Degenerating Corals???

[JohnnySquids]

iv had this tank set up for about 6 months now... the picture i am posting is of a coral i put in here about 3 weeks ago... mybe 18 days. the rest of the tank has many other corals. some of which u dont see in this picture that are thriving. before i go further i have to mention i have been using NYC tap water for this tank the ENTIRE time. i recently bought a tap water filter and i have changed out about 50% of the water over the last 2 weeks or so. the first picture is below. this and the yellow polyp are the only things in my tank that are suffering/degenerating. i have done all basic tests. my water should be clean if iv changed out 50% of the water correct???? do these corals never come back once they begin to die???? the guy at the store who has much experience told me it was the phosphate in the water causing problems in some of the corals which is why i got the tap water filter. i have a time clock which turns the light on and off for 5 hours a day, he said that aswel should help. 0.26 specific gravity aswell.

here is the first coral, notice the white tips.

Spoiler

here is a picture of some more of my tank , off screen is that green coral that im asking about , and twards the upper right side is the polyp iv mention. i bought the polyp when it was covered in yellow stars, but they have mostly all turned brown, shriveled and fell off.

Spoiler

for some reason now , that bubble coral in the back, only half of it is blooming like this, why could this be? its been there about 2 months, mybe 7 weeks. iv never had this problem before.

could this b because of the water changes??? im really stumped here. i have no amonia or nitrates becuase of the water changes... iv been doing about 10% water changes every 3 days for the last 2 weeks as i said. any thoughts?????

also can anyone tell me waht that coral behind the blood shrimp on the left is ??? the brownish looking one??? aswell as the white little swirls on my glass???

 

[Reverend Reefer]

maybe its the way you do water changes? what type of water filter did you buy? is it an ro/di water filter? how long do u mix your water for before you do a water change? do u have a protein skimmer? if you recently bought a timer for your lights, how long are your lights on? what type of lights do u use? how big is your tank? how long have you had it running before you added the fish, did you add the fish recently as well as the coral? do u have a sump? how much live rock do you have in your tank? just want to get an idea of what's going on. that green coral on the bottom left is an sps i think, and they need lots of light, so it could be that you don't have strong enough light but there are a bunch of other things it could be. tell us more so we can help.

 

[Sk8r]

We need more info: test alkalinity first. Good params for stony coral are in my sig.
Also, Bubble is an odd stony coral, preferring low light. It's also right up against that hammer, which has a 6" reach, and stings; so does bubble. Who stings whom depends on which way the current is flowing, but the puffiness of the bubble and the contracted state of the hammer indicates the bubble is really agitated. Separate those two, put the bubble into the shade of a rock, and keep the current from carrying its stinging tentacles (sweepers) against any other coral.

 

[JohnnySquids]

maybe its the way you do water changes? what type of water filter did you buy? is it an ro/di water filter? how long do u mix your water for before you do a water change? do u have a protein skimmer? if you recently bought a timer for your lights, how long are your lights on? what type of lights do u use? how big is your tank? how long have you had it running before you added the fish, did you add the fish recently as well as the coral? do u have a sump? how much live rock do you have in your tank? just want to get an idea of what's going on. that green coral on the bottom left is an sps i think, and they need lots of light, so it could be that you don't have strong enough light but there are a bunch of other things it could be. tell us more so we can help.

i just bought the filter and its ro/di filter. i just mix the water n dump it into my sump. i have a wetdry filter. its about 8 gallons. the timer is on for 5 hours a day , cut down from 7. my tanks 25 gallons. i have 50 pounds of live rock. the fish ahve been in there for about 4 months. i have a protien skimmer.... the mushrooms got much bigger since i got them, so has that brown hairy coral in the back.

 

[steamman]

How long do you mix it for? How do you add make up water and how often?

 

[JohnnySquids]

How long do you mix it for?

i take 1 gallon out, dump it in my sink , then i filter out a new gallon, mix it for about 5 min then dump the whole thing right into the sump

 

[JohnnySquids]

We need more info: test alkalinity first. Good params for stony coral are in my sig.
Also, Bubble is an odd stony coral, preferring low light. It's also right up against that hammer, which has a 6" reach, and stings; so does bubble. Who stings whom depends on which way the current is flowing, but the puffiness of the bubble and the contracted state of the hammer indicates the bubble is really agitated. Separate those two, put the bubble into the shade of a rock, and keep the current from carrying its stinging tentacles (sweepers) against any other coral.

im not sure i really follow??? that bubble coral is alone pretty much , not really touching anything. he may be near that green coral that is degenerating, but other than that its by itself, half of it blooms like that full, while the other does not. what is this hammer ur speaking of???

 

[steamman]

i take 1 gallon out, dump it in my sink , then i filter out a new gallon, mix it for about 5 min then dump the whole thing right into the sump

When you say you take one gallon out. I assume that is from the main tank. Then you say you filter out a gallon. Do you mean from your tap water filter?
Then you say you mix your salt and filtered water for 5 min then dump in your sump. Is that correct?

 

[James404]

The hammer coral is right next to your bubble coral, and it is probably stinging it like he said. You may not notice it happening during the day since many will stick out their sweepers at night.

