ReefingRelapse Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Over the last 2 weeks my corals have slowly been going downhill for an unknown reason. Checked all parameters with salifert kit, nothing seems out of the norm. All sps seem to be getting white at the base. I've lost 2 acro frags, birdsnest is dying, montipora dying, cyphastrea dead, clam doesn't look 100%, fish and inverts seem fine. I've pulled and checked several frags with magnifying glass, can't find anything crawling around on them I'm starting to think I contaminated my tank with something i had on my hands from work (I'm a plumber). Done multiple water changes, probably about to just tear the **** thing down honestly. Anyway to salvage what I currently have left? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 Also poor polyp extension on most corals, anemone seems fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vernon Saunders Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 If you aren't try running carbon. If you already are then the best thing to do would be to add some bio spira to help boost the bacteria pop after those water changes and wait and let things recover. Just one of those things that take time if you have already done the things you can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Dogfish Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 How old is the tank and what and when was the last addition to the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Sometimes there just aren't enough nutrients or minerals in the water for coral to survive. What things do you measure in your tank and what were the latest readings? Also your rocks look really white, is your system pretty new? And, how long has the coral been in there and was it doing well before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 What are your parameters for the following if you have them? CaAlkMgPO4NO3Salinity How old is the system? Has anything changed recently? Added media, reactors, supplements, etc? Any you got from me I'll replace for free once we get your tank back to normal. -Ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 Ca 420 Kh9.5 Mg1370 Po undetectable No4 5 1.025 Tank is 4 months, purchased live rock already cured. Everything has been running fine up til 2 weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 13, 2018 Author Share Posted April 13, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Ca 420 Kh9.5 Mg1370 Po undetectable No4 5 1.025 Tank is 4 months, purchased live rock already cured. Everything has been running fine up til 2 weeks ago. I would have someone or a LFS run tests too just to confirm none of your test are bad. For now, you can try to superglue any portions that are dying away in hopes of trying to stop it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Running carbon wouldn't be a bad idea, as well as maybe doing some water changes just in case something did get in the water. Check your pumps and pump impellers too just in case there is rust leaching. What is your water change regiment? Do you run any type of media? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 Corals have been in there for 4 months since the setup? What do you use for top off water and water changes? RO from the LFS or RO filtered at home? I would always recommend a water change when things aren't looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 14, 2018 Author Share Posted April 14, 2018 My system has been up for 4 months, I do weekly water changes 20%, running only polyfilter right now (trying to remove any contaminants). I get my RO from LFS, no way I'm setting up a system in my apartment. Think I'm going to do a 50% water change tomorrow, I don't what else to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 My system has been up for 4 months, I do weekly water changes 20%, running only polyfilter right now (trying to remove any contaminants). I get my RO from LFS, no way I'm setting up a system in my apartment. Think I'm going to do a 50% water change tomorrow, I don't what else to doI would do a series of 20-30% water changes if possible, one today, one Sunday, etc. 50% may be a bit much and the potentially drastic change in parameters from a 50% water change could put some of the corals over the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 14, 2018 Author Share Posted April 14, 2018 I'm honestly thinking about just pulling all the corals i have, dipping them, and then placing into a 5g qt tank and shutting down the biocube. I made a lot of mistakes when I started this tank and I'm considering just starting over with a different, more planned out system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 Zero po4 can be concerning. I still wonder if the coral is starving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefpuck Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 Is there a way he could dose po4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 The PO4 definitley concerns me but first some more questions. How long have the corals been in there? How long are you running your whites and blues and what do you have them set at (too much blue and or whites not high enough can cause the problem you're describing, PAR or lux readings would help). How often are you feeding your fish and corals, phosphate is essential for corals and if it's undetectable they will need supplemental feeding as they most likely are not getting enough from fish poop*. Like Ty suggested get your water tested elsewhere to double check yout test kits, reagents can be bad or go bad. GFO is a good thing but if you are doing 20% water changes already and you do have a low P)4 problem increasing the size/frequency will only exacerbate a low PO4 condition. Having been called upon to fix problems for decades I've never had to shut down a system and completely start over and people are certainly successful keeping corals in bio cubes, there's no reason your system shouldn't be able to keep corals so I would urge