Birdsnest coral

[pthoma79]

I have a bird's nest coral in my 34g tank, and I have noticed small starfish on it several times. The tips of the coral still seem to be alive, but about 90% of it is bleached white. My levels seem to be ok, so is it possible the starfish are eating the coral?
My levels are:
sg- 1.025
temp-78.9
pH 8.3
alk-11.2
trate-10
phos-10
cal-410
mag-1420
If you can think of anything else, or see anything with my levels that should be fixed, let me know. Thanks!!

 

[flower]

Hi,
I don't know anything about bird's nest coral..but my test kit says 2.5 is a good number on Alkalinity, you say yours is at 11.2???...Phosphates at 10 is very bad..I panic at 1.0 Or did you miss a decimal point?

 

[spanko]

How new is this tank? Your nitrate and phosphate readings are high. Might want to retest or get your local fish store to test also.
Those readings will definitely cause the problem you are seeing with bleaching of the coral.

 

[pthoma79]

Tank is actually about 1 1/2 years old. The trates have always been between 5-10, and I wasn't testing phosphates until recently, and they have been holding steady at about 10.
I do 5g water changes every two weeks.
I'll take your advice and get down to the LFS next week and have them test it and make sure I'm accurate.
If the levels are right, is there anything besides adding a sump that I can do to reduce my trates and phosphate? I just have a bakpak HOB skimmer on the tank.

 

[pthoma79]

Sorry, I missed the decimal (thx flower). The phosphate level is actually .10. Guess that changes things a bit, huh?

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by pthoma79
http:///forum/post/3275622
Tank is actually about 1 1/2 years old. The trates have always been between 5-10, and I wasn't testing phosphates until recently, and they have been holding steady at about 10.
I do 5g water changes every two weeks.
I'll take your advice and get down to the LFS next week and have them test it and make sure I'm accurate.
If the levels are right, is there anything besides adding a sump that I can do to reduce my trates and phosphate? I just have a bakpak HOB skimmer on the tank.
Hi,
There is a product called Phosphate X…but it is just a quick fix. I made a basket on the back of my tank for macro algae. That is supposed to naturally get rid of phosphates. I just started it so I don’t know how good it works. I don’t have any SPS coral, I was afraid to try them until I got my tank in order for them.
There is a thread going right now called” Phosphates and SPS coral” they are discussing this very issue and from what I was following SPS coral does bleach with high phosphates. They are discussing what to do about it…maybe go follow it and see if anything they have to say helps.

 

[spanko]

There are many things you can do to lower the phosphates and nitrates, but you need to know where they are coming from to stop them or adjust your filtration - maintenance to handle it.
How much live rock in the tank?
How many and what kind of critters?
What kind of lighting?
How often and what do you feed?
What do you have for filtration?
What is the maintenance schedule for the equipment?
5 gallon change every two weeks on a 34 gallon tank may not be enough.

 

[pthoma79]

Flower- I measure my alk in dKH. There is another measurement that it is measured in (meq/L), which might be what you are looking at. If I was measuring it that way, the reading would be 3.99.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by pthoma79
http:///forum/post/3275626
Flower- I measure my alk in dKH. There is another measurement that it is measured in (meq/L), which might be what you are looking at. If I was measuring it that way, the reading would be 3.99.

Hi,
WHEW!! LOL.

 

[pthoma79]

spanko-
-about 40lbs lr, 30 lbs ls
-stocked with 1 ocel. clown, 1 royal gramma, 1 bi color blenny, about 5-8 hermits, 5-8 snails, 1 cleaner shrimp, bta anemone
-t5 lighting
-feed 1/2 chunk of mysis shrimp every 2 days
-filtration is cpr bakpak2 HOB skimmer, 2 koralia 2 powerheads
-don't really have a "schedule" for cleaning the equipment, more just when I think its necessary.

 

[spanko]

So you have no mechanical of chemical filtration other than the skimmer? Bioload and feeding schedule don't look too bad. Where do you get your change water and top off water from?

 

[pthoma79]

No, just the skimmer. I clean the cup on the skimmer every 4-5 days, or just when I notice it starts to slow down a bit. I buy my change water from my LFS, which he mixes in a large (at least 1000 gal) container. I get my top off water from a local grocery store from one of those machines that dispenses RO/DI water.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by pthoma79
http:///forum/post/3275636
No, just the skimmer. I clean the cup on the skimmer every 4-5 days, or just when I notice it starts to slow down a bit. I buy my change water from my LFS, which he mixes in a large (at least 1000 gal) container. I get my top off water from a local grocery store from one of those machines that dispenses RO/DI water.
Hi,
You need some kind of filter, I use a canister because I don't like to drill a tank. Do you have live rock and a power head at least? my .02

 

[spanko]

Do a test on the water, both, for nitrates and phosphates next time you get some. If you are not going to use mechanical and chemical filtration you will need to increase you water changes dramatically, providing they test out ok, to realize a decrease.

 

[pthoma79]

would you be able to suggest some additional mechanical or chemical filtration?

 

[nycbob]

any other sps u r keeping? sounds like u hv a lot of organic compounds in the water. should think about getting a better hob skimmer. sps r very sensitive to nutrient rich water. birdnest is considered one of the hardiest sps.

 

[pthoma79]

Thats what I've been told. I bought a hob skimmer that was rated for 65g, but it was too big for my tank and the area around it. Do you happen to know of any good hob skimmers for a 34g tank?

 

[nycbob]

remora pro is decent. deltec 300 is good.

 

[pthoma79]

What about trying one of the remora pro filter boxes for my CPR? I've got a film on the surface of my tank that I have never been able to get rid of, even while pointing a koralia 2 at it. Not sure if it'd fit or not, but it might be worth a try.

 

[spanko]

I would suggest one of the canister filters also.