At a loss

P

Psionicdragon

New member
Hihi,

I am a bit at a loss and hope someone could help.

I have a sps dominated tank with some LPS. The SPS have been doing really well where it has encrusted and developed new growth.

A few weeks ago, I started losing a few of my corals and not sure why. They would go complete meltdown and die overnight. There aren't any fishes harassing them or nipping or such. Some of the corals are continually growing while every now and then a sps will just melt away.

I haven't noticed any redbugs or AEFW. Corals are dipped before they are put in.

My tank is pretty stable except for temp (+- 2-3 degrees) nitrate and phosphate.

Alk is around 8 dkh
Calcium 475
Mag at 1350
Salinity at 1.026
Temp usually around 78 degrees plus minus 2 degrees
phosphate ranges from .00-.06 at times
nirate is probably around 5ppm.

Lights are Hydra 52hd x 2 and 250 mh.

Any ideas?
 
The mystery of unexplained SPS bleaching or RTN is an experience many encounter. In the last 2 months I've spoken with 4 veteran reefers here in Southern Cal, guys with 20 years of experience, that have all had a mystery RTN incident.

That said, have you changed salts ? How's your water for mixing ? RO/DI cartridges delivering water with 0 TDS ?

Any changes in any supplements used ?

Any change in water change routine ?
 
Reefvet said:
The mystery of unexplained SPS bleaching or RTN is an experience many encounter. In the last 2 months I've spoken with 4 veteran reefers here in Southern Cal, guys with 20 years of experience, that have all had a mystery RTN incident.



That said, have you changed salts ? How's your water for mixing ? RO/DI cartridges delivering water with 0 TDS ?



Any changes in any supplements used ?



Any change in water change routine ?
Click to expand...


Huh that is discouraging. I haven't seen this myself and believe that there is always a reason for these events even if it is difficult to narrow down the culprit.
 
Reefvet said:
The mystery of unexplained SPS bleaching or RTN is an experience many encounter. In the last 2 months I've spoken with 4 veteran reefers here in Southern Cal, guys with 20 years of experience, that have all had a mystery RTN incident.

That said, have you changed salts ? How's your water for mixing ? RO/DI cartridges delivering water with 0 TDS ?

Any changes in any supplements used ?

Any change in water change routine ?
Click to expand...

I haven't changed my salt and use IO since the beginning of time. The RODI is delivering 0 TDS.

The way I mix water is: pour in a 5 gal bucket with RODI, have a powerhead running until the water is clear. I add prime/dechlorinator to remove any traces of chloramine. It gets added into the sump with the skimmer aerating. Once it matches, I resume the main pump.
 
SoloGarth said:
Huh that is discouraging. I haven't seen this myself and believe that there is always a reason for these events even if it is difficult to narrow down the culprit.
Click to expand...

I would agree with you. From experience, when they suddenly RTN it is because of alk swings that I had in the past. If it is brown, then my nitrate/phosphate was high.

But I have never experience where things are growing with full PE and then suddenly RTNing without a reason. I just added purigen and rox to see if there are any chemicals that got mixed in the water somehow.
 
What lps species are you currently owning. Are any lps near some of the sps like a few inches away. Have u noticed any sweeper tentacles coming from the lps lately. Is your tank crowded. Pics would be a great help.
 
We still need some pics. Otherwise it's just continued guessing.

I would be concerned about some sort of toxic chemical. I know you said you added ROX but do you run carbon normally?
 
Why is the temp swinging like that? It might not be the only reason for corals melting away, but any variations like that might cause problems every now and then.

How big is your tank? 2 Hydra 52s with MHs is a lot of light. Are the corals only dying in certain areas of the tank?

Your nutrient levels aren't that big of a deal in my opinion. If they were a problem, they would likely just cause browning and that's not happening in your tank so I don't think that's the issue.

Do you run carbon?
 
The heater that I normally have was not keeping the tank up. I added a second heater that kicks on when the temp drops below a certain point. The temperature/weather has been weird here lately.

On and off on the carbon. I normally don't run it.
 
SoloGarth said:
We still need some pics. Otherwise it's just continued guessing.