patience and try looking at this as a learning experience. * Because of Darwin's Paradox, the lack of measurable nutrients areound reefs, one of the misconceptions with keeping them has been corals need super clean water and can't tolerate nutrients when in fact the reason reefs test so low for inorganic nutrients is corals are sucking up both inorganic and organic nutrients as fast as possible. Here's quotes from a couple preeminate reef scientists: "When I see the colors of some of these low nutrient tanks, I can't help but be reminded of bleached coral reefs. It should therefore not come as a surprise that feeding corals in such systems becomes a very important component in these systems. Though reefs are often catagorized as nutrient "deserts" the influx of nutrients in the form of particulates and plankton is quite high when the total volume of water passing over a reef is taken into consideration. Our crystal-clear aquaria do not come close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs. And so when we create low-nutrient water conditions, we still have to deal with the rest of a much more complex puzzle. Much like those who run their aquarium water temperature close to the thermal maximums of corals walk a narrow tight rope, I can't help but think that low-nutrient aquariums may be headed down a similar path." Charles Delbeck, Coral Nov/Dec 2010, pg 127 "Imported nutrients are usually transported to reefs from rivers; but if there are no rivers, as with reefs remote from land masses, nutrients can only come from surface ocean circulation. Often this supply is poor, and thus the vast ocean expanses have been refered to as "nutrient deserts". The Indo-Pacific has many huge atolls in these supposed deserts which testify to the resilience of reefs, but the corals themselves may lack the lush appearance of those of more fertile waters. Many reefs have another major supply of inorganic nutrients as, under certain conditions, surface currents moving against a reef face may cause deep ocean water to be drawn to the surface. This "upwelled" water is often rich in phosphorus and other essential chemicals." J. E. N. Veron "Corals of Austrailia and the Indo-Pacific" pg 30 Looking at PO4 research started in 2009 at Southampton University in England has found PO4 deficiency, <.03 mg/l, really messes up the simbiosis between corals and their simbionts. Here's the links if you're interested in reading more about this problem: www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Nutrient enrichment.pdf https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2015.00103/full https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2015.00103/full Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 14, 2018 Author Share Posted April 14, 2018 Phosphate test and things going downhill fast. Tested my water at aquatek as well and tested kh with a fresh batch of sw (9) Running AB+ setting on AI prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 14, 2018 Author Share Posted April 14, 2018 I feed reef chilli or rotifers every couple days and my fish mysis. Running a refugium and marinepure balls in back chamber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 How many times a day do you feed your fish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 The AB+ programing/settings for your AI will provide a good spectrum for many corals*. The intensity is probably not an issue (I would expect more complete bleaching if it was too high). Are you feeding your fish just every couple days also? I would start feeding more if so. I just see the 2 clowns are they the only fish? To give you an idea of how important well fed fish are this study found anemone fish could not supply enough phosphate requiring the anemone to find it's needs by some other means. When it comes to figuring the phosphate needs of corals they also use fish poop as a source as well as particluate food and absorbing PO4 directly from the water. It's a bit more complicated as this study that looked at just three species found species specific responses to feeding with one showing feeding had no effect, one showed significant growth and the third variable growth depending on the type of food (Just one example of why the term SPS has no relevance regarding the husbandry of a coral species). *This research which looked at 11 species showed color temperature had significant effect on the growth of corals and it is species specific. No matter what spectrum/intensity is used there will be corals that do not like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 I feed every couple days. I'm taking all my corals, anemone, and clam out for now . That acro is completely dead. My clam keeps tipping over. Things are not good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 Update! Threw all my corals in 5g tank with 4.5g of brand new sw. And the clam is looking better already, so maybe that's a sign. If yall have any interst in 2 clowns, a sixline, rose bubble tip, or macro let me know before i take it all up to rca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Sorry to hear you're tearing down the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefingRelapse Posted April 20, 2018 Author Share Posted April 20, 2018 Think I finally have an answer, maybe. I found my chaeto in my fuge engulfed in caulerpa (no idea how it got there). Didn't think much of it at first but from what I've been reading for the last week is that it can have negative effect on sps due to small toxins it releases especially if it goes sexual and releases spores! Also being that I wasn't running any carbon I don't think there was anything to remove it from the water column. What's even worse is that now it looks like it's starting to come out of my live rock😡 Also after leaving the wad of caulerpa in my 5g for a day almost everything died so at this point, that's all I can think of as a culprit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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