We really need you to post your Alk, Cal and mag test results as well as what kind of lighting you have on this tank. Also you have a 25 gallon tank with a sailfin tang in it? I'm definitely not a member of the so-called "tang police" but that fish should not be in there at all.

 

[JohnnySquids]

The hammer coral is right next to your bubble coral, and it is probably stinging it like he said. You may not notice it happening during the day since many will stick out their sweepers at night.

We really need you to post your Alk, Cal and mag test results as well as what kind of lighting you have on this tank. Also you have a 25 gallon tank with a sailfin tang in it? I'm definitely not a member of the so-called "tang police" but that fish should not be in there at all.

yes the sailfin tang is in there. and im having a hard time giving it back to the pet store. the guys being a jerkoff about it and says "its fine in there" but alls iv been hearing is "its inhumane" plz i dont wanna talk about this im tryin to get rid of it.

the hammer coral is that green one right???

 

[JohnnySquids]

When you say you take one gallon out. I assume that is from the main tank. Then you say you filter out a gallon. Do you mean from your tap water filter?
Then you say you mix your salt and filtered water for 5 min then dump in your sump. Is that correct?

yes, i take a gallon out of my main tank. then i filter out from my tap water filter a new gallon, mix my salt in it for 5 min. then i dump it right into my sump

 

[James404]

yes the sailfin tang is in there. and im having a hard time giving it back to the pet store. the guys being a jerkoff about it and says "its fine in there" but alls iv been hearing is "its inhumane" plz i dont wanna talk about this im tryin to get rid of it.

the hammer coral is that green one right???

Well that is unfortunate, I would maybe try another fish store, it sounds like the one you're going to is either lacking knowledge or just doesn't care.

The hammer coral is the one right next to your bubble coral (to the right) in your last picture. The green coral that has all the tissue necrosis looks to me like a green hydnophora, although I could be wrong on that.

We really need to know your lighting setup, as well as your alk, cal and mag levels to help you figure this out.

yes, i take a gallon out of my main tank. then i filter out from my tap water filter a new gallon, mix my salt in it for 5 min. then i dump it right into my sump

You should be mixing your saltwater for at LEAST 12 hours to let it all dissolve and for the PH to balance out. Most of us (including myself) mix our water for 24hrs. You also should be getting the new water up to the correct temp before adding, you are just dumping cold water into a small tropical tank.

 

[JohnnySquids]

here is an update of my specs. but i have a question first. the alkaline test kit i bought says its a KH/Alkalinity test. i have a tube labeled Alkalinity dKh - +/-0.3 that i do not even use in the kit because it comes with no instructions wat to do with it.... for example, when i test for alkalinity im just following the table across so when i got 11.5KH i simply went one spot over to the right and found my alk to be 4.11. i have tryed to substitute this Alkalinity solution for the KH solution and test as if i was using the KH, but i see no color change even after 2 syringe fulls of the Alk solution.

i am using this test kit for kh/alk

calc - 470
alk -4.11
kh - 11.5
mag 1350

i do nothing but water changes, i dont add any supplaments, chemicals or anything of that nature. no auto top off either.

for lighting i have a 24W 2 foot UV bulb, along with a 24W 2 foot regular florecent.

 

[JohnnySquids]

also that hammer coral looks much closer than wat it really is in the picture, i can assure u NOTHING is touching that bubble coral.

 

[steamman]

yes, i take a gallon out of my main tank. then i filter out from my tap water filter a new gallon, mix my salt in it for 5 min. then i dump it right into my sump

Salt water should be mixed four 24 hours before you use it!
What kind of tap water purifier is it?

 

[JohnnySquids]

Salt water should be mixed four 24 hours before you use it!
What kind of tap water purifier is it?

1sec il check

this is it

 

[steamman]

The filter is fine. That one can is expensive to use. The cartridges are a bit pricey aren't they? You still have the issue of mixing your salt up for only 5 minutes. Freshly prepared synthetic seawater is very caustic (capable of burning or corroding), so it will need some time to "œcure" before it can be used in your aquarium.

Allow the newly mixed seawater to sit in your container for a minimum of 24 hours before use. During that time, place an airstone or powerhead in the water to circulate and aerate the mixture. Lastly, drop in a heater to match the water temperature to that of your display tank.

I guess this issue can be debated. I just don't like to take a chance. If I am in a hurry I wait 24hrs. I usually anticipate the change and try to have it prepared 48hrs in advance.

What is the brand salt you are using. Some salt brands require that you stir the dry salt before you use it. Other brands want you to mix the whole batch up and use it because compounds in the salt mix can separate and become concentrated in one part and lacking in another part of the mix.

 

[chimmike]

your lighting doesn't sound adequate for SPS, honestly.

 

[JohnnySquids]

i think i have spotted why the bubble coral is doing poorly... i think he has parasites or something . notice these red lookin wormish things *** are they... there only on the side thats effected aswel, they have never been there nor are they on any other coral...

look underneath it sorta... see the red fuzzy lookin things??? that cant be good....

 

[chimmike]

redbugs possibly. Hmm. or those may be flatworms.

Might want to look into trying interceptor.