What is this in my Tank? New rock I bought

[julesjt]

I am new reef tank starter and I started this 90 Gallon tank. Thinks are going very well with how I have it setup. I bought a new rock and I see my new rock in the upper right corner has mushrooms and button polyps. However there seems to be a piece of hard coral with some orange color to it. Do you think it is still alive and what is it?

Attachments not working so here is link to flickr

P1010431_4 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

P1010433_4 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[julesjt]

If you have problem seeing the picture let me know, but I am really curious what this is and if it is alive.

[Steve McKay]

Most of it looks bleached (dead) but some of it looks either still alive or covered with brown algae.If it is not algae then it is zooxanthellae trying to survive.What kind of lighting do you have?The coral looks like a stony and needs strong lighting.

[julesjt]

Well this rock was just bought so my tank didn't bleach it. I am using 2 x 175w MH 10K and 2 x actinic T11. So maybe it will come back in my tank.

[julesjt]

In addition, I am new but I am 99% sure it is not algae. How long do you suggest leaving the MH lights on per day. Right now I am doing about 12 hours actinic and 5 hours of MH and slowly increasing because making sure not to have too much light and get a huge outbreak of algae in this cycling tank.

[julesjt]

One more note, my calcium levels are at 460, and my KH levels dkh 9.6 and nitrates near 0 around 2.

[Steve McKay]

No,I didn't think your lighting bleached it or you would have stated that.The reason it's brown is because the zooxanthellae (zooxanthellae are flagellate protozoa that are golden brown and can supply up to 90% of a corals energy requirements.) is not getting enough light and or has gone through changing water conditions such as salinity,temp.possibly no light due to shipping.It's also possible the corals natural color is brown but I doubt that.I have a recently acquired Acropora that is still acclimating and is mostly brown that will take a good while to color up.What is white is dead but that doesn't mean that the complete coral will die.There is a good chance that it will survive and possible recover the old skeleton.You have enough light that's not a problem,you need about 10 hours of full lighting.That will probably cause some kind of algae or diatom outbreak.Extend the photoperiod as quickly as you deem fit to at least 8 hours and go from there.The bleaching itself was probably caused when zooxanthellae densities within the coral tissue become low or the concentration of photosynthetic pigments within each zooxanthellae decline.Your Ca level is a bit high for me,I like 420 but it is ok,just remember that higher Ca levels can cause Ca buildup on return pumps,circulation pumps and skimmer pumps.Also levels over 400 (probably 380)have no added benefit.But I do like to keep mine at natural levels.KH is fine,NO3 is ok up to 5.0 is tolerable.Good luck and keep me updated,with photos too.I would like to see this coral survive.I'm not sure what type of coral it is but it looks like it might be a Acropora possibly.

[julesjt]

Thank you very much and I have to say I love this site! I am new at this but I have learned a lot in a short period and will continue to the best I can. My wife is annoyed how much I been spending on this but I told her this is the beginning phase it will get easier. The main problem was a month into it I ran inter a huge green hair algae problem and almost quit. I got good advice and followed it and my tank is doing great. As for the CA level I will take the advice and let it drop and also get it lower on my next water change.

If you are interested I been documenting my progress on youtube and here is what I went through on my green hair algae problem.

YouTube - My Green Algae Problem by Jules - Reef Tank Issues

[twisted]

welcome to the site, jules! it is an addicting hobby...lol..mrs twisted get jealous at times too...anyway, good luck with your tank and cant wait to see it mature! take care, twisted

[Steve McKay]

If possible just post in this thread,my build thread or start your own build thread to document your progress.

[julesjt]

Ok, I will do that. I will start new thread with Video links. I been doing some good video documentation.

[Steve McKay]

Sounds good.