pink millepora tank overheat

[iced98lx]

Long story short, tank overheated (heater stuck on) to 101 ish for a few hours. Three days later, this pink Millepora is the only coral in the tank I thought had even a 1% chance of living (everything else shed its skin, puked its guts etc)

Can I get your assessment of it? It has some skin loss in the center but it has stopped falling off in the 3 days since the incident.

Obviously it lost all it's color as well, but it appears from yesterday to today to have gained some back somehow.



this is what it looked like prior to the nuking:

 

[trueblackpercula]

What are your PO4 readings?

 

[iced98lx]

here is where it is today



Soon it will be being sold all over as "the toughest mille you can buy" - I think I'll call it hundred-degree-mille and make a fortune :lol: :roll:

Going to have to cut it up I think to get rid of the dead parts but it is making a heckuva recovery for being in 102 degree water.

 

[Atomikk]

Looks great. Tough little guy. Call him Roach Millepora

 

[Dapg8gt]

I would say if the tissue recession has stopped you should have a good chance at saving that guy.. Fwiw if you do notice skin starting to flap up you can run a bead of superglue over the edge and it should slow it down or stop it.. I'd give it a high chance at survival based on PE alone.

 

[rogerwilco357]

Pe looks good should make it also look into getting a reef keeper lite that has saved my tank over and over I mainly started using it for just this reason my heater went bad and lost a lot just like you now I am at ease knowing the controller will shut it down down should it get one deg higher than its suppose to be at ,good luck with that millepora what a champ piece.

 

[Dapg8gt]

Didn't I read a thread of your about a diy controller? Was that the issue?

 

[iced98lx]

Didn't I read a thread of your about a diy controller? Was that the issue?

indeed! Small bug in the software, so to speak.

Got things all fixed up now, so we're good to go, and I think this little guy is going to make it somehow!

 

[iced98lx]

Just an update, here is where we are as the lights came up this morning:



You'll notice re-growth across the dead areas and growth outward. Overall happy I could keep this guy alive, the pink he's starting to get is very nice. I've got it a little low in the tank, thus the green on the bottom, but I don't want to mount him on anything just yet, so i'll have to settle for slower growth until then.

 

[Tron_954]

Judging by all the algae in the pics, Id say your nutrients are just as much to blame as the heater catastrophe...

 

[iced98lx]

Judging by all the algae in the pics, Id say your nutrients are just as much to blame as the heater catastrophe...

 

[Tron_954]

Lol, no seriously, that sucks, sht happens, but have you gauged your true levels of nutrients? Possibility of export?

I was harassed for months by hair algae and cyano, dirty sand beds, etc"¦ 1 month with a different skimmer and voila"¦ So just saying, its a sign!

 

[RKLion]

At least you saved that one guy

 

[iced98lx]

Lol, no seriously, that sucks, sht happens, but have you gauged your true levels of nutrients? Possibility of export?

I was harassed for months by hair algae and cyano, dirty sand beds, etc"¦ 1 month with a different skimmer and voila"¦ So just saying, its a sign!

The system is without question not ideal, (no skimmer) but is basically a temporary grow out tank at this point while I finish the other tank. Thankfully the few pieces of SPS I've got in it are growing strong, and showing both good color and PE. The photo was taken right after a lapse in water changes due to vacation (it had gone ~4 weeks) so it sort of 'looks worse than it is' as I am back to weekly 60% changes. But yes, the coral would be doing much better if water parameters were better. I simply thought it was amazing that it could survive 102-103 degree water for ~4-8 hours.

At least you saved that one guy

Him and a few fish made it, have to celebrate the good in such a crap situation.

 

[trueblackpercula]

Dude with all do respect you should check your PO4 nitrates calcium Salinty temp etc. I don't think you will ever get good colors judging what I see I. The picture.

 

[iced98lx]

ha, yes, no 'all due respect' needed, the tank is dirty and full of p04. (all the other levels are fine though). I lost the entire clean up crew, plus whatever level of other critters that die in a year old tank after sitting at 102 degrees for a while. It's been a long road to get it back to something decent looking, it's obviously not there yet. The tank is not running a skimmer, so it is reliant on the growth of GHA to uptake P04, and feverish water changes by me. I use the back of the tank as an ATS (you'll notice it's migrated to my plastic mounting piece there as well) which I harvest weekly.

but in all seriousness this coral went from ghost white loosing its skin back to pretty decent coloration and growing in the tank, so despite the fact that it's not an ideal situation it's one way to keep coral alive.

I was just amazed it would come back after being heated like that.

 

[iced98lx]

Social pressure has caused me to embark on adding a skimmer to this temporary tank.


*glares at SPS area*

This is your doing, and I shall blame the bills on you when my wife asks.

 

[iced98lx]

Skimmer has been running 7 days

 

[iced98lx]

 

[iced98lx]

working on p04 levels still, what a battle post tank meltdown, but finished cranking up the lights finally back to pre nuke levels.