Advice Needed On Dying Candy Cane/Calaustrea

[JRowenole]

Dear Fellow Members:

I have had a beautiful flourescent green Candy Cane for over 2 years now in my 92 gallon reef. This coral has grown fron the size of a baseball to larger than a softball.

I had VHO lighting on this system up until about 3 months ago when I added a PFO 250W 10K Metal Halide w/reflector. The Candy Cane is attached to a rock high up in the tank and about 2 inches from the water surface. I did very slowly try to acclimate my corals to the added light.

I am now seeing some individual polys shriveling up, and the polyp coral teeth showing.

Do you think the coral is bleaching, or reacting to some other type of stress - my water temp is up to about 83F-84F.

Due to the coral's tremendous size, it would be hard for me to relocate this in the tank.

Should I just let nature take it's course, allowing the direct light exposed polyps to die and the shaded polyps to live? Any other suggestions?

Thank you.


John

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by JRowenole
Dear Fellow Members:

I have had a beautiful flourescent green Candy Cane for over 2 years ... I had VHO lighting on this system up until about 3 months ago when I added a PFO 250W 10K Metal Halide w/reflector... I am now seeing some individual polys shriveling up, and the polyp coral teeth showing... ...Due to the coral's tremendous size, it would be hard for me to relocate this in the tank...

Although without some other data to look at, it would be difficult to say with certanty that the lighting change is the cause, if appears to be so. I would look at other parameters just to make sure that some other coincidental change caused by the lighting change might not be the culprit (i.e., changes in alk due to increased utilization by coralline algae, increased allopathic warfare due to some increase in the vitality of another stony due to increased lighting, etc.)

If you can eliminate other causes and the lighting issue is THE ISSUE, then definitely move the specimen down in the tank, and if this doesn't help, then look for parasites, etc or some other overlooked problem, then if all else fails, frag it. That way, at least some of it will survive.

[JRowenole]

Thanks, Tom.

It is interesting you mention changes in ALK levels due to coralline algae. For the last few months I have been struggling to keep my ALK levels up due, as I theorize, in part to my incredible coralline algae growth in my tank. I am now beyond only 2-part additions, and I must add Seachem reef builder and Seachem reef calcium to get my ALK and CA levels beyond minimum levels. Lately, I feel like I am on the ALK/CA merry-go-round trying to keep things stable. I have recently decided to incorporate weekly water changes to try to stabilize things. I am also beginning the hair algae fuzz on the rocks, and some corals such as my Cynarina and Colt are not consistently flourishing like they used to. However, my Blastomussa, Tonga leather, mushrooms, and Pocillopora look better than ever.

My bio-load is low (only four small fish), and do not overfeed.

I also have a very efficient Euro-reef skimmer.

I am trying not to go insane with this.

Any additional suggestions would be much appreciated.


John

[thefatman]

I am trying not to go insane with this.

glad it's not just me

[Casey]

John what type water do you use ? ro etc?

[JRowenole]

Casey:

I have a new 5 stage RODI filter. My TDS meter reads 0 or 1 ppm.

I don't think it's the water.

Thanks.


John

[Jimbo]

I've had the same problem with my 400 watt iwasaki, I put some eggcrate on the top of the tank directly under the bulb. This has helped and diffuses the light more evenly to other parts of the tank.

[JRowenole]

Thanks, Jimbo.

I was thinking of the eggcrate. I wasn't sure if that would actually help or not.

I'll try it.


John

[wildthings44]

I have no real help, just encouragement. I "rescued" a candycane from the LFS. It was as close to being dead as you can get with out actually being there (I think it saw "the light") I brought it home and that was about a year ago, it has totally recovered,(I've even had to frag it as it's getting big) losing only a couple of polyps... but just to say, the LFS had MH and all I had was NO... so perhaps it's just getting too much light

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by JRowenole
I am now beyond only 2-part additions, and I must add Seachem reef builder and Seachem reef calcium to get my ALK and CA levels beyond minimum levels. Lately, I feel like I am on the ALK/CA merry-go-round trying to keep things stable. I have recently decided to incorporate weekly water changes to try to stabilize things. I am also beginning the hair algae fuzz on the rocks, and some corals such as my Cynarina and Colt are not consistently flourishing like they used to. However, my Blastomussa, Tonga leather, mushrooms, and Pocillopora look better than ever...

Most likely an issue with the AMOUNT of light now available. The octocorals can prolly take much less light and still do extremely well. Move them down to more protected areas out of the most intense lighting (areas near the edges of the "spotlight" of the bulb) The candycane is definiteoly a candidate for moving.

On the issue of the alk and Ca, you will continue to see the "ups and downs" of the Ca dna alk until you establish a balanced additive routine. If need be, replace all your evaporative losses with a Kalk reactor and some type of metered pump and continue to use the a and B parts of the two part additive to halp balance out your levels. Randy Holmes Farley has a good article in ReefKeeping magazine on "how" and "what" to do when each of the conditioins exist. Using a balanced additive routine will prevent some of the chemical issues from occurring that will be problematic for your Ca and alk regimen. Although I personally prefer (as does Randy) to use the Kalk routine, Ca reactors using CO2 to dissolve CaCO3 may be your resolution as well.

HTH

[JRowenole]

Thank you everyone for all of your advice!


John

[Geoff]

if the light is the issue, you could use the eggcrate idea Jimbo suggested. along with putting a piece of clear acrylic just over the candy cane to give it more shielding from the light. you can add more or different kinds of acrylic to block more or less light. i do not know if it will look funny or not, but it should help the candy cane.

G~