corals always slowly die

[froggy4112]

well most of them.

i had a nice torch frag, that died over the course of two months, and a few weeks ago i bought a plate coral that looks like its shriveling away. it almost seems like they starv to death. they sit about 26 inches below the HQI on the sand bed. today i moved the plate to a flat rock 16 inches below the HQI.

what could i be doing wrong?

the tank is about 3 yrs old.

monthly 15-20% water changes.

pods galore on my glass sides.

i feed oyster feast to them once a day, the reccomended amount.

65 G tank.

2x250 W HQI - 7 inches from water surface
4x39W T5 - 4 inches from water surface

.025 SG

.15 - .08 nitrates

nill on amonia and nitrite.

ca is 460

phospahte is less than messurable

medium flow.

 

[gflat65]

What are they doing over time? Are they changing colors (fading), or slowly receding, but holding the color, then melting? Do they shrink into the skeleton, ahving septa show through? What other observations do you have on the ones that have died on you?

 

[photokid]

are you using ro di water?

 

[oldreefer76]

what is your alkalinity?

 

[singold]

what is your alkalinity?
-------------------------------------
+1 --- perhaps the most important in terms of level swings

 

[DThompson]

Need more information on your tank. Can you post more parameters? Can you post some pictures of your tank. If you do include some pics of the sand bed.

 

[Remn]

Are your parameters stable? You want to avoid parameter swings, whether it be temperature, alk or salinity. And like the other reefers already asked, whats your alk at? Back when I first started, I didn't dose, I didn't think I needed to with weekly water changes, but after weeks of my torch coral looking healthy, it just started to melt away.

So I started to testing my water everyday until the next water change and found out my alk dropped pretty low by the end of the week. After I started dosing, I haven't had anymore problems. You may need to dose if your only doing monthly water changes.

 

[jets]

try a second Hydrometer. Mine was off by 50% and had the exact same effect with the corals. though i have only lost two fish in 4 years.

I was constantly testing NO3, NO2, NH3, pH, Alk and never assumed the Hydrometer was off.

 

[OodleyBoodely]

try a second Hydrometer. Mine was off by 50% and had the exact same effect with the corals. though i have only lost two fish in 4 years.

I was constantly testing NO3, NO2, NH3, pH, Alk and never assumed the Hydrometer was off.

+1 I could not keep snails, hermits and many types corals until I brought a refractometer and found out that my swing-arm hydrometer was way off, and so was my floating hydrometer. My salinity was over 1.040 but was reading 1.024! :bigeyes: I was pickling everything! :rolleye1:

 

[cliff717]

+1 I could not keep snails, hermits and many types corals until I brought a refractometer and found out that my swing-arm hydrometer was way off, and so was my floating hydrometer. My salinity was over 1.040 but was reading 1.024! :bigeyes: I was pickling everything! :rolleye1:

+2 exactly what happened with my tank for the first 6 months