My Acros

[phastroh]

Ok so I have 2.

1 large one with over 20 tips(baseball) and the other is small like the size of a golf ball.

They are located roughly 8 inches from the surface and sit between(not directly under) 2 150Watt MH and there are also 4x39 T5's(on that side where they are.

They both have a lot of flow for sure.

The Larger One

One sits in front of the Wavemaker(well like 8 inches away) there was a hermit crab on top and I thought it was stuck so I took it out and it went back by the next day, weird.

When I got it, it was brown of course but over time the brown got lighter and then I started seeing red on the tips and it eventually turned to light purple. It had many of them and I assumed this would work its way down all the tips but it never really made it further than 1/4 inch.

Now it looks like all the purple tips have vanished but physically. While there is still a hint it almost looks like they were eaten off but not exactly.

There is one white arm in the middle of all the others and there are a lot of them. I used to always see this crab in the middle just hanging out.

The Smaller One

Sits near the larger one but I have a Nano Powerhead blowing across it

It was never really a dark brown. It has always been on the lighter brown side. Some days it has a lot of the hairs blowing around and then some days I do not see them.

Recently it has started getting whiter but at the same time the polyps have been out more than even before and I can see a hint of light purple in a general area.

I always have low Alk and I will admit there are times I have probably raised it too fast. This is normally because if I do not dose everyday it goes down a little over time.

I can't honestly figure out a good dosing schedule because one day it drop this much and the next time it is different but I have a plan in the works.

I read somewhere to check it weekly and not daily to figure this out but I am not 100% what works best. I know low Alk can be the cause of this but can it be the only one. I read temp swings are what bothers them the most and the only time the tank has a swing is when I do water changes which is every 2 weeks,

I try everything to keep them temp close but with the closed Brute can even when it is set to 75 and I add it to me tank it goes from 79 to 82-83. I have left the can open to let some heat out for 30 minutes with no heater going and it is still doing it.

I was dosing with 2 Little Fishes 2 Part(only the Alk because my Calcium is always good) but I am going to switch the Arm & Hammer mixed with my Top Off to keep the does low but constant and really try to get this low Alk figured out. If not for these corals I would not be so worried.

I know that every 3 days my top-off uses close to 10Gal so at least I can start there with something that is consistent, and then see how much to mix into 10 Gal to use for 3 days to get it stable. Well you know how it works.

Any other ideas on this anyone?

 

[phastroh]

I just really closely examined the large acro and the middle is actually full of deep purple but there is light brown and purple in the outer and the 2 white arms tossed in.

 

[Northstar24]

Without some sort of automatic dosing system, I don't see how you could only check and dose Alk once a week, it would have to be a daily thing. Ideally, you want to replace the Alk that is used by your system.

I currently use the BRS two part system, and my tank uses one cup of Alk a day, I usually dose half in the morning before work, and half when I get home. Doing it this way has kept my Alk pretty stable

 

[phastroh]

Yeah I didn't mean I was going to check weekly for dosing, I meant I was going to see how much it takes during the week so I can use my top-off to dose. Then I will check at the end of the week after I have the right amount to dose. I think that I typed what I meant the wrong way.

It is typically easy for me to guess how far it has dropped after I raised it to the level I want if it is the next day. My Hanna Checker reads in PPM so it usually is 5-7PPM a day.

I try to get it to 165PPM which is 9.24dKH or 3.3meq. I just feel like if I raise it too little I can't dose high enough without harming the tank to keep up with the drop in Alk. Like it is dropping faster than the highest safe dose to raise it. I mean it has been like 117PPM before(6.5dKH) but normally it hovers around 130PPM(7.28dKH) with water changes every 2 weeks.

When I get it to 165PPM I can almost guess the drop by day at 5-7PPM but most charts that list the dosing do not show it in PPM so I have to convert it for my 2 Little Fishes stuff.

Now that I want to use my Arm & Hammer in my Top Off I have to figure out how much I need to mix into 10 Gallon to have it replace 3 days worth. At first I was concerned because some days I am sure more evaporates than others and I do not want it to get raised to fast but then I figured that over 3 days I will drop between 15-21PPM

My only other choice is to mix the Baking Soda in a tiny amount of water and throw it in the sump everyday.

I do not want to have to do more than mix it into my 3 gallon jugs days ahead of time and pour them into my Top-Off so I know it is going to keep it up there.

I do need a Doser from BRS and just a note, my Calcium is never low, it is always perfect or on the high side and I have no clue why. I have about 20 corals and most have a skeleton. My Magnesium is also always good.

Until I get a Doser I can't do anything that would be a permanent fix or make it more convenient. If I can get the Acro to be full purple like the inside I would say WOWOOWOWOW!

I think right now I am going to do a full test of my water, even the Ammonia and Nitrite just to do it and chart it today, then raise my Alk over the week to 165 as fast and safe as I can and then start my charting daily for a week, devise my dosing in my Top-Off and monitor it daily to make sure it is not tailing off.

If it is I will wait till my Top-Off is almost empty and mix it a LITTLE stronger. It may take me a few weeks to get it right but it will be worth it and then when I get a Doser I will have a great idea of where to start.

How does that sound. I mean using the Hannah Checker is fast and easy and I feel better. I do check it with my Salifert like 2 times a month and so far they are either exact or close but I guess sometime you can put an extra drop into the test vile which can make the reading a little off which explains why it is close and not always exact.

 

[phastroh]

Ok I was looking at the Large Acro and I noticed that the dark purple in the center is now looking web like between the branches. Instead of the many arms just being dark purple it is now spreading between them in a web like fashion.

Anyone know what this is? The coral looks healthy but this is weird.