acro

[Bifferwine]

I think your salinity is fine. It's definitely not causing the acro to bleach.

Did you acclimate the acro to the light in your tank? Or did you just put it halfway up from the start? Did it come from a tank with stronger or weaker lights than yours? You should acclimate new SPS corals to the light by starting them on the bottom of the tank and gradually moving them up. Light shock can bleach them.

 

[Jmck]

I did put it straight into the middle of the tank but it was in a tank with stronger lights. and I started off by animating it to the t5s first then the next day t5's came on and then a few hours later mhalide came on for 4 hours then t5s for the rest of the time. so I didn't chuck it straight under the mhalide. but it could be the bleaching reason. will that improve or have I done irreparable damage?

 

[Ulta]

1.026 salinity is perfect, I would not change it.
Sea water is 1.025-1.027

Personally Josh, I think its 1 of 2 things:
1) not enough light, I would try it toward the top. 4 watts per gallon is low side for sps so try moving high in the tank.
2) raising your alk too fast possibly caused it.

 

[Jmck]

Ulta, it was bleaching before the alkalinity went up, after 2 days of being in the tank, i dont know what would cause it to do this so fast? ill check on it in the next few days. If it is the lighting, i might have to look at changing it to a 250 watt light by changing the ballast, lucky the ballast is external!

 

[Jmck]

here is a picture of the acro, you can see on the tip it is bleaching and that there is like a spider web like substance on that area as well. could it have a parasite?

 

[ccCapt]

That is 1 very unhappy millepora. Cut off that bleached tip and put the coral in a high flow area. Milleporas can pretty much take all the flow you can give them. High alk (12+ dKH) can cause the tips to burn.

 

[Jmck]

Ok, ill cut that off tonight, but what to use, i dont have any bone cutters, might use a stanly knife.

Alk is about 9, so it shouldnt be burning. Thanks capt

 

[Jmck]

alright, so ive made two cuts, that stalk that you saw, and one more tiny one. I put them back in the tank in little holes, hope they will come back and grow more. but there are now to open white bare cuts. will these heal nicely?

 

[ccCapt]

The cuts will heal over in a few days. Alk at 9 dKH is perfect IMO. All you can do at this point is keep your parameters steady and hope the coral pulls thru. It doesn't look all that bad to me, so I think it should recover.

 

[Jmck]

Thanks i didnt think it was all that bad, but ive killed one acro so far, so im watchign this one incredibly close. Hope those little stalks i put in holes of my live rock decide to grow as well, then i have 3 growing in the tank :)

 

[dcantucson]

Josh if your really concerned about it you can send it to me where wouldn't have a chance in hell of making it.

 

[Jmck]

Bahaha, David, im sure you have other coals to kill! :D