I think I found my problem...Need feedback

[collie man]

For the past month ive seen horrible results in some of my sps. my tips have receded until 3 corals vanished. i keep a net in my sump to aid handy fish catching.

Today when I pulled it out I noticed rust on the top by the net and more down in the handle area. At any given time in the last month one of these two spots have been under water. I have since removed the net

could this have been my issue all along? keep in mind this tank is almost 2 years old and has exhibited exceptional growth and color up until a month ago. all parameters have been stable for over a year via a doser.

please let me know if this is my issue and what steps to take...im thinking carbon in my reactor and heavy water changes.

 

[Trevor40]

What type of metal is it that's rusty? I would say that's your problem if the handle has copper in it. I used a brass fitting that killed all my coral because it is made of copper and zinc. I would think that most metals in high enough quantity can hurt sps corals.

 

[collie man]

It was a green plastic coated net

 

[betamed]

I doubt its copper. I can't see any reason to make a net with copper considering steel is stronger and cheaper.

 

[collie man]

So could this be my issue? Should I switch my Gfo to gac

 

[naterealbig]

Collie,

If if is indeed heavy metal leaching that is causing your SPS to die off, then I would recommend using something that is specifically suited to remove heavy metals. A Polyfilter will come recommended by many in this situation, however, there is a product called Cuprisorb which is made by Seachem. I spoketo a SeaChem rep about this product, and while it was designed specifically to remove copper, it will also remove Silver, Zink, Nickel, and other heavy metals. I would recommend running some of this in a reactor, along with GAC.

Good luck.

 

[robertmi]

Absolutely metals in the tank can kill everything. If you care you can check out my thread about my clam spawning with was caused by a carbon filter for a house that i hooked up to my tank but didnt realize that it had a minimal out of silver in it until everything in my tank was on the border of death. Metals of any kind will kill all.
do major water changes asap and everything should be fine.

 

[collie man]

well it looks like some of the recession has stopped. ive lost a total of 3 colonies...but my millis are still holding strong, despite a little less PE due to GFO.

 

[REEF SMAC]

Hard for me to believe that a little carbon steel rust would have that much affect on your tank.

You constantly see pictures of sunken steel shipwrecks completely covered in corals. Divers seem to seek these rusty hulls out just because of the life that covers them.

Sure the water to steel ratios are different with our reefs but it seems that if rusty steel was that much of a problem, then corals wouldn't be growing directly onto it.

I would be more wary of a net that won't rust, indicating that it could be made of copper or brass.

Maybe a better question for the chemistry forum.

 

[collie man]

I know, that's how I feel. But it's the only thing I've found different I've the past month. For almost two years this tank has been growing strong. My temp did fluctuate a bit but no more than 3 degrees total. I'm flustered because some of my other sps are doing great!