Coral Help

[Ed Kazz]

Hi,

A little less than a month ago I had picked up this clam at That Fish Place. It was doing fine (I think) for a few weeks...now its falling apart !I had placed the clam high on the rocks (was told it required a lot of light)and glued it (not the clam but the rock it was attached to) I have 3 150W HQI /12k reeflux W/4 96W compact flor. (coralife aqualight pro w/lamps less than 3 months old). The water parameters are constant and have not changed over the course of the month. Just did my monthly water change and still does not look any better!
Salinity=1.025
Alk=12.5
Mag=1350
Calcium=480
Temp=78
PH=8.2
I am using a calcium reactor (korallin 1501). Also had a problem a few months ago where my pH was on the low side so I dose lime water with my make-up water (kalk reactor).
Is there anything I should look for or do?
Also have a Tridacna clam on the sand bottom which is OK.
In fact most of the corals I have just over the course of a few weeks just turn white and die!!

Thanks for any help
Ed

 

[Fizz71]

Well....The readings you gave aren't too bad, but what about your Nitrate levels? They tend to creep up on us if we aren't paying attention.

While you're at it make sure Ammonia and Nitrite are both 0 and you don't have a constant mini-cycle.

Also..how much flow do you have in the tank? I see a 180g listed in your profile, so IMO your total flow needs to be atleat 1800gph...that's 10x...so that's a MINIMUM for flow. I personally like the 40x range.

Also..make sure nobody is picking at you clams.

--Fizz

 

[rickyfins]

The Trach brain you have there in the picture is pale. It may be getting too much light.

Out of curiosity look at the bottom of the brain. If it is rounded (not cut) it is a sand brain and will live on the bottom too.

I didn't see a picture of a clam.

Clams process Nitrates but need phytoplankton to do so. Otherwise they can not process nitrates. It has to do with a fatty acid chain in the phyto that assists with the breakdown of Nitrate.

Your Alk is 12.5 a little on the high side. I try to keep mine no higher than 10.

The best thing is always a water change. Then another.

What skimmer are you using and has it slowed skimming in the past few weeks or is it going nuts? This could indicate either a malfunction in the skimmer or a contaminate that needs help to be removed.

 

[Ed Kazz]

Thanks very much for the info.
My nitrates are 0.
I only have 3 koralias (#4's) with some hydo flo's on the returns (also 2 small powerheads)and looking to upgrade in the future.
The bottom had a small rock attached and that is what I had glued the brain too (I think its round). Also I had done a 50gal water change last week. This coral stuff is too hard...all I do every day is test and test and test more !!! I only end up killing them in a few weeks...will switch over to fish only.

Thanks for all your help
Ed

 

[rickyfins]

PM and Email sent.

talk to you soon.

 

[Just Jim]

do you run a controller on your calcium reactor?

 

[rigleautomotive]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14440867#post14440867 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ed Kazz
Thanks very much for the info.
My nitrates are 0.
I only have 3 koralias (#4's) with some hydo flo's on the returns (also 2 small powerheads)and looking to upgrade in the future.
The bottom had a small rock attached and that is what I had glued the brain too (I think its round). Also I had done a 50gal water change last week. This coral stuff is too hard...all I do every day is test and test and test more !!! I only end up killing them in a few weeks...will switch over to fish only.

Thanks for all your help
Ed

Hi Ed,sorry to hear about your losses.I do believe you may be making this a bit harder then it has to be.I would not pay too much attention to your ph and keep a watch on the big three ,alk,cal and mg.ph will dip low in the winter from excessive CO2 in the house and raising it with kalk will cause adverse reactions if you are inadvertently raising alk and not paying attention to that.alk is alot more important to keep stable then ph . i thought your stuff was doing pretty well the last time we spoke.what did you change recently that coincides with the decline in coral health.if the kalk was the item i would discontinue.with the amount of corals you have there is no need for heavy supplementation.the reactor is plenty and maybe too much.weekly 25 percent water changes with rodi and good reef salt will keep your parameters good enough to grow most corals and especially lps like brains.i do remenber telling you to not glue the clam,they will usually do better on the bottom and well away from any corals that could sting it.go back to basics and keep it simple and you will have much better success.the brain looks like it was getting a bit too much light too quickly but it could have been an injury or just stressed from the start.the sps look like they took a hit from a alk spike.running it as high as you do will not give you the cushion if it goes up.you are at the high end of the acceptable range.keeping it at 9 and stable will afford you a little room for error

 

[Ed Kazz]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I was told by the LFS that I should run my alk on the high side but not to exceed 14. I have always had a problem with brown sand and was told a high alk will solve this. The alk was brought up from 9 over a months time.The Ph had been low (7.7) and according to Randy's article the best way to correct it (when useing a calicum reactor)is with a kalk reactor. I had been using it and it works great (PH 8.1 / 8.2) and dosing it automatic with make-up water. Parameters have been stable. The brain had been sold as a clam (and on the receipt as a clam). It was attached to a rock and I had glued it to another rock. That was before I had called (also was told by LFS because the clam <brain>was white it must be as close to the top as possible). I was really looking for info on the other clam.

As it stands now I have disconnected the kalk and the calcium reactor and watching as levels (alk) drop. Will keep alk around 9 and see what happens. Also for some odd reason I can't grow green star polps. Its good for a few days then just stays purple and then goes away? Would a high alk do this?

Thanks Again
Ed

 

[rigleautomotive]

Ed, star polyps like a good amount of random flow and once they catch and aclimate to your tank they are very hardy.sometimes its a fish picking at them that keep them closed up and if they are not allowed to open for a while they will die .the clam on the pic looks fine.when did you notice the sudden change with the corals you lost.was it when the brain started dieing or when you started the kalk.i would think either the brain dieing and its decaying tissue or the alk spike could have easily taken out the acroporas.they are the most sensitive corals you would have and i would not add any for a few months until after you are able to keep soft corals and lps with no losses.

 

[Ed Kazz]

Dan,

Its like only certain things...like the frogspawn grows but the hammerhead does not. The eagle-eyes zoes grows but the wappan'watermelon does not?
Always had trouble with hard corals turning white.
I had a lot of great looking corals from Harry (from reef central) only to watch them turn white and go away!
What is a good alk level? Also will the anemone (in picture) cause problems?

Thanks
Ed

 

[rigleautomotive]

well if one zoo grows and the other does not ,that would probably be placement,same with the frog spawn and hammer,they are similar corals and if your parameters are good for one then they should be good for the other.If the anemone moves around or it can touch any corals it will burn them and kill them.i like to run my alk at around 9dkh,this gives you room for error either way considering test kits can be off a bit and there is a fair amount of noise in just about every kit.sometimes it is just a stressed coral and even perfect parameters will not save it ,especially with acroporas.try doing 10% to 25 % water changes weekly and concentrate on keeping the alk stable and you should be alright.

 

[Ed Kazz]

Thanks
Ed

 

[x2uranium]

as long as the anem doesnt move, and you keep stuff away from the tenticals, you will be fine. On the other hand soon as something touches it... good bye..

 

[Ed Kazz]

Yea like my arm.
Still not right.
That you get for not using gloves.