LPS are dying and I cant figure out why.

[Jstn]

I have a 40b mixed reef, its a few years old and generally my lps (acans) have done well. For the last month, a few colonies have been loosing heads and I cannot figure out why. The strange thing is how only some colonies are looking bad while others next to them look great. My sps looks great, and my one torch is looking weak.

Parameters

Alk 8-9 dKH (I use kalk in the ATO and test alk at least twice a week)

CA 460-475

Mg 1410

SG 35 ppt

NO3 12 ppm (been doing weekly 40% changes and cant seem to keep it down, despite the vinegar dosing.)

PO4, 0.00-.005, although today it tested at 0.1, its time for new GFO (4 weeks old)

Recently I changed my RODI filters to chloramine setup and this has really helped my tank look better, my cyano problem 90% gone.

I have plenty of flow from a mp40 on 60%, I run a radion, and have had it for 9 months, so no bulbs or led acclimation problems.

I currently dose 12 mls of vinegar a day and 4 drops of MB7 EOD. I have been ramping up after the cyano has died out, previously I feel it was encouraging cyano.

I started running chaeto in my sump, and change my carbon every 2-3 weeks.

Any ideas?

TIA

 

[JUNBUG361]

Vinegar dosing might to much? Too much flow hitting the torch? Have you tried moving them around?

 

[Quaday]

Have you tried target feeding?

 

[Jstn]

I feed weekly, (target) and the torch loves flow. It's something else ****ing them off a d I cannot figure it out.

 

[footballdude2k3]

Temp variation, nitrates are high, might need new bulbs

 

[Jstn]

Temp is stamble via rkl, ecotech radion (LEDs). Nitrates are high but not crazy, I am working diligently to get them down. (Salifers test)

 

[usmc121581]

How long have you been dosing vinager? That may take a little bit before you will see the trates fall, I was up to 90ml before I even seen it fall from 20ppm to 15ppm. Also have my GFO are you uaing?if you started out with to much GFO from the star it will screw up some corals and not others. Start with 1/4 the dose and slow add more week by week. Depending on when you started with GFO. I think it's the GFO because you stated that your GFO is 4 weeks old and you also noticed corals acting funny a month ago.

Unless your nitrate test kit is wron I don't see the trates doing this to your LPS's, they prefer slightly higher nitrates then SPS's and seeing how you didn't mention any of them being bothered.

Take your GfO of line a day and see what happens, I say his because when I started GfO my elegance shrivled up when I started with the full dose.

 

[shiladitya1991]

From all the things you have quoted above the only plausible cause can be too much vinegar dosing.

 

[Jstn]

Thanks for the reply, I have been doing vinegar for the last two years, I stopped around october and started again late december. I was having a cyano problem and saw a large decrease in their population upon stopping. I started at 2mls per day and been working up to 12mls over a 2 months. My gfo is 8 tbsp, its been constant at this for the last year, also this is the first time I let my gfo go this long before noticing a rise in PO4. Around the stopping of the vinegar dosing I was changing it every other week to combat high phosphates. In fact this is the longest time I have let my GFO go before changing.

In addition, my local water supply runs chloramines, I moved here 6 months around and just around 5 weeks ago changed to a chloramine setup after a long battle with cyano and high N03 (30 ppm).
After upgrading the filters I have changed 10-20 gallons at least 4 times and cyano is mostly gone, and vinegar hasnt seemed to encourage its growth.

 

[Jstn]

The strange thing is some acans are absolutely thriving.

 

[Realposition]

I've had some problems in the past with being too aggressive with carbon and gfo. I agree with usmc, back off a bit and try to let things stabilize, nitrates at 12ppm isn't going to hurt acans.

 

[Reef Frog]

Have you ruled out pests? Doesn't seem likely since only a few are affected, but its possible. Maybe observe at night? Sometimes scans just pout for a short time for unknown reasons.

I have found other LPS like Favias have reacted poorly to high lighting months after successful acclimation and needed to be moved lower where they recovered nicely. Just some ideas for you. Good Luck.

 

[Jstn]

Maybe Ill change my gfo and cut the amount in half?

Thanks, these acans are all in the edge of the tank, where the light is least harsh. Im not sure about pest, I can see the heads unhinging and floating away over coarse of days. It seems they are ejecting heads.

 

[shiladitya1991]

Always start with 1/4 of the recommended dosage. Increase your dosage little by little over months. Don't you use RO water?

 

[Jstn]

I do notice I have an over abundance of amphipods, could they be munching them?

 

[footballdude2k3]

Since you noticed this, what are all of the steps you have taken? Maybe you did something that they did not like and that is making it worse

 

[Jstn]

More water changes, i have slightly cut back on feeding to help with the nitrates. Other than removing bubble algae by hand and adding a few turbos snail and conch, nothing has really changed. I did change my RODI cartridge, but I doubt that would make things worse?

The acans that are affected seem to be with in 4 inches of each other. While I have a few colonies thriving.

 

[falconut]

Not sure if it would help, but I had an issue a few years back. My LPS (Hammers, Torch, Frogspawn, etc.) were doing great for a few years. Then one day, one colony would slowly start opening less, then the tissue would start receding up to the head, then the head would just pop off. This happened to all my LPS colonies except my green bubble. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I would try another LPS every once in a while, when I thought things were stable, but the same thing happened. Until one day somebody mentioned it could be bacterial and try to dip them. The only dip my LFS only had was Kents Lugol's Solution. I decided to dip the sad looking LPS, think frogspawn. After a few days it was starting to open more. I decided to dip all of the ones I could remove and sure enough they all started to open more. Problem was I had a larger one I couldn't take out, so I decided to add a few drops (4) to my 90. I did read that some people use it as a supplement. That one too did come back.

Now I add 4 drops of Lugols every week or two and they have been growing great and are happy. I started this years ago and I haven't lost a LPS since. Not sure if it's your problem, but it helped me and took me a few years of aggravation to figure it out.

 

[Jstn]

Thanks for the reply, I tried a revieve dip and today I plan on making some lugols and trying it as a dip. There is three bad acans, one lost its last head last night, but the better of the three seems to be doing slightly better after last night revive dip, it barely has feeders out when before I haven't seen them for weeks.

I am leaning towards a bacterial/parasite infection now, next step if lugols doesn't work will be try interceptor.

 

[falconut]

There is three bad acans, one lost its last head last night, but the better of the three seems to be doing slightly better after last night revive dip, it barely has feeders out when before I haven't seen them for weeks.

Mine had no feeders either. People kept suggesting to feed them, but it's kind of hard when their feeders aren't out.