bleaching sps

kelly

kelly

Member
I got a few sps frags earlier this week, and some are already bleaching...
Here are tank parameters:
size: 75 gallon
tek hood with reflector and 6 52w bulbs
specific gravity: 1.024
nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, phosphates: 0
ph: 8.2
calcium: 420
dkh: 7 or 125ppm
Frags were acclimated per instructions, most of them have bleached, they were shipped overnight. Any ideas why the would bleach in 3 days?
Thanks,
Kelly
 
volcom69

volcom69

Member
Did they come bleached or became bleached after u put them in. Sps need time to adjust to light they say to start them off low and gradually bring them higher in ur tank to where u want them to be.
 
kelly

kelly

Member
Anywhere from 4" from the top to 3 inches from the bottom, the only two the does not seem affected too badly are a green hydnophora and a brown montipora digitata with purple tips which are about about 1/3 up from the bottom, there are others at the same level which bleached completely.
I did not light acclimate them, the came from a tank with metal halide lighting, and they were not bleached.
Thanks,
Kelly
 
volcom69

volcom69

Member
I would bring ur dkh up to 9 or 10dkh is what i keep mine at and 1.024 should be ok i keep mine at 1.027 ur ph is fine and calcium seems fine i would just keep ur eye on them for now are they bleaching from the top down or the bottom up. I would also check ur sps for redbugs or AEFWs just to make sure no bugs came with them also. I dont think redbugs would do this just because they can take along time before really hurting corals.
 
kelly

kelly

Member
I will bring the dkh up, at least 2 of the frags are completely white right now. One of them is an orange montipora capricornus and the other is a Acropora noblis. Some of the others are bleaching from the top down. I did not see any red bugs on them. They looked healthy when I put them in.
Kelly
 
volcom69

volcom69

Member
The ones that are complety white is there any polyps at all showing any color what so ever if not they may have rtn and if thats the case they can go real quick and there is no recovery for them, they other ones if they are bleaching from the top down really dosnt sound like rtn to. Its hard to say if the other ones had rtn if so u wont to get them out quick so u dont trigger and further corals from this. Just remember anytime u wanna bring the dkh up bring it up slow to fast will cause u even more problems.
 
volcom69

volcom69

Member
A couple of other things check ur temp from time to time make sure there is not a big swing in temp. Check to make sure ur PH is constant to and ur calcium stays in the limit and ur alk. To much swing in these will really stress an sps out and sps can be very tricky and very picky in the water quality also.
 
kelly

kelly

Member
What would be the best way to bring up the kh? If I use the 2 part solution, how much can I add at 1 time without causing problems? I calculate about 2.5 oz per day, is this correct?
So after mixing Part 2: Alkalinity, I would add about 1/3 cup to my top off water and add it to the tank? Should this be done over the whole day, or all at once?
Thanks,
Kelly
 
volcom69

volcom69

Member
I just use seachem buffer to do mine im not sure the dosage amount but thats what i use usually in my tank i dont dose to much stuff just calcium i do a water change everyweek and it keeps my parm in place pretty good. The ones that are starting to bleach keep ur on them but if its not to bad and evetything is ok they can come back. I bought one for a real cheap price cause it was bleaching preaty good and i put it in my tank it is now starting get brown but tips are turning purple again so i brought him back took alittle bit but he coming around.
 
volcom69

volcom69

Member
Once u hit around 9 id stop 10 might be pushing it its hard to say with sps i know lps like 10 but sps grow nice and like usually 8-9 so once u get that u should be with the right amount of calcium, good luck i hope they come back for ya. Just make sure u have enought light and flow for them to. Also one other thing to check is ur magnisiuim to very important also.
 
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