Montis dying.... salt issue?

[SDguy]

I just did a 60g water change with IO, supplemented with ca and Mg. We'll see what happens.

 

[Haksar]

Sad to hear about your loss Peter I have been having RTN issue with my Suharsonoi and Green acro and lost both the colonies.Just did a 15 gallon water change.Hope my luck changes.Parameters are all stable.

 

[SDguy]

Oh boy, those are sad pictures. They look like mine

Well, I'm back to my good old IO, so hopefully things perk up.

I had a similar problem back in 2009. Kept doing more and more water changes to try to fix the problem - and the problem just got worse & worse. Finally I ran out of that bucket and had to buy a different brand. Within 5 minutes of a water change with the new salt, polyps were coming out (hadn't seen them in quite a while). Unfortunately I lost a lot of corals before I realized what the problem was.

I was using Red Sea Coral Pro (which I find the new Advanced Aquarist article on bacteria in RSCP as someone else mentioned very interesting) and switched to SeaChem.

Here are some photos of what I was dealing with - really sucked. Wish you the best!!

Healthy Pink Milli & ORA Blue Bottlebrush

Dying Pink Milli and ORA Blue Bottlebrush

Healthy Sunset:

Just starting to die Sunset Monti

Confusa Before

Nearly dead Confusa

 

[MechEng99]

wow, very interesting. I think seachem is a pretty good brand of salt. Potassium, Iodine, and Bromide seems to be a common denominator.

Ever since I switched to SeaChem, I've loved it. Wish they hadn't gotten rid of the sealing buckets though!

Really wish potassium kits were better & more available. I'm convinced I had a lack of potassium back in the day - had over 150 corals (mostly SPS) crammed into a 40g tank...typical low potassium symptoms occurred before I knew what they were.

I doubt the issue in this thread is lack of potassium - the Icefire blue's looked good, even with the coral starting to RTN.

 

[SDguy]

I doubt the issue in this thread is lack of potassium - the Icefire blue's looked good, even with the coral starting to RTN.

If blue/purple is an indication, then I agree it can't be K. Garf bonsais, oregon tort and various other blue/purple acros are fine. Looking at the tank today, green acros placed high in the tank are PALE and almost translucent? Additionally, suffering corals are echinata/turaki/granulosa type acros. And of course the encrusting montis. The red cap low in the tank is fine.

Did I really just maybe fry some corals with the new lights/reflectors? In addition to originally irritating them with cheap new salt?

The polyfilter shows no distinctive color to indicate a contamination with a metal. The calcium reacor is working normally.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

sorry to see this

sorry to see this

There have been recalls on many products manufactured in China: pet foods, baby formula etc.

It might be just one thing but it's likely you have a combination of stressors working on your corals, Peter. Hopefully you pull out of this with no more losses.

 

[SDguy]

You know what's really interesting about the salt? I didn't notice until I used it side by side with IO. It's gray...not white, but gray. And has little brown bits in it here and there.

 

[jjmcat]

I had a similar problem back in 2009. Kept doing more and more water changes to try to fix the problem - and the problem just got worse & worse. Finally I ran out of that bucket and had to buy a different brand. Within 5 minutes of a water change with the new salt, polyps were coming out (hadn't seen them in quite a while). Unfortunately I lost a lot of corals before I realized what the problem was.

I was using Red Sea Coral Pro (which I find the new Advanced Aquarist article on bacteria in RSCP as someone else mentioned very interesting) and switched to SeaChem.

Same here with the Red Sea Coral Pro.My tank was doing great and was full of acros then all of a sudden everything started to RTN .I am not sure if Red Sea changed the formula or what.It use to be my favorite salt.I now use SeaChem reef salt .

 

[BradR]

Kent has this product called toxic metal sponge. In the reef chemistry forum there was some talk about polyfilter not removing as much Cu as dedicated copper remover resins. Maybe this 'toxic metal sponge' resin would do something the polyfilter doesn't? I dunno, just throwing it out there. Hope you see some end to the decline in sight.

 

[MechEng99]

You know what's really interesting about the salt? I didn't notice until I used it side by side with IO. It's gray...not white, but gray. And has little brown bits in it here and there.

I wish organics tests were easier to get over here, but I've been hearing some interesting things about organics tests over in the UK. (Maybe someone over there can chime in). Not sure what they're adding (whether they know it or not) that would cause the salt to turn gray, but that adds more evidence to the salt possibly being bad.

How's the tank looking since you switched?

 

[SDguy]

The tank doesn't look worse, but I don't see any dramatic impovement either. The "RTN" on the echinata is not typical, Since cutting that one top branch off, and a few other branches, no more tissue loss has occured. Even the pieces on the floor of the tank in the shade are fine. The montis also still have tissue, but remain brown and polyp-less.

 

[SDguy]

Woohoo!!!!

A few echinata coralites have PE!

:bounce2:PE!!!!!!!!:bounce2:

 

[SPSEMPIRE]

Score! Congrats

 

[SDguy]

Not out of the woods yet. RIP

 

[MammothReefer]

Bummer man, hope you figure it out. I'm going through something similar w/some of my LPS. I just can't seem to figure out why they are acting like they are..but that's for a different topic.

Maybe try a system flush with scripps if all else fails. I used to do that all the time, but I'd be leery of it now with a more SPS dominant smaller tank. Specially since the last times I've tested I've found the nitrate/phos to be a bit of out line of what I like to strive for. You ever do water changes w/NSW or have you been pretty strict on making up your own?

 

[SDguy]

I've only ever used IO, with lab grade DI water. I know, I was lame for switching.

 

[Tony B (UK)]

Interesting thread. I'm pleased to hear your tank is recovering.

Do you feel it was the salt?

Is the salt manufactured in China?

Tony

 

[SDguy]

I feel it was a combination of salt and light. Not sure to what degree each contributed. I believe someone posted that it is in fact made in China.

 

[SPSEMPIRE]

Sorry about the loss. Was that a granulosa? How was it looking before the water change?

 

[SDguy]

Not sure of the species. It grew from a tiny frag...I was quite proud of it It turned pale pale pale during this incident. The RTN happened just during the last couple days.