like using treatments in my tank so I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t use any pour in treatments, I put garlic liquid in with my food but that is all. I have just installed an aqua medic phosphate reactor. Thanks for all replies so far as always. The toadstool looks alot more darker now from when the picture was took, i have had another go at rubbing off the alge but still its not moving!! Thanks steve Oh by the way i have lost about 4 fish in 2 month and i have taken them all out of the tank as a whole before they died, I have 2 peppermint shrimps and one normal one and one red legged one as well. One ble and black hermot crack and a few turbo snails. They are all full alive and well. Also 1 yellow tang still alive and well aswell.

03/14/2006, 09:15 AM	#12
Steve attewell Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: notts Posts: 36	Right i have just changed my ROWAphos i think thats how you spell it?? Well what i mean in the stuff that cam with my reactor was not filtering the phosphate out of the water very well and there was still phosphate in the water, but the toadstool has been shutdown for a good 4 weeks now and there was phophaste in the water at the time. Only now since i have changed the stuff in the reactor to ROWAphos is has been 0.00 So it only been about 2 days since the new ROWAphos has been in!!!! It also in a the neted bag suppled with it. My reactor is my sump and it pumps it back into my sump when its been filtered, but my sump pump is in a sort of overflow section. Where there is a wall of glass then the pump sits in it own section so i have the pipe from the rector in there so its not getting pumped back into the sump!!!! Last edited by Steve attewell; 03/14/2006 at 09:35 AM.

03/15/2006, 07:27 PM	#13
Steve attewell Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: notts Posts: 36	Its still not looking good for the toadstool anyone have any other ideas???

03/15/2006, 08:41 PM	#14
graveyardworm Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nottingham, NH Posts: 7,251	Do you have any other corals in there? How do you test your SG, with a hydrometer or refractometer? How long has the tank been set up? What kind of lighting? What size tank? Can you test Alk and Magnesium (Mg)? How much water have you changed since shutting off the Phosphate reactor? __________________ -David- President - New Hampshire Reef Club There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave Current Tank Info: 100 gal lagoon/seagrass, 100 gal sump, Lifereef 72" skimmer, 180 inwall, 125 inwall seagrass/lagoon in progress