help with gsp

[albie611]

hi guys and gals.......i have a patch of gsp that has started to receed in the last week or so and i cant tell why........i have lost about 2 inches of tissue and the polyps are not extending like they were....i'll post water parameters after i test(once the lights come on )........what should i be looking for.......i know most of you can grow them without trying , but i cant seem to. whats your secrets?
thanks .......al

 

[Phyl]

Magnesium. I'd check that first. They used to be my "canary in a coal mine" for that. I don't keep them in my display anymore so I watch the frogspawn now.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

What types of corals are near it? If you keep soft corals it could be from chemical warfare.
Mine grows like crazy until it gets within a few inches of my Rasta leather and then stops dead in it's tracks.

 

[albie611]

lights just came on...going to test water in a half hour...
the tanks a mixed reef and nothing new was added in the last 2 weeks...
the only thing neer it is the mushroom i won at the june meeting...it is large frilly but it does not touch the gsp......i have never had any luck getting them to grow more then a few inches then they start to disapear...im puzzled

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

Soft corals & corilamorphs don't need to touch other corals to due damage. They just need to be close enough. Also constant flow that is to strong will cause them to recede. I would move the mushroom and see what happens.

 

[albie611]

tested water and the results were:
temp 78-80...SG 1.024....ph...7.9(a little low, is normaly 8.0-8.1)
phosphate less then 0.1.....amonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0-5
calcium 440-460.....alkalinity 7DKH
i could not test for mag because my test kit ran out

the only thing i see thats off is the ph but the system has always been around that and everything else seems to be fine...even the few sps frags are looking good.

i think ill move the frilly shroom to the frag tank and see what happens, although the gsp were growing up till a week or so ago(i even had them growing on the glass) and the shroom was still in the same place it is now.
any other sugestions to save/rescue whats left?

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

I don't if it would affect the GSP but your calcium seems high @ 450.

 

[Phyl]

That probably means your mag is fine. Wonder if your mag is high...

 

[twan]

Did this start right after a WC?

 

[albie611]

they dont look any better today
the only water parameter that seems off to me is the ph
most of the others have been steady at those numbers for quite a while now and the ph is only off by .1 or so.....
the only thing that has changed was i topped off with 4 cups of kalkwasser mixed at 1tbs/gal....about 4 days ago to keep alk and cal within normal ranges, and i did this slowly , dripping 1-2 drops/sec over an hour.
and thats it.......i do w/c about every 3-4 weeks when needed.

 

[Phyl]

When was the last time you ran carbon? Maybe you have some alleopathy you're dealing with and the carbon may help ease the warfare.

 

[albie611]

i run carbon 24/7 and i thought of that too phyl .
i changed the carbon yesterday and i have not seen a change yet.
i dont know whats going on...but i know they are tough to kill and will bounce back eventually...ill give it some time and a w/c tomorrow and see what develops.....if it comes down to it ill give to someone to hold till they rebound