Acropora frag suddenly turning white

fly75

fly75

Member
I have a Acropora frag that is turning white starting at the base. What could be causing this and is it possible to save? It is at the top of the tank under dual 175 watt MH, in direct current of a seio 820 power head. I got it tues at my LFS store in their shipment before it was unpacked. This is my 2nd frag and the first is doing good (knock on wood). I am not sure what species it is.
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
PH 8.1
Calcium 420-440
Alk 8 dKH
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
al,so they dont like to be blown directly by a power head.... they like random turbulent water....
sounds like STN "slow tissue nerosis" from the base up..... as long as your other paramters are good and steady then try adjusting the flow and maybe the lighhting....
do u know what species of acropora it is and do u have a picture.?
 
fly75

fly75

Member
I am not sure what species. It is yellow with greenish colored tips if that helps. I moved my powerhead so its not blowing directly on it. Can and will the white ever come back to normal. Is to much light coming from shipment to under MH or could the mh be to much. It is about 12" below the lighting.
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
it shouldnt be the MH's at all i have 250W DE HQI's over my tank and put stuff straight to the top with no probs
sounds like a stressed piece lots of times and sps will die for no unknown reason... due to stress or other factors...
as long as all ur readings are correct theres not much u can do....
things to check for are
temp...78-81 IMO is ideal and u want it stable only a few degree swings at most...
Am, Na, Ni, Phosphates u want all of these to be zero in an sps system....
Alk u want between 7-10dkh and u want it to stay in a certain range like i keep mine between 8-9 dkh
Ca... i like to keep mine around 400-420
Mg... u should test this too i keep mine around 1350mg
u want to keep ur salinity around 1.025 using a calibrated refractometer
u want a good amount of random flow in your tank about 25X's turnover to get it started more as ur colonies get bigger
keep these things in the ideal range and u should be successful...
a damged acro can grow back but u have to have good water quality
 
fly75

fly75

Member
I dont have a test kit for Mg or phosphates but everything else you listed is exactly where I keep everything. I guess its just wait and see. Very new at SPS, trying to explain and justify to the boss lady why my "$40 rock with a bumpy stick or sticks glued to it" is turning white
.
Thanks for your help murph145, I've used alot of your advice from other posts.
 
murph145

murph145

Active Member
hey no prob!
sps can br tricky at first but once u dial in ur system and pick healthy pieces its not all that hard to do....
good luck!
 
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