Why Is My Chalice Coral Receding?

[dawnix8]

My Chalice Coral has been receding for the past week. Tank's a 40-gallon with AI Prime lighting, running at 70% intensity. Params are 8.1 pH, 1.025 salinity, 0 nitrates. I do weekly 10% water changes with Red Sea salt. Any ideas what's up?

[Folda]

What's your alk sitting at? Chalices can be sketchy if alk swings too much. Also, how old's the bulb in your Prime? Might be time to swap it out.

[pineaple]

My Chalice Coral has been receding for the past week. Tank's a 40-gallon with AI Prime lighting, running at 70% intensity. Params are 8.1 pH, 1.025 salinity, 0 nitrates. I do weekly 10% water changes with Red Sea salt. Any ideas what's up?

Zero nitrates might be the issue. They need some nutrients to thrive. Try feeding them reef roids or similar. Also, check for pests like flatworms or nudis.

[fluxo]

I had the same thing happen last month. Turned out my magnesium was way low. Test your mag, and maybe bump it up if it's under 1300. Also, how's the flow in your tank? Too much can stress them out.

[flux_42]

Yep, low mag messed with mine too. Also, what's your temp stability like? If it's bouncing around, that'll freak them out. Mine chilled out after I got a better heater.

[Raveno4]

Could be allelopathy from other corals. What's near it? Some LPS can throw off chemicals that bother Chalices. Might need to rearrange your scape.

[dawnix8]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I'll test alk and mag tonight and look into feeding more. Appreciate the help!

[Folda]

I had the same thing happen last month. Turned out my magnesium was way low. Test your mag, and maybe bump it up if it's under 1300. Also, how's the flow in your tank? Too much can stress them out.

Good point on flow. I've seen Chalices melt in high-flow spots. Maybe try moving it to a lower-flow area and see if it perks up.

[pineaple]

Another thought: how old's your salt mix? Sometimes older batches can have weird imbalances. If you've had it a while, grab a fresh bucket.

[fluxo]

Another thought: how old's your salt mix? Sometimes older batches can have weird imbalances. If you've had it a while, grab a fresh bucket.

Totally. I've had salt go funky after a year. Dawnix8, when's the last time you calibrated your refractometer? A bad reading could throw everything off.