SPS tips turning brown.

[redstang]

Only happened to a green bird's nest and a random sps frag from the frag swap. Did bump light intensity some but the bird's nest had some browning before that. Just looking to see if anyone else had this happen. Did some searching and some people referenced STN but usually that was associated with the tips turning white not brown.

Thanks.

 

[dawgface]

Brown tips sounds like Alkalinity spike.

 

[redstang]

DawgFace;762720 wrote: Brown tips sounds like Alkalinity spike.

I'll check that but I don't dose anything and I've been working off the same bucket of salt since black Friday. I did dose vodka for a couple of months but tapered off before the first week of April when we had vacation.

My chemi-pure elite is due for replacement and I'll have that tomorrow. Not sure if that could have any effect.

I'll check alk when I get home.

Thanks.

 

[ralph atl]

Brown tips are usually:

A) too high phosphates

And/or

b) high alk when dosing a carbon source like vodka

 

[redstang]

mysterybox;762748 wrote: Brown tips are usually:

A) too high phosphates

And/or

b) high alk when dosing a carbon source like vodka

I'll check my phosphates too. Really, I'll just run the whole battery of tests that I have. I'll run through some water changes as well. I don't tend to overfeed but I'll be more careful of that too.

 

[ripped tide]

Are tips brown as on still life there, or have the tips burnt and now they are brown with algae?

 

[redstang]

Ripped Tide;762752 wrote: Are tips brown as on still life there, or have the tips burnt and now they are brown with algae?

No life, no algae. It was hard. I was able to break the tip off of part of the green bird's nest that was brown. As far as I can tell it's only happening to the two frags though.

Thinking phosphates might be the issue. I'm getting more algae on the glass than normal.

 

[ripped tide]

Seems like po4 is always worse in the summer.

 

[redstang]

Seachem phosphate test showed a bright yellow which to me indicates very low phosphate. But algae on the glass would indicate otherwise.

Alkalinity came in between 7 and 8.4. Blasted titration kit wants me to discern when the water turns yellow.

Salinity was much lower than I expected though at 1.022. Last WC I measured both the tank and WC water and both were at 1.026. I do have an ATO. Maybe my refractometer was out of whack as I just zero'd it against RO water.(I know, I'll order some 35ppt solution to calibrate more accurately) I start doing some small WC's slowly bring up the salinity.

 

[bulkrate]

Don't test kits usually indicate low phosphates BECAUSE the algae is sucking it up like gangbusters?

I'd try scraping the glass and then changing out your physical filter media just a little while before a water change in order to get a better idea of what the actual levels are like.

 

[redstang]

Here's a pic of the bird's nest.

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