Sierra Bravo Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 I created a post about this on one of the national boards but would like to get opinions here as well. Yesterday, my Red Dragon and Needle in the Haystack frags looked their normal color. Today I see that they have faded/bleached suddenly. The Red Dragon uniformly, the Needle in the Haystack in different spots all over the frag. They've been doing well for the month or so that I've had them and I'm at a loss as to what to do at the moment. I've taken them off the frag rack and lowered them to the sand. Parameters: Alk: 8.2 Calc: 425 PO4: .018 Nitrate: 4 Ammonia, nitrite: 0 Temp: 77 Salinity: 1.025 pH: 8.02 The only thing that has changed at all between yesterday and today is that I adjusted calcium to 425 from 395. I use dosers for two part but my calcium was trending low so I bumped it up. Would a change in calcium levels cause an event like this? I'm not seeing any other signs of stress or bleaching/fading in the tank currently. Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Calcium wouldn't do it Scott. Only thing I'm thinking is lighting change from when you got it. Sometimes acros will take awhile to let you know they are ticked, a really delayed response from a stressor weeks ago.Any idea what par you had it in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 Not since adding the T5's, but heck, that was mid-January and they are only running 3 hours a day with a 20% reduction on the LED's. It used to be at 160 where the frag rack they were on was located. I'll know for sure tonight though - look what UPS just brought me. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 whats the Mg at? alk+calcium at normal levels w/ low Mg can cause this. needs all three in order to work. the reef holy trinity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 Whoops - missed listing the mag value. . . I adjusted the magnesium yesterday as well when I bumped up the calc. Mag was at 1385 before I made the adjustment. This morning it was at 1425. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 i concur w/ ty on this one... lighting and/or flow changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 So let's say my adding the T5's created a significant PAR increase from the 160 it was at, and the frags took two weeks to let me know they were p.o.'d about it and bleached today. What is the course of action? I'm guessing drop them on the sand as I've done then re-acclimate higher in the tank over time like you would a new frag? It looks like at least the Needle in the Haystack still has all its polyps out which seems to be a good sign. Anything else to do to help them get back to normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 some people put multiple layers of screen under the light.. and remove a layer every 5-7 days (this is what we did pre-dimmable days) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 So let's say my adding the T5's created a significant PAR increase from the 160 it was at, and the frags took two weeks to let me know they were p.o.'d about it and bleached today. What is the course of action? I'm guessing drop them on the sand as I've done then re-acclimate higher in the tank over time like you would a new frag? It looks like at least the Needle in the Haystack still has all its polyps out which seems to be a good sign. Anything else to do to help them get back to normal?Yeah, sand for now. Sometimes it isn't just the lighting that causes it but all the changes from going to a new system as well cumulatively maybe pushed it too far. You're jist stressing it a bit less by not subjecting it to maybe higher light than it was used to while it adjusts to your tank parameters, both measured and unmeasured.I'm always proactive and cut, superglue any dying flesh to preserve the live parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 1 minute ago, FarmerTy said: I'm always proactive and cut, superglue any dying flesh to preserve the live parts. yea, but you have huge colonies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 yea, but you have huge colonies.I do that with frags too. If you can save at least a couple polyps, there's always a chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Those delicate branch corals are super ficcle when it comes to environmental changes and exposure to air. I know my red dragon does not like sudden increases in light intensity. I always start frags off near the bottom of the tank and move them up when I'm not sure what PAR they're accustomed to. Better to acclimate them slowly than to risk blast them with too much light they can't handle. I think my red dragon mother colony is sitting at 250 PAR in my tank directly under the center brace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 I appreciate the guidance. I'll be curious to see tonight just what PAR that frag rack had post-T5 installation. I only added two bulbs and started running the T5's only 1.5 hours (now at 3hrs), as well as lowering my LED's 20%. If I had to bet I'd had said the PAR was lowered, not increased. Be that as it may, I dropped them to the sand just in case since nothing else has changed in the tank. With the polyps still colored and active in the bleached areas I'm going to give it a day more to see if any more damage on the Needle shows up before taking your advice and re-fragging. Thanks for the responses; I'll add the current PAR value to the post tonight after I measure it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Superglue is just as effective without being as intrusive as refragging. Just superglue (gel) at the border of dying tissue and healthy tissue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Bravo Posted February 9, 2018 Author Share Posted February 9, 2018 The change in PAR at the location of the frag rack, even with the reduction of the LED's, was about a 22% increase at once. I would say that was significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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