Bleaching and Bayer Dip error?

[speedstar]

Trying to figure out what event in my tank has caused a wide spread bleaching and polyp retraction in all my SPS.

This is very strange as I have scene frags that would usually take a couple months to color up from all brown, become fully colored in just 2 days and then continue bleaching.

In beating my head into the wall trying to figure this out all I can think of is this happened after a recent frag swap. I bayer dipped all the corals and rinsed them in salt water after wards using the same rinse (bad idea I am guessing it didn't remove the dip completely) Also to make the matter worse when I was cleaning up, dumping the dip, I found a frag in it and impulse was to place it in the tank instantly and I for got to rinse it as well.

Within hours I saw pods floating being blown around, the crabs were kinda stunend etc.

I had thought maybe my LED's were too intense but this came on too quickly imo for it to be the lights, though I have lowered the intesity some for now anyhow.

Tank Parameters are
salinity 1.026
Temp 76
Alk 9.5
Ca 430
nitrate <1
nitrite 0
po4 not tested, sure some is present as I have a 5 fish in this system.
Water volume 65g (how I miss my old big tanks)


I have done a 30g water change on the system, not sure what else to try. As I don't want to have a panick stricken change everything cause more problems. Ca and ALK are maintained using Kalk top off right now I don;t have a huge demand.

I am wondering if my higher side ALK, combined with my bayer dip getting into the display could be the cause for this event.

Has anyone experience with this? made my error? Should I change out more water or try to ride this out?

I added a ground probe as there was some stray voltage showing, but really no current behind it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[DogueDeBordeaux]

I do not think it is the bayer dip. Some dip at a very high dose like 10ml in 4oz of water for atleast 5mins.

 

[speedstar]

I do not think it is the bayer dip. Some dip at a very high dose like 10ml in 4oz of water for atleast 5mins.

Correct but they usually rinse the coral before going back in there tank correct? I am wondering if the high loss of pods and hermits may have caused a cycle since the water volume is low.

How do SPS react to trace ammonia other than not well if that is what happened?

The lighting had been the same on the tank switched out about a month prior to the incident. Would have thought if it was bleaching from thatbitbwould have happened sooner.

Really confused this time around, kinda sad wondering if I should have just stayed out of the hobby after a 5 year break.

Maybe it is a combination of the light with just the added stressor.

 

[tomservo]

I think rinsing is about 50/50; I don't rinse, at least partly because my tank is so small I'd have to make new SW to replace it. I dose like 4 ml/cup or so, but have dosed as high as 10-15ml/cup for some stuff that I knew had LPS/softy eating FW.

unless you were dipping your frags in straight up bayer concentrate, then I don't think the residual couple mL of water on a frag carried enough insecticide to your tank to do the damage. Add to that the fact that the stuff in bayer breaks down when exposed to light quite rapidly.

Ammonia can certainly cause rapid bleaching; my friend damn near killed his 250 after doing a FW-exit without watching over things.. He had a big purple monti cap that we all thought had died, it went totally white and then looked like it had algae growing on the skeleton, looks almost 100% like 6 weeks later. A bunch of his acros died.

 

[speedstar]

unless you were dipping your frags in straight up bayer concentrate, then I don't think the residual couple mL of water on a frag carried enough insecticide to your tank to do the damage. Add to that the fact that the stuff in bayer breaks down when exposed to light quite rapidly.

QUOTE]

thanks for this information. Hopefully it has dissipated, but as mentioned there were a ton of dead pods, some hermits and stunned snails.

gonna ride this out and hope for the best. Have reduced the ligting intensity and will just continue with the 10% weekly WC's as usual.