<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7832790#post7832790 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by twon8
I don't think by itself 84 is too high(risky, yes, only for experienced reefers), but when you are dosing vodka you have bacteria blooms, which use up oxygen, and the increased metabolism of other tank inhabitants from the higher temps leaves you with a tank gasping for o2 imo.
Definitely something to think about ... and combine that with intense light, perhaps imperfect water flow in just one section of the coral - things start to shut down IMO.
That, depending on circumstances/stressors, seems to affect other areas of the colony.
I've gotten lucky the few times my tank accidentally got too warm. It's hit 86 twice without losses, personally if things are getting warm I'd decrease the photoperiod [as that's both heating the coral, along with the water] and be sure you've got good [not excessive, good] flow esp around the bases, internal areas of the coral.
It doesn't need to be blowing in the wind, but small areas of low flow have been the places where I've had recession/etc more commonly IME. Unsure of your lights, but with high enough power + lower flow would concern me.
In this case, I would consider setting up a `holding tank' that has enough rock to maintain the corals bioload fine, good flow, doesn't need to have huge light IMO ... and if something has a problem, frag the good parts, try to keep the remainder of the coral in the holding tank. Then you can try a number of treatment options without worry
I don't like `in tank treatment' one bit. Some do, some don't ... but while I've done that option in the past, it's pretty `final doom prevention' for me.
If you don't agree, good. Life is no fun if folks can't politely disagree about things, nor if folks can't learn and change their ideas.
Search around, there's the treatment with chloropheno-something as well as discussion of iodine dips as `treatment for RTN'. I tend to see RTN as a `shut down reaction' and thus more of a symptom than an exact diagnosis. And in that thinking, then a `treatment' for RTN is like a pill to cure the cold, cancer, bad knees, and depression all in one.
Or in this case, bacterial issues, instability/chemistry issues, import/major-water-conditions-change issues, poor flow/lighting/etc ... and perhaps a few of the other common variances in our tanks - all in one.
But in that light, perhaps such a dip, or other treatment might be more likely to be a good idea, given the vodka/prodibio which is targeted to affect bacterial populations in the tank.
Combine that with a few stressors like temp variance [corresponding O2/other chemistry variance] - and any deviation from the norm might trigger something.
Iodine does seriously affect bacterial populations, and given high temps = often lower O2 levels ... affecting bacteria might be a good thing in this case. Might not, you never know ... but in your case, I would consider flow, lowering photoperiod when it's so hot [neverming controlling temp] as important, but bacteria as an unknown, possibly significant, factor.
And thus, while I may generally dismiss such treatments for RTN, in this case, I'd pursue the papers on the subject. There's a thread around here in the last few months discussion RTN treatments - if you try and can't find it, LMK.
A few ideas to try, and if things are going badly, perhaps worth it. Not in every case, but with your dosing to affect bacterial levels, it's hard to rule out bacteria as an issue [and thus reducing to zero usage of such systems, until things are long stable IMO] + treatment.
Just a heap of opinion on the subject. I don't claim to be any expert on the subject, haven't had a huge amount of personal experience with this, and I live in a house with a wife who kept corals 5 years before I had any clue [others have kept corals before I knew they weren't a plant, and have taught me a ton] ... take it as editorial.
And please, feel free to disagree. I often learn a thing or two from it ... and as you don't control how I keep my tank, you can think any way you'd like
