Coral Problems

[RyanEG]

So I have been suffering from major SPS issues lately, basically I have lost all of them but a couple. I got a little lazy with some things and now Ive paid the price SPS wise. Throughout the whole process my LPS has always maintained looking pretty decent. I attempted to add more flow to the tank which seem to stress them a little but after a few days most of them started looking better with the exceptions of my Candycanes and my Duncans. The candy's seem to have ripped a little at the base where the tissue extends down the sides of the skeletons. I pretty much think they are goners. Which sucks!

The duncans on the other hand have always looked healthy but the heads werent as puffy as before I added the extra flow. In the last two days two heads have 'jumped' off seems like the polyp just decide to jump ship. As I look at the skeleton tonight I see these little tiny bugs on it. They are about 1/16" long for you guys it looks like whiskers in the sink after you shave, they are brownish in color, and like I said about the same size as a human hair. My question is this do you think they are pods or do you think they are the cause of the irritation to the coral?

Im very frustrated with my system right now. I jumped into SPS way too early and now I am paying the price.

Before its asked I will post my specs

This is the set when I started having problem
1.025 SG
5ppm NO3
.8 phos
7 Dkh
370 cal
1230 mag
8.4 Ph

this is what my system has been for the last 10 days since I got back on the ball
1.025 SG
2.5ppm NO3
.8 phos
9 Dkh
425 cal
8.4 Ph
1425 mag

And no I cant get a photo of the bugs I dont have a macro lens that will get close enough

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Are you struggling with any nuisance algae at all? (That phosphate seems a bit high to me, but I don't have a phosphate test kit. When I get cyano, then I dose lanthanum chloride!)

How long would you say your tank had the first set of parameters?

Are you dosing any two-part, kalkwasser, or running a Ca reactor for Ca/Alk supplementation?

What is your feeding regimen?

Tell us about your flow. What sort of return and CL/powerheads are you running and where are they placed in the aquarium?

How about lighting? What are you running?

I'm just spitballing here. Looking for possible problems, not questioning your husbandry!

 

[RyanEG]

The tank had the low set of parameters for about three weeks.

I use Randy's two part recipe.

I feed two cubes twice a day, and two algae sheets.

I was running only a 3200gph closed loop pump, but when the SPS problems started I added two Korailia 4s which is when the LPS problems started. The closed loop has three 3/4" returns and four 1/2" returns. All of the 1/2" returns are in the top of the tank two forward and two towards the middle. The 3/4" returns are on the bottom. The returns from the sump also come in at the top of the back pane of glass. It makes two seperate geyrs that the water comes down the middle of the front pane, across the front, then up the back towards the two corner overflows. When I had the K4s running I had one on each end of the tank each pointed at the opposite corners on aimed forward and one back.

Lighting wise I use 2 250w and 1 400w metal halides, all are Radium bulbs, I use VHO super actinics and also have six powerbrite led strips in 460nm.

I do have a severe nuisance hair algae problem, this is one of the major resonse that I have become so disappointed in my system. This in turn lead to me neglecting the tank for a while and hence the bad parameters for so long. Its been a vicious cycle. Now my corals are dying. Ive picked up a twin chambered reactor but it doesnt fit in my sump, Im picking some extra stand room up next friday so then it will be hooked up. Before this I religiously changed 40 gallons in the system a week, got messed up for a month or so but am getting back into my routine.

I realise that I have made my bed here and now Im lying in it. I guess the first thing to do now is ask for help and try to resolve the problems. Ive lost about a dozen corals in the last week and half or so and its way past the point of frustration. Just fishing for some answers here.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

got herbivores...what are they?
can you cut back on feedings?

hair algae tends to hide mulm and detritus so "storm" the aquarium with a powerhead to stir up all the gray junk that's accumulated in and around the rockwork while running a filter sock to collect all of the crap and then get back on track with water changes.

get some extra help with your PO4 reductions by employing one (or more) of the many methods often mentioned on RC.

 

[RyanEG]

I can and will cut back on the feedings Ill reduce it to once a day.

Gary what PO4 methods are you refering to. GFO and your new method of Lananthum Choloride are all that come to mind.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

PO4 reducing methods would include
*lighted refugia for growing and harvesting macroalgae
*GFO (or Aluminum based) PO4 adsorbers
*mechanical filtration (catch those fish and snail turds before they accumulate!)
*regular partial water changes
*use of low TDS RO water

 

[RyanEG]

Gary would you recommend using a canister filter for the mechanical filtration? I know they build nitrates if they arent cleaned religiously but I have one sitting around and it could be used. I could also use it to double up on GFO usage.

I use RO/DI
was very strict on my water changes getting back in the habit now

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

cannister filter uses electricity and is a PITA to open up and clean.
Personally, I'd use a filter sock. (And I do.)

 

[RyanEG]

Ok Gary I picked up some filter socks today, all I could find locally are 300 micron single layer ones. When I head back into the city I will be picking up some different ones. Preferrably the thicker type.

