BRAIN CORAL HELP(Pictures)

[alextheromanian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14708133#post14708133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ludnix
Here's a refractometer that I got for about $30 shipped.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Salinity-Re...5120873&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:570|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1308|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Any euphilia corals in my tank (hammer, frogspawn torch) function as my canary in the coal mine. They will react to anything off in the tank and the brain could definitely be causing it. I would do a water change after a coral dying like that, just to remove any nasty chemicals it might have released.

thank you. will do.

i have to admit my other tank the 75 i havent done a water change in 8 months and its looking pretty good.

when i started the hobby i was told that water changes arent always necessary unless theres somehting wrong.


i vacuum the bottom regularly add purple up reef fuilder stronium and iodine and things seem to be thriving. maybe however the torch may be doing wrong for that reason.

 

[alextheromanian]

oh and ps due to evaporation and the fact that i drive 40 miles for RO my salinity swings between that and 22-24 over the course of a week maybe...i dont have an ato or place to install one so i guess its been swinging up and down.


i use a swing arm refractometer (6 inch deep something refracto)

 

[alextheromanian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14708133#post14708133 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ludnix
Here's a refractometer that I got for about $30 shipped.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Salinity-Re...5120873&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:570|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1308|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Any euphilia corals in my tank (hammer, frogspawn torch) function as my canary in the coal mine. They will react to anything off in the tank and the brain could definitely be causing it. I would do a water change after a coral dying like that, just to remove any nasty chemicals it might have released.

thank you ill deffinately look into one of those

 

[Anemonebuff]

Hydrometers are acurate, but not always correct. It will acurately measure your SG at 1.024, but it is really a 1.022. All you need to do is test it against a refractometer and find it's correct measurement. Just adjust your results when using the hydrometer(swing arm). Once you figure out the adjustment it will read it right 99% of the time(assuming there are no air bubbles attached to the arm). The swing in your SG is probably a contributing factor in your inability to keep these LPS corals. I would also suspect that you have PO4 in the water and it is intefering with the corals ability to make and retain it's skeleton. Also make sure that your strontium is up, it helps the coral stay attached to it's skeleton.

 

[alextheromanian]

po4 levels are zero. Is there an additive that has all these things in them so I don't have to add everything separately?

 

[JAustin]

are you testing for strontium? If not stop dosing it untill youi test for it. My deep six swing arm was a piece of crap. It was telling my SG was 1.025 when it really was 1.031. I not have a refractmeter that has been calibrated with 1.026 pinpoint cal fluid. Do not cal it with RO water, that's not close enought to the area you are testing.

Good luck with everything
Jason

 

[Anemonebuff]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14711919#post14711919 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alextheromanian
po4 levels are zero. Is there an additive that has all these things in them so I don't have to add everything separately?

Many times the tests read zero, but they are a false zero. The test does not register the PO4 that is being used by algae, clams, and the like.

 

[redfishsc]

FWIW, I have read a LOT of threads that say that Purple-Up is just calcium carbonate dust--- the stuff you get when you rinse off aragonite sand.

If that's true, it's a near total waste of money. If you really want something that does everything Purple Up claims to do, but cheaper, use Kalkwasser--- you can make it from pickling lime at the grocery store.

Just read up on how to dose it b/c it's pretty caustic. I dose it every day and it's one of the most helpful things EVER for my tank.



About the accuracy of a hydrometer, Anemonebuff is right, in that you can "calibrate" a hydro against a refractometer, but the story doesn't end there. You HAVE to keep the hydro squeaky clean, and I recommend you vinegar soak it every few weeks to remove calcium, carbonates, and whatever might build up on the swing-arm.

Also, be SURE that there are no air bubbles stuck to the hydro when you use it, this will skew the results.