I would be concerned about some sort of toxic chemical. I know you said you added ROX but do you run carbon normally?
Click to expand...

I'll get some pics later tonight.

They aren't dying at any specific location. I took out a bunch of the dead ones already. So there are only a few frags that melted recently (sunday?).

The tank is 180 4 feet by 2 feet by 30 inches.
 
The things I would do would be:
Get the temperature as stable as possible. Sounds like your on that path already.

The only good thing about the salt you use is the price. People have had problems with it in the past. I have tested it and found it to be unstable... 14dkh Alk and 1000mg/l Magnesium.

Are you using any form of alcohol around the tank or in the house? Any opened bottles or casks etc? Sudden alcohol/vinegar addition to a tank can cause the random overnight death of acro frags.
 
At a loss

33yrplus said:
The things I would do would be:

Get the temperature as stable as possible. Sounds like your on that path already.



The only good thing about the salt you use is the price. People have had problems with it in the past. I have tested it and found it to be unstable... 14dkh Alk and 1000mg/l Magnesium.



Are you using any form of alcohol around the tank or in the house? Any opened bottles or casks etc? Sudden alcohol/vinegar addition to a tank can cause the random overnight death of acro frags.
Click to expand...


There are tons of people, myself included, that have used IO for years with no negative effects.
 
Last edited:
33yrplus said:
Are you using any form of alcohol around the tank or in the house? Any opened bottles or casks etc? Sudden alcohol/vinegar addition to a tank can cause the random overnight death of acro frags.
Click to expand...

lol I open lots of bottles around my tank in my tiny apartment, and have no SPS issues.... Even in people's tanks where they are dosing alcohol, it's rare that people get "random overnight death of acro frags"

I know you're trying to be helpful, but that's just such a weird thing to suggest looking into.

To the OP: You mentioned you have gyre pumps for flow. Have you checked for stray voltage? I know some of them have had frayed cables that have released electricity, stressing and killing fishes and corals. Just something else to look into.
 
Great idea ReefWreak. I had one of the old gyres that had the insulation breakdown. It didn't result in stray voltage but the cracks occurred above the water. Check the cable, particularly near where it enters the motor block.
 
SoloGarth said:
There are tons of people, myself included, that have used IO for years with no negative effects.
Click to expand...

I used to love IO salt. I started using it in the mid 70's and have used it till about 5 yrs ago. I test each new batch I use and began to notice high Alk and Low Mag in some batches. Since I maintained my system at 7.2 dkh when I did a 10%(80gallons) water change it would spike the alk almost a full point. It was enough to make the acros slow down their growth rate, which then caused the Cal and Alk to spike due to lack of uptake. I would rather not use a salt when I have to add Muriatic Acid and dechlorinator to get the Alk to where it should be.

If the OP was doing a 25% WC then it could feasibly spike the Alk by almost 2dkh. With the 4 degree temp swings the more sensitive acros or weaker ones would not be happy. Then you add on a 2dkh instantaneous alk swing and it could be too much.


ReefWreak said:
lol I open lots of bottles around my tank in my tiny apartment, and have no SPS issues.... Even in people's tanks where they are dosing alcohol, it's rare that people get "random overnight death of acro frags"

I know you're trying to be helpful, but that's just such a weird thing to suggest looking into.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree it is a weird suggestion, hence it's my 3rd idea. I wasn't referring to opening a bottle and pouring yourself a drink. ;) I was more referring to things like cleaning the glass or around the tank with rubbing alcohol, using a lot of silicone around tank, decanting home made wine and cleaning the wine making equipment. Anything that would release a lot of vapour near the tank or in the house if it's a small enough house.

The reason I suggested it as a remote possibility is that I have had it happen. I refilled my Vodka/Vinegar container after being out for 5 days over the holidays. Next day 3 dead frags. Even lost one of two 3/4" frags on a plug. Both were from the same acro and fragged at the same time a month earlier. Weird things happen in this hobby and not everyone has the same experiences.
 
why is your calcium at 475?
how long you running the lights?
why does temps wing so much? is that 2-3 degrees in one day?
you stir your sand up recently?
 
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