Im also going to find a way to get my reactor into my system even if I have to place it on the floor next to it for the time being. It will be ugly but not as ugly as a tank full of algae and surely not as ugly as dying corals.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

nuisance algae running amuck is a great indicator that something is amiss. Make sure to keep on top of alk/Ca/Mg levels. Low pH and low alkalinity are conducive to nuisance algae growth.
suggestion: try to identify what type of nuisance algae you're primarily dealing with.

 

[acdraindrps]

Hey Ryan

What you are referring to sounds like what they call polyp bailout with the duncans. Possibly due to your low Mg at the time? Mg is important to help LPS hold their flesh onto their skeleton. 1230 doesn't seem ultra low though.

I don't really want to say that these bugs you are referring to didn't kill your duncan, but I can't say that for sure unless you can get a picture. Sounds like some sort of detrivore eating the death..

As far as the algae problem you are having, I dealt with it for a while in my tank recently. I added a lot of GFO and replaced it often, scrubbed as much as I could, added about 75 astreas, and three turbos. I think the turbos made the biggest difference.

Hope this helps.

 

[gmneil]

i went thru that nusiance hair algae problem as well. it had me to the point where i wanted to give up, but what worked for me was raising my mag leves ery high ank keeping them there for a while..

i did it over the course of a week or two using the kent tech m. i used a lot of it i think like a gallon, dosing a cup and a half a day untill i got over 1600 ppm, and kept it there for a couple of weeks.

after a couple of days you could see the algae dying and it hasn't evere came back except in a few small spots.

i also was having trouble with my sps at the time but some of the goners actually made amazing recoveries.

so definately try the kent tech-m if you havent

 

[Bluephish13]

them levels i would think are def low enough to cause you some trouble in more than a few ways. just keep them elevated and stable and most anything will recover, but it will take a while.

not sure if i missed it but what size tank and how many fish do you have.? just curious cause 2 cubes(of what?) and 2 algae sheets in a day seems like a lot!

prob not the best advice but i really do not check po4 and no3, if you have a algae problem its pointless cause you wont get a accurate reading anyways.

i run a small 39$ po4 reactor and it really works good. the media you use in it will make the most diff. i prefer rowaphos, its most expensive but it will not release po4 back into the water. and 100 grams can last months. honestly its the only ferric oxide i would recommend.

and a refugium on reverse daylight cycle goes along way not only to give a place for algae to grow in your system, but also to keep the ph stable. & provides lots o live foods.

if you got you kh,cal,mag in check then the next thing i would look at is your feeding routine.

 

[RyanEG]

Here are some shots that might share the gravity of the situation and might help to identify the algae type.

 

[RyanEG]

I think that those show the two types of algae that have overrun my system. Im showing the ugly side of reefing which doesnt get shown a whole lot here. Its very humbling to do it.

 

[Bluephish13]

wow, some of it looks like regular hair algae and some looks like bryopsis plumosa


its a big tank but i do not see too many fish. try to feed every other day. maybe new food. do not give the tang so much algae . let him resort to grazing your rocks. all my fish get only flake, pellet, and cyclopsezee. and not every day.

but to get rid of that density of algae you may need to pull some of it out by hand, and just keep up on it, every time you remove some and it grows back its just removing nutrients.

this is just my opinion cause overfeeding caused me a bit of trouble that looked like that.
fish always look so hungry.. but its a trick!

bryopsis can be beat but it takes some work. so dont listen to them threads that say it cant be killed.

 

[inkmates]

i love my yellow tang he keeps any algea in check quite well for me Personally I'd try to manually remove as much of it as I could (daunting task I know) and then add a large amount of algea eating critters along with a couple of algea eating fish. Also you could try to remove and or replace a few rocks at a time clean them let them totally dry out then cook them for a bit jmo

 

[RyanEG]

@Bluephish I have just learned today that the spirally vining stuff is caulupera verticillata it looks a lot like fresh water camboba.

I have three tangs in the system, a blonde naso, a yellow and a kole tangs. They dont seem to eat any of it, I have seen the yellow pick at the caulupera V. on occasion but its not a steady thing. I have been removing a couple of pounds of this stuff once a week. I pull it it grows back.

I did get my GFO/Carbon reactor set up today and put filter socks on the overflow tubes. Ill be changing 40 gallons of water again tomorrow to get back into the habit.

 

[GMaquarium]

Your po4 level is not huge, real bad, but is for sure enough to fuel some algae, I think the amount of algae you have in that tank is sucking it up fast. Meaning without the algae your phosphate would probably be a lot higher. I would follow some of the advise given here with reducing nutrients and increasing mag. Try Tech-M by Kent Marine that stuff really helps as well as better routine of waterchanges with good RO water (0 or near tds). Some serous herbivory is in order, I think urchins or sea hare would do your tank some good.

 

[Johnny C]

+1 on the Sea Hare! JMO