My nightmare continues. ID desperately needed. UPDATES!

redspot321

In Memoriam
Simply put, I am in dire straights! Please help me find a solution to this problem. I will lay this out as simply as possible.

I have had this problem for weeks now.

-Cloudy water, sps and lps polyps completely clamped shut and closed.
- Coral slime accumulating on EVERY type of mechanical filter to the point of complete blockage.
-All inverts and fish (shrimp, star, snails, clams, anemone) look wonderful!

Things Ive tried.....everything from water changes, to new bulbs, to new ro/di, running HOB, carbon, 100% water changes, removed ALL LR scrubed tank and put tank back together, Maracyn. Please trust me when I say everything is perfect water quality wise!

What has worked......

1. I separated ALL coals. I left ALL sps in the tank and placed all lps in a bucket with LR and water from the tank.
-The seperated LPS looked great the next day!! The sps looked bad in the tank....same water same rocks....
:confused: Once I placed the LPS back into the display it shrivled up and looked poor.

2. I switched corals in the tank. I removed all SPS into buckets and left the LPS in the display tank. The next day the SPS looked great and the LPS in the display looked bad.


Conclusion: The only thing I can think of is that the LR is releasing some sort of toxin. The toxin produced in the display gets sucked into the overflow, mixed with the water, and returned into the full water column causing ALL corals in the tank to close. The toxins released in the buckets accumulates on the surface of the water, NOT in the water column and all corals look great in buckets1


This is so weird, Could this be possible? Same water same rocks, just different container/plumbing.

When I came home from work tonight the display was still cloudy after weeks with carbon running, poly filter, and HOB. The water in the buckets was Crystal clear EXCEPT for a thin layer of this whitish, clear substance that was VERY thin with no bubbles. The corals in the buckets looked great.
I mannualy skimed the white layer off the top of the bucket water into a glass, shook it up and here it is.

PEST.jpg



Whats going on?????
 
Heres pics.
Same water, same rocks.

Display cloudy for weeks, all corals shrivle up in the tank.
tank-1.jpg


Bucket Clear as a bell??
bucket.jpg
 
when all else fails.....OZONE or UV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i had trouble with cloudy water and all kinds of this slime (looked just like snot) on my rocks about 2 years ago, tried everything and nothing helped. so i hooked up a 40 watt uv light and within 6 hours my tank was crystal clear, i spent the next few days blowing off my rock to dislodge the slime and get it to the uv light. since then i have had no rouble with my tank. i would try UV first, its trouble free where as if you go with ozone you really need a controller or ORP meter
 
Looks like when I tried using vinegar in my kalk in my old 30g reef. Developed such a bacterial bloom that everything was covered in slime, the skimmer went crazy producing foam that wouldn't "pop", and I almost suffocated my fish.

Have you been experimenting with any of those methods (sugar, vodka, vinegar)?
 
Were is your alk at? it almost looks like cal. percipition. If you did a major water change and it didnt help, it has to be in the rocks or tank.
 
This reef has been set up for 3 years. Tomorrow I am going to get some new LR from my LFS, it is already cured so it shouldnt be a big deal to the corals.
100% WC with 100% new LR. Yes I know it will be a shock, but everything is in shock now. I have to get it taken care now while the corals are still somewhat healthy.



"has the LR been in another tank before? do you know if it has ever been dosed with copper?"
-Never, its the same LR in both containers.

"This problem just started to develop a few weeks ago? Are you using a skimmer?"
-Yes my skimmer is rated for a 125gallon. My reef is a 55. Plus it is mesh moded.
 
dont do a 100% wc because that will just make the problem worse. If I were you, I would switch all the LR, but do like a 90 or 95 percent wc so that you still have some nutrients and bacteria.
 
Also before you do the wc, I would go buy a copper test kit and test the water to see if that is really the problem.
 
what are your water parameters?

Slime like that is usually bacterial (as said above already)
Also running SPS/LPS or mixing of corals can cause issues like this (chemical warfare)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9821816#post9821816 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randall_James
what are your water parameters?

Slime like that is usually bacterial (as said above already)
Also running SPS/LPS or mixing of corals can cause issues like this (chemical warfare)

Thats what I origanally thought, thats why I seperated the corals and the problem still exist.
Parameters are text book perfect.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9821645#post9821645 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zach0660
dont do a 100% wc because that will just make the problem worse. If I were you, I would switch all the LR, but do like a 90 or 95 percent wc so that you still have some nutrients and bacteria.

The bacteria you want to keep mainly lives on surface areas and not in the water column. Before you go and buy a bunch of LR you might want to try leaving your lights off for a few days. I know there may be no correlation between the lights and the slime/cloudy water you are seeing but it can't hurt anything if you give it a try.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9823560#post9823560 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquabucket
The bacteria you want to keep mainly lives on surface areas and not in the water column. Before you go and buy a bunch of LR you might want to try leaving your lights off for a few days. I know there may be no correlation between the lights and the slime/cloudy water you are seeing but it can't hurt anything if you give it a try.

That sounds like a good idea. I'd do that and also frequently blast the LR while skimming extra wet.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9823796#post9823796 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tang Salad
That sounds like a good idea. I'd do that and also frequently blast the LR while skimming extra wet.

Tried them both. Skimming and lights out for 4 days.


LFS LR is not cured, I have to wait it out a few more days. Im going to return everything into the display but with low flow and partial volume. This way I can skim off the top like I am doing in the buckets.
 
I dont know if I would keep taking the rock out and in and the 100% changes could be harmfull too. If your fish arent stressed see if you can wait it out.

Check water parameters and make sure its not cycling.

Im of the opinion that its a bacterial bloom.

Heres an idea. use a VERY SMALL (1/8th dosage ?)amount of marine anti bacterial drugs for fish.

If you can keep all your corals in a holding tank for a couple of days do it. The treatment shrunk my colt coral in (it became a mangled mess for a couple of months from the drug).


I have had some cyano problems in the past and using the marine antibacterial drugs cured it (along with fixing the problem which caused it to begin with.. The skimmer had a shell in the air intake).

Make sure you skim VERY HEAVY after treatement.. And see how long you can keep the skimmer off during treatement. If you see any signs of stress go full power and start doing water changes.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9821038#post9821038 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kzoo
it almost looks like cal. percipition.

It does, doesn't it? Are you dosing kalk? Are you dosing anything else?
 
ya know.... chemiclean (for cyano) may work here. As cyano is bacterial (not sure if it is gram negative or gram positive) You could get lucky and they are both of the same nature. If it does not work , go with Myracyn 2.

Sort of a shot in the dark but hey who knows

Calcium precipitation is not slimy, it either goes directly to the glass *and that is a nightmare or it falls out of the water column to the floor of the tank
 
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