This is a topic that is not talked about to often so I thought I would do a thread from what I have learned.
First and foremost stop and think. Never jump into a fix without thoroughly thinking things through. Figure out the scope of things and how far things are affected. Is it one coral or is it tank related? One issue with a single coral doesn't always mean it is tank wide. It could just be that one coral or it could be early warning signs of a larger issue. Don't assume things. Start off by testing your parameters. Is everything in the proper range, how old are the lights (T5/MH), salinity ok, PH, ALK etc. I like to rule out what is not causing an issue so that way your list of suspects gets smaller and smaller till you find the cause. I do start by checking the most likely causes and parameters. If you are stuck it is good to ask for advice from fellow reefers on the forum but be careful when taking advice. If it doesn't sound right it probably isn't. Bad advice will make your situation worse just as much as jumping to conclusions and making big changes without thinking things through. Always take your time to make changes. Give your corals time to adjust. Unless a situation needs immediate attention because things have become critical take it slow! Learn what is an emergency and what is not and act accordingly.
Let’s take SPS color fade issues as an example. It could be lack of light, too much light, wrong temp, to low or to high an ALK, another coral stinging\ causing chemical warfare, ULNS, pests or stray voltage to name a few. Out of those light and alk are the most likely for most people but ULNS is also common cause these days. You should ask yourself questions about how this situation came to be and timeline. How fast did the color fade? Was it fast or slow? If it was fast it is more than likely to much light (Common causes you just changed your lighting, increased intensity, placed frag in new location or switched lighting type) or ALK issues (to high), slow color decline is usually too low a light but it can also be ALK related if you allow things to drop slowly out of tolerances. My tank doesn't like low ALK of say 7 and prefers a 10 for best color. So if I see some corals fad slowly I will look for Alk issues as my first thing. I will look for pests but to be honest if you do proper quarantine procedures this is not that likely but it is safest to check anyway.
Always go slow and ask yourself questions when in situations like above. Think things through and do some research. Be cautious of any advice you take unless it is from someone you know that has experience. Experience in troubleshooting gives a person context. In the end the reefer has to make the final call and it should be done with as much information as possible after carefully thinking things over. If you stick to this format you will cut down and issues and not complicate your situation and make it worse. The hobbies can be your own worst enemy if you don’t.
First and foremost stop and think. Never jump into a fix without thoroughly thinking things through. Figure out the scope of things and how far things are affected. Is it one coral or is it tank related? One issue with a single coral doesn't always mean it is tank wide. It could just be that one coral or it could be early warning signs of a larger issue. Don't assume things. Start off by testing your parameters. Is everything in the proper range, how old are the lights (T5/MH), salinity ok, PH, ALK etc. I like to rule out what is not causing an issue so that way your list of suspects gets smaller and smaller till you find the cause. I do start by checking the most likely causes and parameters. If you are stuck it is good to ask for advice from fellow reefers on the forum but be careful when taking advice. If it doesn't sound right it probably isn't. Bad advice will make your situation worse just as much as jumping to conclusions and making big changes without thinking things through. Always take your time to make changes. Give your corals time to adjust. Unless a situation needs immediate attention because things have become critical take it slow! Learn what is an emergency and what is not and act accordingly.
Let’s take SPS color fade issues as an example. It could be lack of light, too much light, wrong temp, to low or to high an ALK, another coral stinging\ causing chemical warfare, ULNS, pests or stray voltage to name a few. Out of those light and alk are the most likely for most people but ULNS is also common cause these days. You should ask yourself questions about how this situation came to be and timeline. How fast did the color fade? Was it fast or slow? If it was fast it is more than likely to much light (Common causes you just changed your lighting, increased intensity, placed frag in new location or switched lighting type) or ALK issues (to high), slow color decline is usually too low a light but it can also be ALK related if you allow things to drop slowly out of tolerances. My tank doesn't like low ALK of say 7 and prefers a 10 for best color. So if I see some corals fad slowly I will look for Alk issues as my first thing. I will look for pests but to be honest if you do proper quarantine procedures this is not that likely but it is safest to check anyway.
Always go slow and ask yourself questions when in situations like above. Think things through and do some research. Be cautious of any advice you take unless it is from someone you know that has experience. Experience in troubleshooting gives a person context. In the end the reefer has to make the final call and it should be done with as much information as possible after carefully thinking things over. If you stick to this format you will cut down and issues and not complicate your situation and make it worse. The hobbies can be your own worst enemy if you don’t.
