Lobophyllia Coral Dying! HELP ME!

[Praben]

My lobophyllia coral has not been as puffy as I first noticed a couple weeks ago. About 5 days ago I noticed a small area near the bottom where some skeleton was starting to show. All of a sudden the last day or two it seems to be receding and disintegrating very quickly.

It's location has not moved in several months, it is on the sand near the middle of the tank. Parameters, temperature have not fluctuated (to best of my knowledge). I cannot see any pests or anything on it.

Background: Tank is 125gal. Running MH/VHO combo. Recent parameters 1.025 salinity. 8.3PH, 0 Nitrate/Phosphate, Calc 420-440, Mag 1320, KH 6.

Please help, any suggestions on how to stop this from continuing would be greatly appreciated!

[hollister]

Whats used for water flow in there?
Whats the tanks age?

[Praben]

The return pump in 1800gph, two 1050gph powerheads and an 800gph spray bar.

The tank is approx 2 years old.

The coral looks even worse today.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by Praben

My lobophyllia coral has not been as puffy as I first noticed a couple weeks ago. About 5 days ago I noticed a small area near the bottom where some skeleton was starting to show. All of a sudden the last day or two it seems to be receding and disintegrating very quickly.

It's location has not moved in several months, it is on the sand near the middle of the tank. Parameters, temperature have not fluctuated (to best of my knowledge). I cannot see any pests or anything on it.

Background: Tank is 125gal. Running MH/VHO combo. Recent parameters 1.025 salinity. 8.3PH, 0 Nitrate/Phosphate, Calc 420-440, Mag 1320, KH 6.

Please help, any suggestions on how to stop this from continuing would be greatly appreciated!

I'm sorry to say that that lobo is probably a goner. Too much skeleton showing, too quick a recession.

What jumps at me is your alk. Alk needs to be at 7-11 dKH. Sodium Bicarb (baking soda) should help correct it over time.

How were you feeding it? I myself lost a large lobo because I was under the wrong impression coral specific feeding was not needed. Now, I target feed all my LPS at night, and they are all thriving, including a new lobo.

[sporto0]

Sometimes it is not a simple answer with any coral since they are animals & do exhibit some individuality, from your picture I see it receding. I would move it to one side or the other of the tank, I have no idea if it's getting too much light but that is one of the first things I do when I notice a coral in distress. Lobo's need medium to low flow, so I doubt that flow is even an issue. Good luck, I hope it recovers.

[Praben]

I know it looks to be in really bad shape, wish I would have come to ask for help right when it started.

For some reason I've always had issues with my Alk. I've never got it above 8dkh, ever. Usually it is around 7, sometimes drops to 6, rarely drops to 5. Is small dosing of baking soda the best way to slowly raise/maintain it? I've used a couple products like Seachem Reef Builder.

Feeding I generally feed PE mysis to the corals 1-2 times a week through target feeding. Throw a little Rods Reef Coral Blend in periodically with the Mysis. Feeding habits haven't changed too much, I may have been targeting feeding slightly less lately though.

Would any type of dips (iodine) or anything be suggested in this situation? Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by Praben

I know it looks to be in really bad shape, wish I would have come to ask for help right when it started.

For some reason I've always had issues with my Alk. I've never got it above 8dkh, ever. Usually it is around 7, sometimes drops to 6, rarely drops to 5. Is small dosing of baking soda the best way to slowly raise/maintain it? I've used a couple products like Seachem Reef Builder.

Feeding I generally feed PE mysis to the corals 1-2 times a week through target feeding. Throw a little Rods Reef Coral Blend in periodically with the Mysis. Feeding habits haven't changed too much, I may have been targeting feeding slightly less lately though.

Would any type of dips (iodine) or anything be suggested in this situation? Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I've used a whole bunch of stuff for alk, including Seachem 8.3 and that Reef builder. I've found that the best way to get the alk up is by using baking soda. Your pH is ok, so would use plain baking soda rather than the baked baking soda. Use this calculator: http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html . Shoot for a target dKH of over 8. Dissolved in RODI, I would dose it slow, dividing the total dose to twice a day divided over several days. At the end of the period, you'll find that the alk is still lower than calculated, because there has been ongoing consumption. Just keep going at the same dose until you hit the mark. Once you hit the mark, you'll have to figure out your maintenance dose to keep it there. I now dose with 2 part for maintenance.

My dKh dropped to 6 before I started dosing. At this level alk, with everything else being ideal like you, I lost almost all my coraline, lost a hammer, and my tenui developed STN. With the alk now corrected and staying there, my coraline is coming back, and the tenui is recovering and growing. I don't think dips will save that lobo, but you can always try things like CoralRx.

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by Palting

I've used a whole bunch of stuff for alk, including Seachem 8.3 and that Reef builder. I've found that the best way to get the alk up is by using baking soda. Your pH is ok, so would use plain baking soda rather than the baked baking soda. Use this calculator: http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html . Shoot for a target dKH of over 8. Dissolved in RODI, I would dose it slow, dividing the total dose to twice a day divided over several days. At the end of the period, you'll find that the alk is still lower than calculated, because there has been ongoing consumption. Just keep going at the same dose until you hit the mark. Once you hit the mark, you'll have to figure out your maintenance dose to keep it there. I now dose with 2 part for maintenance.

My dKh dropped to 6 before I started dosing. At this level alk, with everything else being ideal like you, I lost almost all my coraline, lost a hammer, and my tenui developed STN. With the alk now corrected and staying there, my coraline is coming back, and the tenui is recovering and growing. I don't think dips will save that lobo, but you can always try things like CoralRx.

^^^ follow this.

Get the dkh up.

[bobsea]

I had difficulty keeping my dKH consistently above 7.0 until I raised my magnesium to about 1400. After that the dKH stayed above 9.0. Articles in Reefkeeping online magazine by Randy Holmes-Farley, called Reef Alchemy explain the process well. Good luck!