need help - corals not doing well and lots of algae
- Thread starter mrosenx
- Start date
corals
corals
Answer to the above: I got the live rock 5 years ago from a hobbyist and LFS. Does it make sense that 5 years later this rock is negatively impacting the tank? no idea if it was cured or not. tank has been relatively healthy and beautiful for 4.5 years
If phosphate is coming out of rocks, why wouldn't the phosphate test higher?
And if that is happening, what do i do? Do i need to replace all the rock or is is there some way of correcting?
Guys, I appreciate all the thoughts and tips but even with all the info I posted I don't think I saw and theories (and more importantly suggestions) on why my corals are dying or shrivelled or bleached white?
corals
Answer to the above: I got the live rock 5 years ago from a hobbyist and LFS. Does it make sense that 5 years later this rock is negatively impacting the tank? no idea if it was cured or not. tank has been relatively healthy and beautiful for 4.5 years
If phosphate is coming out of rocks, why wouldn't the phosphate test higher?
And if that is happening, what do i do? Do i need to replace all the rock or is is there some way of correcting?
Guys, I appreciate all the thoughts and tips but even with all the info I posted I don't think I saw and theories (and more importantly suggestions) on why my corals are dying or shrivelled or bleached white?
Ccoffel81
New member
If you "didnt see suggestions" you should re-read what everyone has posted. I told you, personally, that buying the ICP test from Triton might help you to understand what's in your water way better than using cheap API shitty test kits.
First step when you have a problem in your reef is to test your water parameters, relying on API is just like shooting yourself on the foot.
Also, do not rely on your LFS to test your water, unless you see them testing it and using decent test kits to do so, they will mostly always use the cheapest product available to test.
I had my LFS testing my water just to confirm my own tests (I use Red Sea test kits), they told me I had nitrite (no2), and I know for fact I don't, because I run ULM, refugium and I dose NoPoX everyday. So I knew from that point that the rest of the test was worthless.
So, just re-read our suggestions and don't be lazy, you've taken the responsibility of taking care of live animals, they are completely reliant on your discipline and care, otherwise they'd probably be living in the ocean far from your home. They deserve your effort and care.
Good luck!
Odds are , if corals started struggling at the same time, and most/all corals are struggling, it is more likely to be some sort of ‘shock’ to the system than any kind of water quality issue. WQ rarely gets bad out of nowhere, and even if it does, half the coral won’t care.
A sudden warning or sudden cooling with undesirable temps persisting for 48hrs plus could do it. Stray electrical currents in the tank can do it (I’ve seen things like powerhead cords burrowed into). Introduction of some sort of toxin or excess metals might be at play.
If I had to put $$$ on it, I’m going with H2O temp shooting up.
A sudden warning or sudden cooling with undesirable temps persisting for 48hrs plus could do it. Stray electrical currents in the tank can do it (I’ve seen things like powerhead cords burrowed into). Introduction of some sort of toxin or excess metals might be at play.
If I had to put $$$ on it, I’m going with H2O temp shooting up.
Another possibility (big increase in algae growth is the top-off) is that the light programming has gone wonky and lights are not turning off. I’ve seen tanks that have always done well that all of a sudden have shut down corals and a lot of algae, and everything with the tank and water checks out.
A little digging around and you find a timer has konked out or the programming has gotten messed up and the lights are on 24/7.
A little digging around and you find a timer has konked out or the programming has gotten messed up and the lights are on 24/7.
I don’t think nutrients are your problem. U don’t say what kind of corals u have but it looks like mainly soft corals & maybe some lps. Your nutrients would have to be way off to affect them to the point of dying & although api aren’t great test they atleast let u know if u are close. If your rock was leaching po4 it wouldn’t start affecting u after 5 years.
I suspect your issue is your source water & that is where I would start. To me having your own rodi unit is a must, so u know what your putting into your tank. TDS is total dissolved organics which u want to be 0. The lfs where u get your water may have shot filters & u are putting water in the tank that is not 0 tds. That will feed the algea & it depends what is getting through but could also affect the corals. If there is tds higher then 0 u don’t know what is getting through the filters. U could be putting chlorine into your tank every time u top off or do a water change
I suspect your issue is your source water & that is where I would start. To me having your own rodi unit is a must, so u know what your putting into your tank. TDS is total dissolved organics which u want to be 0. The lfs where u get your water may have shot filters & u are putting water in the tank that is not 0 tds. That will feed the algea & it depends what is getting through but could also affect the corals. If there is tds higher then 0 u don’t know what is getting through the filters. U could be putting chlorine into your tank every time u top off or do a water change
magnesium was 1200. calcium using a better tester was 350.
alk was 7.
LFS told me to dose mg to get it to 1350 which i am doing. Am dosing Calcium to get it to 400 and adding PH buffer to get alk to 8.5.
Do all agree this is correct path?
he also sold me some salfert tests for Ca and Mg and I already have Salfert test for Alk.
Thoughts?
alk was 7.
LFS told me to dose mg to get it to 1350 which i am doing. Am dosing Calcium to get it to 400 and adding PH buffer to get alk to 8.5.
Do all agree this is correct path?
he also sold me some salfert tests for Ca and Mg and I already have Salfert test for Alk.
Thoughts?
Ccoffel81
New member
Yep try 1400 mag 420 cal. Don't raise alkalinity more than 1.4dkh mag more than 100 ppm cal 50 ppm a day dose in high flow
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Ccoffel81
New member
thank you for the advice....I am not sure i understand this part....
"Don’t raise alkalinity more than 1.4dkh mag more than 100 ppm cal 50 ppm a day dose in high flow" - can you explain a bit better?
the chemicals have a max per day you can put in which I am following. I have a 40g tank so it says the max ml of each to put in per day until you hit the level you want
"Don’t raise alkalinity more than 1.4dkh mag more than 100 ppm cal 50 ppm a day dose in high flow" - can you explain a bit better?
the chemicals have a max per day you can put in which I am following. I have a 40g tank so it says the max ml of each to put in per day until you hit the level you want
None of those #s are sufficiently bad to cause your corals to react that way. I mean, I guess if your KH went from 10 to 7 literally overnight, that could do it. But that's not what happened.
What is your salinity reading at? Did you test it, and with what? Hydrometer? Refractometer? Sometimes salinity can get too low/high based on inaccuracies or need for calibration with our measuring instruments. Coral can react as yours are when the salinity is off, especially if it's too high.
I'm still curious about a problem in light schedule. Shriveled up coral and sudden dramatic increase in algae growth is chapter-and-verse for light cycle being goofed up and too long.
my temp varies day to day from about 76 to 79.9. I am using a fan to keep it as stable as possible but hard.
One weird thing is that the temp seems to go up over night......when i wake up, even thos the lights have been mostly off, the water temp is about 4-5 degrees higher than the air......so the room is like 74 and the tank is 79 even tho lights just came on or are still pretty low.
One weird thing is that the temp seems to go up over night......when i wake up, even thos the lights have been mostly off, the water temp is about 4-5 degrees higher than the air......so the room is like 74 and the tank is 79 even tho lights just came on or are still pretty low.
ok. here is the latest. i scraped all the algae off the rocks and it is now coming back. I bought a calcium test and a MG test and an alkilinity test. I dosed to raise mg and Ca and Alk. Calcium is 400. Magnesium is 1450 and Alk is 8.0. Corals still shrivelled and pale. Algae coming back. What now? Any more suggestions?
