Ahh Help! something is wrong...

O

ooja3k

The Reef Producer
Over the last couple days i have noticed less and less polyp extension on my 5 sps frags. (2 monti digis, and 3 monti caps)...

I have been trying to troubleshoot what is going on... At first i thought it was phosphates, so i got a TLF phosban reactor... Then the issue seemed to get worse... I checked my filter sock, and it was orange.. phosban dust.. I had the top 1/2"tumbling like the instructions said to and removed the forst 1/2 gallon out, so the dust didn't get into my tank...

Well i guess it still did. My skimmate is orange... This could be a reason for the problem.

Also, i check my calc and alk levels weekly, while dosing 10ml of each part of b-ionic daily. Well my calc levels have never been above 350 and my alk has been about 7-8... This threw me off.

I asked around and some people said that b-ionic helps maintain calc and alk, not raise it. (well). so i used the reef calculator and figured it would take 215ml of b-ionic part 2, to raise my calc from 320 to 400. So i added a 1/3 of that amount this morning...

After the lights came on, i noticed that one of my monti caps has some rtn/stn... A little patch on top of it, right in the middle... This being my first case of something like that im freaking out now...

I also notice my frogspawns aren't opening up like they used to, just all deflated and stuff...

What is going on??? Could my test kits be wrong and im over dosing b-ionic?

Help!


Current parameters:

Calc API - 400ppm (my kit must be off because i added 1/3 of what it should take to raise it this high..)
Alk API - 6dkh
Mg Elos - 1275
Temp - 80
Ammo API - 0
Trite API - 0
Trate API- 0
Phos API - 0
Ph - have to go to my gf's house to get that test kit... Im going to do that right now...


help?
 
i don't have access to any other test kits...

i just did the ph and it is 8.2
sg is 1.024

i have a 10gal frag tank that i just set up a couple days ago with fresh sw in it...

should i do a wc?
 
i just did a 5 gal wc... which is around 8% of my total water volume...

should i do another?

any more advice anyone?
 
I think all the params look good, except your alk ... 6dkh is rather low. It should be between 8-12 dkh to maintain ph stability. With low alkalinity, you are likely getting large ph instability and the fluctuations in ph could be effecting your coral health.

You can use an alk additive to boost. It may also be wise to conduct several water changes. The water changes should also help supplement your alkalinity, while also helping to remove any undetected contaminants.

Remember, it may take a few weeks for your corals to return to normal. Just watch your parameters closely and aim for stability ... a stable environment will result in healthy corals.
 
alright, so i went and picked up new kits (salifert)..

here are the new readings
sg with refractometer:

water removed from tank during wc:
sg - 1.024
alk - 6.4 dkh
calc - 460

current tank water:
sg - 1.024
alk - 6.4 dkh
calc - 440

new mix water (reef crystals):
sg - 1.024
alk - 12.5 dkh
calc - 375


i removed my phosban reactor yesterday after a couple days of what appeared to be declining health...

in your guy's opinion, what should i supplement and how much? or should i just rely on water changes now to bring things "back" before i test and start supplementing again...
 
ya i have a similar one bookmarked...

so it seems that just my alk is low... i will dose it appropriately and try to get that up...



im starting to wonder if it wasn't my water's parameters that threw everything off...

i had recently begun running a phosban reactor... could anything associated with that have anything to do with my problems?? stripping the water of phosphate too fast??? i never measured it before nor after the addition of the phosban reactor. but i can only assume my phosphate levels were low before using it because i have no algae issues of any kind... after adding the reactor my 100 micron filter started turning orange and my skimmate was orange as well... this would indicate lots of phosban dust in the water column, but the media was tumbling maybe slightly more that it was supposed to... and before putting it into my tank, i had run about 1/2 gallon of water through it to get out most of the dust...


any input here guys/gals?
 
i did a new 5 gal wc this morning.. so i have overall changed out about 10-15% of my tanks volume...

my alk is coming up, after letting the wc mix with the tank water for a little while i tested alk again... it was 7 instead of 6.4.. so i dosed 10ml of b-ionic (alk part) and now its up to 8...

i am running carbon, and polyfilters, trying to remove any bad stuff from my tank...

i also re-did my flow slightly to get the sps some more flow...


what else can i do?

another wc?
just time?
 
keep trying to bring that ALK up, but SLOWLY. Your alk/ca balance looks all out of wack. Anyhow, it seems like you are scurrying around trying to change a lot of stuff to fix something. Slow down, and take your time. You don't want to be changing things for the sake of change and make something worse. I would not change anything right now. Watch over the next week while gradually bringing your alk up.

maybe I mised it, but what is your temp? have you checked your equipment for any stray voltages? Also, any redbugs or flatworms?

It seems like you have taken some good action. just remember to move slowly and not change too many things too drastically.

Best of luck
 
so you would not recommend another wc? sounds good.

i will let the tank stablize and watch how it goes from there...

should i be testing and dosing alk / cal in correct ammounts to get those numbers balanced? or should i just let it be for now..
 
Yeah, you should dose the additives to keep the params stable where they are... after a few days, kick the alk up another notch. Just shoot for stable parameters and I think you'll be in great shape. You're definitely doing the right things.
 
You should have washed phosban w/ 3-4g of tank water through the reactor, and none of this would have happen, probably, IMO.
 
IMO your alk is dangerously low. Phos dust may have irratated but the reason the sps are dying is alk related. Monties are the first to show the symptoms of low alk. You absolutly have to keep your parameters in range and stable if you plan to keep sps, water changes will not keep up in most cases with the big 3 parameters, alk, cal and mag.
 
Also running a phos remover for the first time with already low alk im sure made it dip even lower. When you run a phos remover gfo you have to keep a keen eye on your alk or it will slip away in a hurry.
 
Ya i have learned a lot from this experience...

Im sure my alk was low, even before adding the phosban, which in turn might have lowered it slightly more. I have read that it really only lowers the higher alk levels, and doesn't affect the lower ones as much...

The dust may also have had something to do with it.

I now have the Salifert alk and calc test kits and an elos mg kit. So i think from now on my testing will be more accurate than the 6mo old api test kits that have had the caps left of the bottles for hours at a time...

For a while i am going to be testing both calc and alk daily, and dosing each accordingly to keep them stable. once my tank is relatively stable, i will find the pattern and the daily uptake of both calc and alk, and then make my dosing schedule accordingly.

How long will it be before my corals are healthy again?? I know thats a tough question to answer, but with the water parameters figured out, they should be able to recover, right? Only one has shown any actual damage to the tissue.. a small white area the size of a dime right in the middle of it... will that heal?
 
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