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Is my birdsnest dying (1 Viewer)

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djray77

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Why has my birdsnest turned white at the base? Is it dead or dying?
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Carrie17

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Mine frequently have done that also. It could be not enough flow, or, that the upper branches have shaded the lower part.

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Provided your water parameters are good, then I'd say you're dealing with fairly common issue with bird's nest corals. Once the top portion grows out like this the bottom areas do not get enough light and flow and start to bleach. You can try moving the coral up higher or position it so the base it gets more light, and redirect water flow around the base as well. You can also try pruning it back some so the base receives more light and flow. If it's not too far gone then it should recover. If it's STN (slow tissue necrosis) then trimming off some frags will also save it incase pruning and increasing flow does not help.
 

FarmerTy

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Common issue with running single point LED lights. What lights are you running?
 
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djray77

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Thanks for the help guys! It has been at the top of my tank and I ran 2xRadion XR30 G4. I have pruned it like you said and made some new frags. Hopefully this will help
 

FarmerTy

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Thanks for the help guys! It has been at the top of my tank and I ran 2xRadion XR30 G4. I have pruned it like you said and made some new frags. Hopefully this will help
It should in the immediate. It'll occur again when your colony branches out in that pattern again. Adding some T5 supplements should help with shadowing so you dont have to worry about the underneaths of your colonies dying as they grow larger.
 
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djray77

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How long has that coral been in your tank?? Are your other sps doing good??

It's been in there for about 8 months (approx) my other corals (SPS, LPS) seem to be doing fine. I'm really new to the hobby and I'm having a hard time with knowing the right place for the corals.
 

FarmerTy

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It's been in there for about 8 months (approx) my other corals (SPS, LPS) seem to be doing fine. I'm really new to the hobby and I'm having a hard time with knowing the right place for the corals.
Its just the nature of the lights amd single point LEDs like Kessils too. You'll only see it when larger colonies start growing and shadowing their base. Metal halides and T5s throw light in a lot of directions due to the nature of the bulbs and the reflectors... So this issue is less apparent. If you want, try moving the colony down lower.

It sounds counterintuitive but because it is so high and under higher light, it'll grow more horizontal but if placed lower, it'll grow a bit more vertical... Helping ease shadowing issues.
 

FarmerTy

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Its so clean looking that a retrofit wouldn't do it justice. I would look into an aquatic life hybrid fixture personally but you can decide if some shadowing is worth all that trouble or not. It'll allow you to place the LEDs in the middle and it has T5s built in with a nice clean look.
 
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djray77

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I made my formal dining room my fish tank/office so I want to keep that clean look. I will look into that hybrid fixture you mentioned. I guess the plus side is I have a bunch of new frags now lol.
 

FarmerTy

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I made my formal dining room my fish tank/office so I want to keep that clean look. I will look into that hybrid fixture you mentioned. I guess the plus side is I have a bunch of new frags now lol.
That's always the joy of doing some coral landscaping.
 

paraletho

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I have also found that if you start early in the frags growth promoting encrusting of the base it helps. Vermitids around the base especially early on makes that harder. Birdnest are usually such rapid growers they outgrow themselves. To me if you can get the coral to have some horizontal growth early by providing plenty of room. I use a step up method of increasing plug sizes up to 3” discs. The horizontal base helps feed and support the shaded part. I am also all T5 so it is a little easier on the shading issue.
 
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djray77

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The flow was mentioned also, I have 2 Tunze 6095's are these good enough for a 125 gallon? (60x24x20)
 
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Yes, I feel the middle isn't getting enough light.


I'd see about getting some PAR measurements first before you go adding any additional lights. We are very poor at judging the actual intensity of light, and what may seem like not enough may actually be getting more than enough especially for corals with low to medium light requirements. The last thing you want to do is spend a bunch of money on additional lighting for a small section, only to find that it was already getting plenty to begin with.
 
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djray77

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I'd see about getting some PAR measurements first before you go adding any additional lights. We are very poor at judging the actual intensity of light, and what may seem like not enough may actually be getting more than enough especially for corals with low to medium light requirements. The last thing you want to do is spend a bunch of money on additional lighting for a small section, only to find that it was already getting plenty to begin with.

Good Point I tried using my seneye but its all over the places the numbers fluctuate so bad. I'll have to try it again.
 
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